MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Oregon University announces the 2026 Outstanding Graduate Undergraduate Awards recipients. The students will be recognized at the commencement ceremony on June 13, where they will have the opportunity to give a short speech.
Below are the 2026 Outstanding Student Award recipients
Ashley Radmer, Undergraduate Outstanding Student Award recipient
Ashley Radmer, from Sutherlin, Ore, is graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in chemistry and has maintained top academic honors during her time at Western, being named to the President’s List and Dean’s Honor Roll every term since she started in 2022.
Radmer’s academic excellence is matched by her leadership as President of both Ackerman Hall Government and the Natural Science Club. In addition, she has also been a part of the Psychology and Pre-Med clubs and was honored with the Principles of Biology Achievement Award in 2024 and recognized as the University Housing RSC Desk Assistant of the Year in 2025. Beyond campus, she is a co-owner of her family’s goat business and has served her community through 4-H, the National Marrow Donor Program, and other community volunteer efforts.
Combining her medical background with years of experience in the livestock industry, Radmer’s honors thesis project, “From Hoof to Horns: A Guide to Everything Goat,” involved creating a YouTube channel that provides accessible, science-based care standards for the nation’s growing population of goat owners and youth goat programs.
This fall, Radmer will be attending Des Moines University to pursue a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree, with the ultimate goal of becoming a foot and ankle surgeon.
Faith Howle, Undergraduate Outstanding Student Award recipient
Faith Howle, from Albany, Ore, is a first-generation college student, graduating with a criminal justice degree with a minor in forensic anthropology.. Howle has maintained excellent academic performance throughout her college career, landing her on the Dean’s Honor Roll List regularly, and has been the recipient of several academic scholarships.
Howle is a dedicated student leader with a distinguished record of academic excellence and a deep commitment to campus-based prevention education. During her tenure at Abby’s House (Center for Gender and Justice), she spearheaded numerous initiatives to develop and promote violence prevention programming across campus. Notably, she collaborated with Liberty House to design and facilitate a Child Abuse Prevention certification workshop for students and community members.
Currently, she is developing comprehensive, population-specific Survivor Support Guides that provide survivors of sexual assault with vital resources on trauma, coping mechanisms, and reporting options. Through her collaborative work with the Stonewall Center at Abby’s House and Fostering Success, Howle remains a steadfast advocate for gender equity and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
During her internship with Fostering Success, she conducted an in-depth study titled “The intersection between America’s foster care system & criminal justice contact,” examining the correlation between foster care experiences and future criminal justice contact. Her findings highlighted the critical need for trauma-informed interventions within the Oregon child welfare system. She presented this work last June, offering a strategic framework for using higher education as a primary tool for building social bonds and self-sufficiency.
After graduation, Howle plans to get a job focusing on violence prevention and survivor support.
Aubree Reese, Outstanding Graduate Student Award recipient
Originally from Arizona, Aubree Reese is graduating with her Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies: Theory. She also earned her Bachelor of Science in Interpreting Studies: Theory from Western in 2024. Reese chose to attend Western for its nationally recognized American Sign Language and interpreting program and for the opportunity to engage more deeply with Oregon’s Deaf community. Throughout her academic career, Reese has demonstrated a strong commitment to professional development, research, and community engagement within the interpreting field and is also a registered member of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
During graduate school, she served as a Graduate Research Assistant for Western’s Deaf Studies and Professional Studies department, a competitive position that supported both faculty research initiatives and project organization. She has also completed 575 hours of field experience as an interpreter working across a variety of professional settings, including community, performing arts, religious, media, and DeafBlind environments.
In addition to her professional work, she previously served as both an American Sign Language Tutor and a Peer Academic Coach at Western, mentoring students in language development, study strategies, and academic success. She has contributed over 300 volunteer hours supporting DeafBlind and Protactile initiatives, including work with organizations such as the PT House, PLI, and fundraising efforts that helped support DeafBlind summer programming at Seabeck, where her team collectively raised over $7,000.
Reese has also held leadership roles within Western’s ASL Club, organizing its 30th-anniversary celebration and contributing to the club receiving Club of the Year recognition at the Wolf Awards. After graduation, she hopes to provide high-quality interpreting services in post-secondary education and video relay services, and eventually in mental health settings.
Jennifer Gage, OHSU Outstanding Student Award recipient
Originally from Spokane, Wash., Jennifer Gage has worked in health care since high school, where she started out as a CNA. She’s also worked as a 911 call receiver, traveled the world with her husband during his military service, and explored several other careers, but ultimately felt drawn back to nursing. So, while raising three children, she started nursing school, which has required a delicate balancing act, but her children have taught her resilience, adaptability, the importance of perseverance, and reinforced that nursing is the path she’s meant to pursue. After graduation, Gage plans to continue working at the bedside at Salem Health as a Float Pool Nurse and is excited for the opportunity to work across a variety of units throughout the hospital and continue learning from different patient populations and care settings.
Gage learned a great deal from her clinical rotations, and she particularly enjoyed the Emergency Department clinical rotation, because she loves the fast-paced environment and the opportunity to learn something new every day. She also had clinical experiences that stood out because of incredible preceptors who truly enjoyed teaching, especially in labor & delivery, and a local home health agency. Other rotations challenged her in meaningful ways and gave her a new perspective, particularly working with patients experiencing houselessness and mental health challenges.
Gage shares that the OHSU nursing program is special to her because of the amount of support they give to their students. She’s also very thankful to be in a cohort that is very close and supportive of each other and adds that she would not be where she is today without the support, encouragement, and teamwork of her classmates.
She is a wife and mother of three children, ages 13, 9, and 7. Throughout nursing school, she worked part-time as an inpatient phlebotomist at Salem Health.
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About Western Oregon University
Western Oregon University, established in Monmouth in 1856, proudly stands as Oregon’s oldest public university. Hosting around 4,000 students, Western embodies a mid-sized, NCAA Division II institution, with approximately 80% of its students hailing from within the state. Notably, its diverse student body comprises individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, veterans, and non-traditional learners. Western stands as the preferred campus in Oregon for those pursuing an enriching education within a nurturing, student-focused environment, characterized by faculty-led instruction. WhereYOU belong.