SPS students and faculty recognized in annual awards

The recipients of this year’s awards for outstanding School of Professional Studies (SPS) students and faculty were announced as part of Clark University’s Commencement celebrations.

The newest members of the Alpha Epsilon Lambda Graduate Honor Society were inducted at the ceremony, and the full member list is available below.

Kelly Burns, MPA ’26 was recognized with the Fern Johnson Award, which is given annually to an Accelerated Degree Program student who has excelled in academics and who has also positively influenced their community.

Rishabh Sethi MSDA ’26 received the Laura Myers Community Service Award, which is given to a graduate student who has made significant contributions to the local community through their time, actions, talents, and dedication.

Faculty Awards Recipients

Alex Jackson, MFA Visual Arts earned the Fiat Lux Award, which honors an up-and-coming faculty member who embraces new ideas and approaches to teaching.

Alex Jackson

Alex Jackson has a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MFA from Yale University. He has exhibited at institutions including Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Elmhurst Art Museum, and Chazen Museum of Art.

His artwork has been reviewed in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and New American Paintings.

Jackson has attended residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Yale Norfolk, and the Royal Drawing School at Dumfries House in the UK. Jackson’s works are in the collections of the de Young Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem and Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Lilo Altali (MSPM, MSIT, MPA) was recognized with the Jonas Gilman Clark Award, which is awarded to a seasoned faculty member for effectiveness and creativity in teaching.

Lilo Lilo Altali is an award-winning product innovator and faculty member who teaches Product Development and Project Management. Known for his hands-on teaching style, he brings learning to life through games, LEGO, role-play, and simulations that push students to think critically and build in real time. His classes emphasize experimentation, decision-making, and the ability to turn ideas into tangible outcomes. Outside the classroom, Lilo serves as Director of Innovation and Product Design at MVP Health Care, where he leads the development of new healthcare products and strategies. He has developed innovation processes for nonprofit organizations such as Ceres, Mill City Grows, and Public Equity Group. Previously, he was an Assistant Teaching Professor and Program Lead at Northeastern University and designed an MBA concentration in innovation at Nichols College. He has shared his work across the U.S. and internationally, including in Australia, Portugal, India, and Italy. Lilo holds a PhD from the University of Massachusetts and is passionate about helping students build, test, and refine ideas in practice.

Mary Piecewicz (MPA, MSPM, SPS UG) received the Semita Vitae (Path of Life) Award, which recognizes an instructor who has proven to be an extraordinarily conscientious, supportive, and inspiring mentor to advisees.

Mary Mary joined Clark University School of Professional Studies as an adjunct faculty member in 2010. She has over 25 years of experience in the high-tech industry as a senior manager in the areas of global operations, policy and people management. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Boston College, an MBA from Babson and a Master of Professional Communication from Clark. A certified Project Manager and Certified Quality Six Sigma instructor, she has worked closely with global and regional teams on corporate wide compliance projects. In 2015 she joined the School of Professional Studies fulltime and held positions as the Program Lead for Professional Leadership and the Masters of Public Administration program. Mary became an Associate Dean in the School of Professional Studies in 2018 and retired in 2021. Currently, she is a Professor of Practice and Director of the MPA and MPA Senior Leadership Programs and the MS Program Management program. Also, Mary donates her time to the Worcester Mustard Seed program and participates on local civic committees.

Award Recipients

MPA

Jessica Aguirre, Hunvilla Agyemang, Emmanuel Asante, Britt Axelson, Hannah Baker, Samuel Bazer, Kelly Burns, Raymond Davis, Melissa DeFabritiis, Anthony Fantin, Jennifer Krulisz-Hossain, Sophia Lindstrom, Ailyn Rodriguez, Isabel Safar, Ashley Valois

MSC

Ellen Anderson, Lauren Conti, Livia Dion, Katherine Galvinhill, Andrada-Maria Ghimpu, Lydia Hazzard-Leal, Luca Houtsmuller, AJ Orringer, Allison Rinehart, Maria Dorotea Diah Stevianita, Daniella Zoller

MSCS

Lawrence Darko Baah, Poorna Chandra Dinesh, Aakansha Gautam, Nabin Paudyal, Jahnavi Kandoji Rao, Mohammad Zorif Tahasildar

MSDA

Ugochukwu Azubuine, Van Huy Nguyen, Nidhi Bhadreshkumar Patel

MSIT

Ruth Seyoum

MSPM

Sakshi Gupta

MSSEA

Mark Goudge

Outstanding performance SPS Undergraduate

Eunice Artey, Biotechnology

Christopher Barry, Communication

Alpha Epsilon Lambda

Jessica Aguirre, Hunvilla Agyemang, Ellen Anderson, Emmanuel Asante, Britt Axelson, Ugochukwu Azubuine, Lawrence Darko Baah, Hannah Baker, Samuel Bazer, Kelly Burns, Lauren Conti, Raymond Davis, Melissa DeFabritiis, Poorna Chandra Dinesh, Livia Dion, Anthony Fantin, Katherine Galvinhill, Aakansha Gautam, Andrada-Maria Ghimpu, Mark Goudge, Lydia Hazzard-Leal, Francisco Hernandez, Luca Houtsmuller, Abbas Ibrahim, Sage Johnson, Riya Joshi, Naga Nitin Korlepara, Jennifer Krulisz-Hossain, Wanjing Li, Sophia Lindstrom, Tajie McLeod, Sailatha Mekala, Narendra Babu Nagulapati, Van Huy Nguyen, AJ Orringer, Nidhi Bhadreshkumar Patel, Nabin Paudyal, Muninder Puppala, Jahnavi Kandoji Rao, Allison Rinehart, Ailyn Rodriguez, Isabel Safar, Ruth Seyoum, Maria Dorotea Diah Stevianita, Mohammad Zorif Tahasildar, Ashley Valois, Daniella Zoller

Alpha Sigma Lambda, SPS UG Honor Society: Eunice Artey