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Ó£ÌÒÖ±²¥ has selected five students to receive the Distinguished Senior Award for the Class of 2017. The award recognizes excellence among LETU students.

Each year, up to five graduating seniors are selected based on academic achievement; servant leadership; generosity with time and resources; spiritual growth evidenced by a maturing faith in Jesus Christ and the potential to be an effective ambassador for Christ in every workplace and every nation.

"Ó£ÌÒÖ±²¥ is a community of builders," said LETU President Dr. Dale A. Lunsford. "For 70 years now, our graduates have changed lives through what they have built. These distinguished seniors represent the continuation of our builder legacy. In engineering, biological research, and education, I know these fine men and women will integrate their Christian faith and professional work to build a better tomorrow for our world."

The five 2017 LETU Distinguished Seniors are:
Deborah Oluseyi Osomo of Abuja, Nigeria in West Africa is an interdisciplinary studies major, seeking her Early Childhood through 6th grade teaching certification. Osomo serves others as a peer advisor mentoring incoming international freshmen. She served as a worship team leader, an IMPACT student leader, and an officer in several clubs and societies on campus, including Ladies in Christ, Teaching and Learning Community and Ladies in Fellowship Together. She volunteered at Highway 80 Rescue Mission, the Boys & Girls Club, Buckner Children and Family Services and church youth groups.

Taber Miyauchi of Grand Lake, Colorado is a mechanical engineering major who was named Engineering Student of the Year in 2015-2016. He serves as the president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Chapter and leads a team of 11 students to design, build and test a versatile rocket stove. He also is captain of the men's cross country team and has won several conference and regional honors as he led LETU to its best NCAA Regional finish in school history. He also serves as a peer advisor, providing counseling to other students.

Nathan Gaddis of Cabot, Arkansas, is a mechanical engineering major who served as the team leader for the SafeHome senior design project to design and build disaster relief transitional shelters for refugees. A member of the Honors College, Nathan served as a resident assistant and assistant resident director on the LETU campus, offering advice, counsel and recommendations to students with life concerns. As a fluid mechanics supplemental instructor, he leads study sessions and presents materials to students to help them understand class work. He volunteers weekly with Habitat for Humanity.

Morgan Renee Broberg of Rochester, New York, is an engineering major with a concentration in civil engineering with a structural emphasis and a minor in mathematics. She has worked as a tutor in math, biology, physics and chemistry at LETU, and as a technical intern in the AutoCAD lab at LETU. She volunteers with Habitat for Humanity each week and works in an afterschool program with Buckner International working with 3-5th grade students who are struggling with math, reading, anger management and other life skills.

Alisa Nicole Wilson of Snohomish, Washington, is a biology major with a double minor in mathematics and chemistry. She works on campus as a lab assistant in the anatomy and physiology lab and in the Quality Assurance Department. She plays for the YellowJacket women's golf team and was named the Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year for the American Southwest Conference. She serves as treasurer of the LeTourneau Student Ministries and as secretary of the LETU Student Senate.

LETU's Distinguished Senior Award Program selection involves faculty, staff, deans, cabinet and the LETU board of trustee members. Candidates must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average at the end of the Spring 2016 semester, with no academic, social or chapel probation on their records; and must be scheduled to graduate with an undergraduate degree either in December 2016, May 2017 or Summer 2017. The top 20 students recommended for the award are invited to submit an application and resume and are asked to answer five essay questions. Student Life staff committee reviewed them and chose the top 10. The Board of Trustees and staff deliberated and chose the top five.

Each of the distinguished seniors was presented with and trophy award. Their photos will be displayed on campus throughout the next year.

Ó£ÌÒÖ±²¥ is the premier Christian polytechnic university in the nation where educators engage students to nurture Christian virtue, develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, integrate faith and work, and serve the local and global community. LETU offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across a range of disciplines and delivery models at LETU's residential campus in Longview, Texas, and in hybrid and fully online options at centers in Dallas and Houston.