Eighteen University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students were honored last month with the James H. Albertson Medallion, the highest recognition of student achievement at the university.
Named in memory of the eighth UW-Stevens Point president, who died in a 1967 plane crash in South Vietnam while on an academic mission, the Albertson Medallion acknowledges excellence in graduating students’ leadership, academics and extracurricular activities.
Winners, who also are Chancellor’s Leadership Award honorees, are chosen through a nomination process that involves student organizations and faculty members. Less than one percent of each year’s graduating class earns the honor.
Area student who received the Albertson Medallion is Rachel (Ballweg) Rutledge of Cassville graduated in May with majors in pre-physician’s assistant studies and dietetics. A graduate of Cassville Senior High School, she resides in Stevens Point with her husband, Ryan Rutledge. An honors student, she served as president of Phi Eta Sigma honor society and was a member of the Student Association of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Pre-Med and Allied Health Society and Student Health Advisory Committee. She volunteered at campus blood drives, Central Rivers Farmshed, the Community Weight Race and the Boys and Girls Club.  She also worked as a student assistant and tutor for the UW-Stevens Point School of Health Promotion and Human Development and Residential Living. Rutledge gave presentations about nutrition to community members and school children in Wood County.