Lauren Griffith Named 2023 Mansfield Outstanding Senior

MANSFIELD, Pa. – Lauren Griffith was named the 2023 Outstanding Senior during Commonwealth University-Mansfield’s 158th Commencement this spring.

Seniors whose activities and accomplishments have brought recognition to themselves and to Mansfield may be nominated for the Outstanding Senior Award. The award is presented annually at commencement, and the recipient is chosen by members of a faculty-student Award Selection Committee, who review nominations from the various departments.

To be nominated, the student must be a graduating senior of the current academic year, have at least a 3.0 grade point average, and have shown exemplary leadership and service to Mansfield and the surrounding region. Nine students were nominated for the 2023 award.

Griffith, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, graduated cum laude with a degree in biology and a concentration in cell and molecular biology with a minor in graphic design. She has served as vice president and president of the Future Healthcare Professionals Club, a Student Government Association representative, a member of the Black Student Union and the women’s basketball team and an inaugural American Cancer Society ResearcHERs junior ambassador.

She has been involved in research that focuses on how the gut microbiome impacts tumor development and spread in Dr. Kristen Long’s research lab, and she has been awarded a NASA Space Consortium Grant Scholarship and support from the NIH/NIDDK STEP-UP Program for her research.

“Lauren is the poster child of how a student can thrive at a small, supportive university like Mansfield,” Long wrote in her nomination letter. “And Lauren has grown to embody Mansfield’s core values of character, scholarship, culture, and service.

Griffith plans to continue pursuing her career in research and exploring biomedicine by attending a doctorate program in biological and biomedical sciences at UNC Chapel Hill this fall.

Nominees for the 2023 Outstanding Senior Award included:

• Savannah Snyder (Nutrition)
• Ashleigh Southard (Social Work)
• Mariah Pino (Psychology)
• Patrick Murphy (Music)
• Micah Yoder (Chemistry)
• Felicia Saar (Criminal Justice)
• Amanda Rutledge (Art)
• Kaitlyn Orcutt (English)