SDSU's 2023 Quest for the Best Winners Named
Nine students were recognized for their achievements in academics, community service and leadership.
Nine San Diego State University students have received the 2023 Quest for the Best award, recognizing high-achieving SDSU students for outstanding performance in academics and community service.
For more than three decades, the annual Quest for the Best Award Vice Presidential Student Service Award has celebrated student achievement in four key areas: academic excellence, student service and activities, community service and leadership development.
Winners are asked to nominate a faculty or staff member who had a significant and positive impact on their personal growth and development during their time at SDSU.
The 2023 honorees and their respective faculty/staff honorees are:
Mikayla Acosta
Senior, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Giang Pham, CHHS Associate Dean for Research
Wendy Antunez Verbyla
Senior, Child and Family Development; minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Dan Bacon, Lecturer in Child and Family Development
Michelle Hoo
Senior, Biology, with a minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Elizabeth Waters, Coordinator, Evolutionary Biology Doctoral Program, Department of Biology
Jazmyn Horton
Graduate student, Masters of Social Work, SDSU Imperial Valley
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Henry Villegas, SDSU Imperial Valley
Natalie King-Shaw
Senior, double majoring in Psychology and Speech Language and Hearing Sciences; minor in Leadership
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Sonja Pruitt-Lord, CHHS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Danan Pacheco
Senior, Communications; double minor in Weber Honors Interdisciplinary and Creative Writing
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Kurt Kroeber, lecturer, Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Michael Rumfola
Senior, Business Marketing and Sustainability.
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Robyn Adams, Associate Director, New Student and Parent Programs
Joy Moore
Senior, Interdisciplinary Studies: Journalism, Psychology and Africana Studies; minor in Counseling and Social Change.
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Idara Essien-Wood, Assistant Professor, Child and Family Development
Sandy Mekany
Senior, Political Science; minor in Sociology and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies.
Faculty/Staff Honoree: Christina Brown, executive director of Associated Students
