Cutline: from left to right, Saul Padilla, Emily Crowley, Taylor Spence, Gov. George Nigh, Hannah Camp, Lindsey DeLaughter and Cas Northcutt.
ADA, Okla. – Six graduating seniors at East Central University have been selected as finalists for the George Nigh Award to be presented at the 10 a.m. commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17, inside the Kerr Activities Center. Recently, the finalists met with Governor George Nigh at a reception and went through the final selection process.
The George Nigh Award goes to the top graduating senior from ECU annually and is named in honor of the former governor of Oklahoma and ECU alumnus. In addition to his terms as governor, Nigh served multiple terms in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and as lieutenant governor. He also served as president of the University of Central Oklahoma.
The late Julian Rothbaum, a Tulsa oilman, banker, and state regent for higher education, established an endowment through the ECU Foundation, Inc., to fund the Nigh Award. Each year top ECU seniors are invited to apply and undergo a rigorous application and interview process.
The 2025 finalist are Hannah Camp, Emily Crowley, Lindsay DeLaughter, Cas Northcutt, Saul Padilla and Taylor Spence.
Hannah Camp will receive her Bachelor of Science in Psychology while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. During her time at ECU, Camp served in a number of organizations and filled a number of roles. She participated in the Peer Mentor Internship through the Academic Success Center and has participated in a number of positions within the ECU Honors Program, including her service on the Honors Student Association Leadership team and as coordinator of the Honors Book Club. Camp also served under Dr. Robin Roberson on the EdPASS EPA grant project that allowed her to travel across Oklahoma to teach middle school students about careers in the water and wastewater industry. Continuing her work with school age students, she hosted week-long summer camps for the same project the following year and served as a tutor in ECU’s Tiger Academy.
Upon its completion, Camp’s honors thesis was submitted to the Chronicle of Rural Education and was published in August of 2024.
She has contributed to many community causes such as the Ada city-wide cleanup, local animal shelter and ECU campus blood drives.
Camp has served in a variety of other roles across the ECU campus and Ada community. Her current goal after graduation is to pursue a career in counseling where she can assist adolescents and teenagers. She has been accepted into the Counseling Psychology master’s program at the University of Central Oklahoma and will begin the next stage of her education in the Fall of 2025.
Emily Crowley will receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a maintained 4.0 GPA. During her time at ECU, Crowley engaged in volunteering and supporting the local community, on campus and beyond. As a sophomore, she joined a local chapter of the American Red Cross and assisted in a number of significant events such as Step out of the Darkness, the Walk to Stomp out Sexual Assault and move-in day. She also volunteered in Sulphur after the spring 2024 tornado caused significant damage to the town.
As a member of the ECU Honors Society, Crowley not only experienced assistance in her education but also utilized this resource to help her local community through other forms of volunteer work, outside of her work with the American Red Cross.
Aside from a wide range of volunteer work, Crowley also completed two undergraduate research projects that were each focused on children and adolescents. The first project analyzed the benefits of animal assisted therapy in a pediatric hospital setting while the other project addressed the use of e-cigarettes in adolescents and the potential long-term effects.
During her time at ECU, Crowley received a number of awards and scholarships for her hard work and dedication, including being named the first prevention ambassador at the ECU Brandon Whitten Institute.
As a student, Crowley served in two externships, one at OU Medical Center and the other at Oklahoma Heart Hospital. Due to these experiences, she has found that her passion lies in pediatric care, a path that she has chosen to pursue long term.
Lindsey DeLaughter will receive her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. During her time at ECU, she has served on the Honors Association Student Leadership Team where she participated in a variety of roles for the ECU Honors Society.
DeLaughter has assisted incoming freshman, given tours to high school seniors and served on the first team of Tiger Ambassadors for Tiger Prep. She has also been a member of the President’s Leadership Class, the Freshmen Business Scholars Program and the leadership team for the Baptist Student Union. In addition to her responsibilities on campus, she also served as a volunteer for Abba’s Table and the Pontotoc Animal Welfare Society.
She received a number of awards and scholarships during her time as a student due to her constant dedication and hard work in the ECU Honors Program. She also served a number of other roles and positions across campus and the local communities.
Due to personal experiences, DeLaughter was inspired to pursue her honor thesis, titled, “Impacts of Attachment Styles on Bereavement and Non-bereavement Grief.” Exploring this topic aided her in discovering her current path after ECU, which will be medical school and a career in medicine.
Cas Northcutt will receive two bachelor’s degrees this Spring, in Political Science and History, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. While attending ECU, Northcutt served with the Honors Leadership Team as an officer, Pi Sigma Alpha as Vice President, and Academic Representative for the ECU Student Government while also serving as a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and Phi Alpha Theta’s ECU branches.
Northcutt has worked across campus, from the Records Office to the Testing and Accessibility Office and currently the Academic Success Center. Outside of campus, Northcutt has also served in a wide range of positions that include an internship in the Archives and Collections Department for the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the National Park Service with the Lewis and Clark National Park and as an intern at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Beyond school, Northcutt has served the local community through volunteer work with Mama T’s Homeless Shelter, Pontotoc Animal Welfare Society, Salvation Army and assisted in the organization of two citywide cleanups in the City of Ada. Northcutt’s contributions to volunteer work and community have not been limited to Ada but also includes opportunities with Northern Arizona University in a variety of capacities.
Northcutt’s plan after graduation is to pursue a career as a professor of History, having been accepted into multiple graduate programs across the nation. As well as a pursuit of community outreach by serving in educational capacities for anyone interested, and not limited to college classes, such as the National Park Service Tent of Many Voices project, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, or George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Saul Padilla will receive his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. During his time at ECU, Padilla was a member of the ECU Honors Program, the Stonecipher School of Business Freshman Scholars program and the Business Leaders Association (BLA).
As a member of the BLA, Padilla participated in the Society for Human Resource Management and Enactus, which allowed him to travel to New York, Minneapolis and Uganda to further his education and experience in his chosen field.
As a member of the ECU Honors Program, Padilla served as the community service coordinator and crowdfunding co-coordinator, a position that saw Padilla oversee the campaign that raised the highest monetary funds in the program’s history. His role as community service coordinator also led Padilla to join the Ada Beautification Committee.
Additionally, Padilla contributed to the rewriting of the Student Government Association’s constitution, was inducted into the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society and Alpha Chi National College Honor Society, represented ECU at the George and Donna Nigh Leadership Academy and was selected as an Economic Club of Oklahoma Scholar, among many other distinguished accomplishments.
As a student, Padilla served two internships with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and will begin his professional career with the institution after graduation. He also intends on furthering his education by earning a Master of Business in Administration, followed by a doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration.
Taylor Spence will receive her Bachelor of Science in Biology while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. During her time at ECU, Spence has engaged in a number of organizations such as ECU Student Athlete Advisory Committee, ECU Pre-Professionals’ Club, ECU Tri-Beta Biology Club and the ECU Student Government, where she served as the Athletic Representative.
Additionally, Spence dedicated much of her time to volunteering for a number of causes and organizations such as Summer Camp mentor for Trinity Baptist Church, ECU vs. SE Canned Food Drive, Youth Softball Coach/Mentor, Tiger Club and a variety of other causes.
During her academic journey, Spence dedicated much of her time to significant research, including, the McNair Scholars Program Research Internship and the Genetics Genomics Education Partnership Research, as well as significant presentations related to her field of study.
Spence graduates with significant awards and acknowledgements from across her time at ECU, such as, Athletic and Scholar-Athlete recognition, memberships to multiple honor societies and a significant number of academic honors and scholarships.
Her current goal after graduation is to attend medical school at Oklahoma State University-College of Medicine, where she has been accepted, and earn her place as a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Her intention is to pursue a residency in family medicine and work with a variety of conditions with limited specialist access, handle acute and chronic care and develop the skills necessary to serve as a primary care physician in a rural area.
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