{"id":6326,"date":"2026-04-15T10:41:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/?p=6326"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:12:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T21:12:57","slug":"ntc-celebrates-outstanding-students-at-annual-achievement-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/15\/ntc-celebrates-outstanding-students-at-annual-achievement-day\/","title":{"rendered":"NTC Celebrates Outstanding Students at Annual Achievement Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

A standing-room-only crowd of Northwest Technical College students and their families were joined by administrators, faculty and staff to celebrate recipients of the college’s 2026 Student Achievement Awards.<\/p>\n

In total, more than 30 students were recognized in categories including awards for perseverance, community engagement and student leadership, an Extraordinary Kindness Award, Outstanding Online Learner and Student Worker of the Year. Students in each of the college’s 13 areas of study were also recognized with program-specific awards for outstanding student and the “GRIT Award” for students who have overcome adversity or challenges to succeed in their academic pursuits.<\/p>\n

NTC President John L. Hoffman made certain to point out the impact that a student’s family has on their academic success by providing support and encouragement. He also gave special thanks to the college’s faculty for their role in student success.<\/p>\n

“This institution is set apart because of the investment of our faculty, the way that they commit to you and your success,” he said to students in attendance. “Behind these awards are the investments by the faculty who saw talent in you that maybe you didn’t see yourself. They are committed to helping you become the best version of yourself.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Ketmani Kouanchao, NTC’s executive vice president and senior academic officer, said the day was her favorite of the academic year.<\/p>\n

“This is my favorite morning of the year because we get to stop and recognize students,” she said. “For our students: what you have accomplished matters. Today is a testament to your commitment and perseverance. We’re immensely proud of you.”<\/p>\n

Recipients of the curricular awards are nominated by faculty in each academic program. Other award recipients could be nominated by any employee or fellow student at the college.<\/p>\n

Curricular Awards<\/h2>\n

ACCOUNTING<\/strong>: Ronnie Bowstring, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Grand Rapids, Minn.<\/p>\n

AUTOMOTIVE<\/strong>: Michael Donahue (pictured)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

BUSINESS<\/strong>: Mara Larson, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Fosston, Minn. … Jessica Smith, GRIT Award; 1st year, Grand Rapids, Minn.<\/p>\n

COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER<\/strong>: Samuel Agbolabori, Outstanding Student Award; Minneapolis, Minn. … Crystal May-Prentice, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Red Lake, Minn.<\/p>\n

CONSTRUCTION ELECTRICAL<\/strong>: Samuel Hudson (pictured, 1st)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn. … Robert Eckwright (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

COSMETOLOGY<\/strong>: Bekah Helweg (pictured, 1st)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Solway, Minn. … Ileisha Guinn (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

DENTAL ASSISTING<\/strong>: Tyrell Jackson (pictured, 1st)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Cass Lake, Minn. … Marquita Jones (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

HEATING, AIR AND REFRIGERATION TECH<\/strong>: Hayden Mack (pictured, 1st<\/strong>), Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn. … Jaden Raynbird (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

MEDICAL CODING<\/strong>: Elissa Wilkowski (pictured)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; Bemidji, Minn. … Logan Dahl, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bagley, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

PLUMBING<\/strong>: Jude Frenzel (pictured, 1st)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; Blackduck, Minn. … Aaron Berg (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

NURSING—PRACTICAL<\/strong>: Josie Sutherland (pictured, 1st)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn. … Mateja Dreyer (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

NURSING—STEP-IN<\/strong>: Danisha Stenson (pictured, 1st)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn. … Ludney Flurinor (pictured, 2nd)<\/strong>, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Miami, Fla.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

NURSING—TRADITIONAL<\/strong>: Riley Donaghue (pictured)<\/strong>, Outstanding Student Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn. … Ashley Gibson, GRIT Award; 2nd year, Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Student Life Awards<\/h2>\n

Community Engagement<\/strong>: Alexander Monson; Community Health Worker, 1st year; Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

Dedicated and Devoted<\/strong>: David Tonce<\/strong>; Heating, Air & Refrigeration Technology and Plumbing; Shevlin, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Demonstrated Diversity<\/strong>: Henry Holmes<\/strong>; Electrical Construction & Maintenance, 1st year; Spring Hill, Fla.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Extraordinary Kindness<\/strong>: Donovan Medina; Automotive Service, 2nd year; Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

Non-Traditional Student<\/strong>: Jeff Tabaka; Electrical Construction & Maintenance, 2nd year; Grand Rapids, Minn.<\/p>\n

NTC Spirit<\/strong>: Dina Mickle; Community Health Worker, 2nd year; Bemidji, Minn.<\/p>\n

Outstanding Online Learner<\/strong>: Jessica Delaney; Accounting, 2nd year; LaPorte, Minn.<\/p>\n

Perseverance<\/strong>: Kelsey Hauck<\/strong>; Nursing—LPN Step-In, 2nd year; Bigfork, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Student Leadership<\/strong>: Aiden Jasin<\/strong>; Electrical Construction & Maintenance, 1st year; Red Wing, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Student Worker of the Year<\/strong>: Dane Danielson<\/strong>; Electrical Construction & Maintenance, 2nd year; Hill City, Minn.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faculty, staff, college leaders, family and friends gathered to recognize student success, service and perseverance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,31,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-success","category-people","category-top-story"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6326"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6329,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6326\/revisions\/6329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ntcmn.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}