Dan Bolin Undergraduate Student Awards

The Dan Bolin Award is presented to outstanding undergraduate students who are juniors in the College of Natural Science in recognition of their leadership qualities, community service and academic abilities. The award is named in memory of former College of Natural Science student Dan Bolin.

Recipients are chosen by the NatSci Student Advisory Council from nominations submitted by students in NatSci. Awards are presented at the annual alumni awards held in conjunction with Classes Without Quizzes.

The Dan Bolin award recipients receive a one-time stipend funded by the NatSci AA Endowed Scholarship Fund. Your gift to this fund will enable the NatSci to grow the scholarship amount granted to future award winners.

2018 Dan Bolin Undergraduate Awards

Jessica Declercq, human biology

Jessica Declercq came to Michigan State from Shelby Township, Mich., and is a human biology major with a minor in sociology. Declercq is a member of the MSU Honors College, Alpha Chi Sigma Fraternity and Pi Beta Phi Sorority. She played soccer throughout high school and continues to play on intramural teams at MSU. Declercq is also a member of ASMSU’s Junior Class Council, MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program and the club No Lost Generation MSU, a group that focuses on raising awareness about refugees, and fundraises to aid with related crises in the Lansing area and around the world. She volunteers at Sparrow Hospital in the Emergency Department and for the Refugee Development Center as an English as a Second Language tutor while also working as a research assistant for MSU/Sparrow Hospital’s Center for Innovation and Research. Last summer, Declercq had the opportunity to intern at two refugee camps in Greece through an MSU Study Abroad program. She co-authored an article, “Wearable Activity Trackers and Older Adults: The Social Effect and Importance in Healthcare,” which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Declercq plans to attend medical school and then work in underserved populations as an emergency medicine physician. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester and has maintained a 3.95 GPA.

Collin Brooks, neuroscience

Collin Brooks came to Michigan State from Lake Orion, Mich., and is a neuroscience major with an additional major in human biology. Brooks serves as a Dean’s Ambassador for the MSU Honors College and is a member of many organizations, including MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program, Psi Upsilon Fraternity and MSU Interfraternity Council, where he previously served as executive vice president. He has received a number of special awards and honors, including the Albert C. Jacobs Award from Psi Upsilon Fraternity and the William A. Sells Endowed Scholarship from the College of Natural Science. From MSU’s Honors College, he has received the Jeffrey Cole Excellence Award and is an Honors Research Scholar. Brooks has worked as a medical scribe in hospitals and as an undergraduate teaching assistant for chemistry, as well as an education assistant for the biological science program at MSU. He has a strong interest in research and has worked as a
research assistant at multiple labs on campus, including the Arguello Lab, the Sleep and Learning Laboratory and the Cognitive Imaging Research Center. His research work has led him to co-author a publication titled “Gastric Glomus Tumor.” Brooks also spends his time volunteering at Beaumont Hospital in Detroit, Mich., and has volunteered as a mentor for elementary students and as a forensic pathology volunteer at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich. In addition to all of these accomplishments, Brooks became an FAA-certified private pilot in August 2017. He has been on the Dean’s List every semester and maintains a 3.93 GPA.

Caleb Sokolowski, human biology

Caleb Sokolowski came to Michigan State from Commerce Township, Mich., and is a human biology major with minors in bioethics and health promotion. Sokolowski is a member of the MSU Honors College and the Spartan Weightlifting Club, and is involved in intramural sports on campus including football, volleyball and soccer. He also belongs to MSU’s Osteopathic Medical Scholars Program and MSU Pre-SOMA—the pre-osteopathic medicine club. Awards he has received include the Cole Excellence Scholarship from the Honors College and the Michigan Competitive Scholarship. Sokolowski works as an undergraduate teaching assistant and is a private tutor for chemistry. He has also volunteered at hospitals and the Health Behaviors and Cognition Research Lab at MSU in the Department of Kinesiology. In addition to his work and commitments here, Sokolowski has gone on multiple mission trips to Kentucky, El Salvador and Haiti to help impoverished communities. After taking the MCAT this semester, he plans to apply to medical schools this summer. Sokolowski has been on the Dean’s List every semester and maintains a 4.0 GPA.

Ryan Griffin, physiology

Ryan Griffin comes to Michigan State from Macomb, Mich., and is a physiology major. Griffin is a member of MSU Tower Guard and previously served on its executive board. Tower Guard is an organization at MSU that helps to serve the needs of visually impaired students. Members are selectively chosen from the top five percent of the freshman class. Griffin has spent his time at MSU working as an undergraduate assistant and for MSU’s Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) as a braille assistant and STATE program tutor. His responsibilities while working at RCPD
include: transcribing notes, exams and graphs into braille for visually impaired students; finding ways to create the same learning experience for all students; and providing tutoring to help students succeed. Due to his hard work and service, he received the Outstanding Volunteer Award from RCPD. Griffin also spends his time volunteering at McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital and as a crisis counselor at the Listening Ear. He has been a co-author on a number of published abstracts, as well
as manuscripts currently in the publication process. Griffin spends much of his time in the lab, and this has pushed him to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. degree after completing his undergraduate degree in physiology. He has been on the Dean’s List every semester and maintains a 4.0 GPA.