CANYON, Texas — An undergraduate responsible for welcoming more than 1,000 new Buffs and a graduate student who played a critical role in restarting the University’s livestock judging teams were honored April 1 as the top student employees of the year at West Texas A&M University.

Caden Bonilla, a senior biology major from Amarillo, was named 2024 Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year in recognition of his role as student director of New Student Orientations.

Zane Platter, a graduate student in animal science from Canton, South Dakota, was named 2024 Graduate Student Employee of the Year honoring his work throughout the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences , especially with livestock judging and meat animal evaluation teams.

“Today’s Student Employee of the Year awards are a shining example of how values make a difference,” WT President Walter V. Wendler said in prepared remarks. “Each student nominated for today’s awards embody the value of rugged individualism—the drive and determination to make your own way forward by working while you get your education. Yes, there are many people supporting you and encouraging you. But you are investing in yourself by helping make your own way through working while studying.”

Bonilla, who also was named winner of the Critical Thinking Award, was nominated by Amanda Lawson, senior director for orientation and academic success.

As student director of NSOs, Bonilla “hosted sessions, setup/tore down sessions, served as the main point of contact for peer leaders during NSO and assisted future students with issues as they arose,” Lawson wrote in her nomination form. “Caden was able to manage his time and efforts to seamlessly coordinate the student side of NSO while still being available to handle student issues.”

Bonilla ran eight NSOs, coordinating with 35 departments and 200 incoming students in each of them.

“He was able to accomplish this … in an environment that would overwhelm most student employees and many professionals,” Lawson wrote. “He did all this while maintaining a cheerful and serving attitude to our campus partners, new students and their family members.”

“I’m extremely honored,” Bonilla said, “to be recognized for what I thought was just simple service in providing a welcoming environment for the new Buffs.”

In addition to being the “go-to graduate student to give a meat lab tour (and) teach a lab, Platter was integral to the growth and success of critical animal judging teams,” wrote Dr. Loni Lucherk, WT’s Gordon W. Davis Endowed Chair in Meat Judging.

“Zane does the dirty work with little reward or credit,” Lucherk wrote. “We recognized quickly Zane had strengths in an area where we were weak, and he stepped up to help coach the teams and teach many of the classes that pertain to meat and livestock evaluation.

“I have no doubt Zane will be an asset to the meat industry for years to come,” Lucherk continued. “I have been lucky to watch him grow into an intelligent young man over the past couple years.”

“Hopefully,” Platter said, “this means that what I’ve done for our College and the University as a whole hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Thirty-four student employees at WT were nominated by their supervisors. In all, WT boasts more than 1,200 student employees in nearly every division, unit, college and department of the University. In addition to the top two awards, students were eligible for consideration in six other categories.

Other award winners included:

• Career and Self Development Award: Charlee Jones, a senior general business major from Penrose, Colorado;
• Communication Award: Brady Wilson, a sophomore agriculture media and communication major from New Waverly;
• Innovation and Technology Award: Spencer Keys, a junior finance major from Lubbock;
• Leadership Award: Macy Willis, a graduate counseling student from Cañon City, Colorado; and
• Teamwork Award: Sydney Landers, a sophomore agribusiness major from Guymon, Oklahoma.

Other nominees included:

Julie Avila, a junior nursing major from Stratford; Elizabeth Bierman, a senior animal science major from Manzanola, Colorado; Braden Carleton, a senior history major from Amarillo; Megan Cordry, a senior animal science major from Clyde; Gahimbare Derick, a senior civil engineering major from Amarillo; Kennedy Fritzler, a senior biology major from Rule; Christian Guerrero, a graduate student in instructional design and technology from Hereford; Anna Holcomb, a junior psychology major from Amarillo; Aditya “A.J.” Jagdale, a graduate computer information systems and business analytics student from India; Benjamin M. Lance, a junior history major from Levelland; Braden Lefevre, a graduate music performance student from Canyon; Madelynn Luckey, a graduate communication student from Conroe; Jessica Merrell, a senior general studies major from Wildorado; Luis Martinez, a junior general business major from Pampa; Eryck Mendoza, a junior computer information systems major from Stratford; Jordon Muller, a sophomore wildlife biology major from Westbrook; Gracie Oates, a senior agriculture media and communication major from Paradise; Jennifer Ofili, a graduate environmental sciences student from Nigeria; Daniela Pesic, a graduate finance and economics major from Croatia; Ava Pluchino, a sophomore agricultural business and economics major from Stratford; Brooke Richards, a senior public relations, advertising and applied communication major from Manistee, Michigan; Albert Spencer, a junior computer information systems major from Claude; Harleigh Tyk, a junior health sciences major from Amarillo; Cole Verret, a senior animal science major from Grapeland; Kendra White, a senior plant, soil and environmental sciences major from Lamesa; Kami Woodman, a senior digital communication and media major from Channing; and Guy Wright, a junior agribusiness major from Bayfield, Colorado.

Recruiting, retaining and rewarding the best students is a key principle of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World .

That plan is fueled by the historic  One West  comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.