UNI’s Alumni Association is set to host the 2022 GOLD & Bold Alumni Awards this Thursday, Oct. 27, in the Maucker Union Ballrooms. The GOLD & Bold Awards seek to recognize “Panther innovators, entrepreneurs, leaders and changemakers,” specifically, graduates of the last decade. The award recipients will receive their award at the award presentation, as well as deliver a TED-talk style speech with advice for current UNI students. 

The first award recipient is Hasina Jalal, a 2021 graduate of UNI. According to the Alumni Association, Jalal is “a graduate of the Women and Gender Studies master’s program as a Fulbright Scholar and is a current Ph.D. scholar in Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.” Jalal continues her impact outside of her academic achievements. “She is the founding director of the National Association of Afghanistan Civil Society and the co-founder of the Afghanistan Women Empowerment and Capacity Building Center and the South Asian Women’s Coalition for Cooperation,” wrote the Alumni Association. Jalal’s success in her academic career and her services to Afghanistan women make her GOLD & Bold. 

The second award recipient is Russel Karim, a 2015 graduate of UNI. According to the Alumni Association, Karim is “a 2015 computer science graduate. He is the Founder of Dhakai, Inc. which connects business owners with sustainable and ethical clothing manufacturers. As a UNI student, he founded Solverpedia.com—a scholarly version of Ask.com and  4Axiz—a mobile app and software development company responsible for creating the mobile app for the UNI Traditions Challenge.” Karim’s success in the Cedar Valley doesn’t just stop after his time at UNI. The Alumni Association continues, “Following graduation, Russel began working at UNI, co-founded FanFood—an express concessions service, and founded Cedar Valley Food Runner—a food delivery service for local restaurants.” Karim’s impact in and around the Cedar Valley, as well as his entrepreneurial ventures, are what make him GOLD & Bold.

The third and final GOLD & Bold Award recipient is Trevor Rayhons, a 2018 graduate of UNI. According to the Alumni Association, Rayhons is “a 2018 Public Relations and Business Communications graduate. Trevor is a Manager of Digital Communications at Pfizer where he supports the development of social media campaigns, video content and blog posts at Pfizer. Outside work, Trevor has served on the Howard Brown Health and Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) boards and currently serves on the UNI Alumni Association board.” Rayhons’s success at Pfizer and service to UNI makes him a GOLD & Bold alumni. 

The awards ceremony will be held this Thursday, Oct. 27, in the Maucker Union Ballrooms. The dessert reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the awards program to follow. Students are encouraged to register to hear advice from the award recipients. Registration can be found at https://www.adv.uni.edu/alumassoc/events/eventform.aspx?EventKey=1056&Event=AL%20YA2210&Type=STATNC or by scanning the QR code. The Alumni Association hopes to see you there!