2024 Outstanding Senior Awards

In a lively celebration of academic excellence, LAUNCH held their annual Recognition Ceremony on May 8, 2024, in the Memorial Student Center Bethancourt Ballroom. 414 students were applauded for their accomplishments at the university-, college-, and department-level, with many receiving multiple honors distinctions in combination with recognitions of capstone projects and independent theses. Three faculty members were also honored by LAUNCH for their service and support to Honors education. However, four seniors set themselves apart as truly outstanding. LAUNCH is proud to recognize Clayton Elbel, Christopher Barron, Angelina Baltazar, and Kade McAdams for their remarkable tenure at Texas A&M University. Nominated at the college-level and then considered by a special committee assembled by the Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Studies, final awarded are subject to the approval of President Welsh. 

Brown Foundation-Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award 

Established in honor and memory of former Texas A&M President Earl Rudder ‘32, the Brown Foundation supports the public recognition of outstanding graduating seniors each year from Texas A&M University. Award winners are students who rank in the upper quarter of their graduating class, serve in positions of leadership and display the fortitude, humility and willingness to uphold the principles of Texas A&M as President Rudder did during his lifetime. Out of 14 students from eight colleges, the two nominees from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were ultimately selected for this prestigious honor. The 2024 winners are Clayton Elbel ‘24 and Christopher Barron ‘24.

Clayton Elbel ‘24 

An active leader in the Department of Agricultural Economics and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Clayton Elbel has a passion for translating agricultural knowledge into impactful policy initiatives. He has found his calling working with the Farmlink Project, a non-profit that seeks to fight food insecurity by connecting farmers to the American public, and has continued working to tackle this issue through internship roles such as the United States State Department’s UN Delegate to the Food and Agriculture Organization World Food Forum. Along with being recognized as a Phi Kappa Phi Freshman Dean’s Excellence Award winner, Elbel was a finalist for both the Truman and Mitchell National Fellowships. With a “great intellect and boldness to try for a vision that others would dismiss”, as a reference once described him, Elbel is a prime example of Aggie grit making a difference in the world. 

Christopher Barron ‘24  

The recipient of both the 2023 Goldwater Scholarship and 2023 Astronaut National Fellowship alongside an Undergraduate Research Scholar distinction and Sophomore Gathright Dean’s Excellence Award, Christopher Barron is no stranger to success in the research realm. But his explorations on the challenges of climate change and drought on agricultural production have larger implications than simply improving crop production. With a “deep-seated desire and career goal of helping feed the world”, as one reference explained, Barron has devoted himself to using sustainable agriculture to fight food insecurity. Through research internships at Agtegra Cooperative and Corteva Agriscience and as president of the Texas A&M Agronomy Society and the National Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Science, Barron has demonstrated the leadership and vision needed to enact purposeful change. 

Robert M. Gates-Muller Family Outstanding Student Award

Established in 2007 through the support of the Muller Family of Galveston, this award seeks to provide public recognition to an outstanding graduating senior who embodies leadership, patriotism and courage, along with academic excellence and campus involvement. Modeled after and created in honor of former Texas A&M President Gates, recipients of this award must display the admirable personal traits characterized by Dr. Gates, rank academically in the upper one-third of their graduating class, and have displayed a great love for their university during their undergraduate time at Texas A&M. The 2024 winner is Angelina Baltazar ‘24 of the College of Engineering. 

Angelina Baltazar ‘24     

Described as a scholar who asks “deep and original questions” while “focusing with compassion on the common good,” Angelina Baltazar is a well-rounded individual focused on both research and community. A member of University Honors  and Engineering Honors, Baltazar also serves as an Undergraduate Research Ambassador. Her commitment to academic excellence has taken her to summer internships at fellow institutions of higher learning such as the Harvard Cell Institute and the University of California-Berkeley, and resulted in research investigating stem cell therapies in spinal cord injuries. In addition to being recognized as an Undergraduate Research Scholar, she has been recognized as a Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Dean’s Excellence Award winner twice, as a freshman and a sophomore, respectively. She has been honored with the Buck Weirus Spirit Award in recognition of her involvement and guidance in the Student Government Association, particularly as a representative to the Student Success Operations Committee and Hispanic Serving Institution Guiding Committee. A finalist for the Stanford Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, Baltazar continues to model leadership and courage each and every day. 

Class of ‘80 E. King Gill Selfless Service Core Value 

Established in 2019 by the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 1980, the Selfless Service Core Value was created in honor of E. King Gill and his legacy of loyalty, willingness and strong character. The altruistic action of the original Twelfth Man has inspired the Class of ‘80 to not only donate the iconic campus statue of Dr. Gill, but also to create an award that recognizes the continuing spirit of selfless service at Texas A&M University. Eligible students are those who have actively worked to improve the quality of life and promote the welfare of others while displaying a high degree of the core value of selfless service. The 2024 winner is Kade McAdams ‘24 of Mays Business School. 

Kade McAdams ‘24  

There are few other Aggies with the “rare commitment to investing . . . time, skills, and knowledge in the service to the well-being of others” at the level Kade McAdams has. His references describe how McAdams makes “others feel connected and valued”, which is easy to see in his role as a Texas A&M Foundation Maroon Coat, a position founded on the ideals of selfless service and ambassadorship. A powerful combination of the business and medical fields, McAdams has taken on a variety of leadership roles in Mays Business Fellows, Student Government Association, PreMed Society, and Business Honors. For his Business Honors Signature Work, he founded the Seymour Pre-Health Fellows to increase awareness of healthcare careers in a rural, medically underserved community. His interest in accessibility of medical careers inspired a research project on utilizing public libraries as community centers for medical care and preventative health information. A recipient of the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Dean’s Excellence Award, he has repeatedly been recognized for his loyalty and selfless service to Texas A&M. 

For more information regarding university-wide student recognitions, please visit the LAUNCH website.