Southeast Missouri State University

Nathan Anderson of Festus, Missouri, and Sophie Martin of Perryville, Missouri, were named Southeast Missouri State University's 2025 Man and Woman of the Year during halftime of the Homecoming football game on October 18. The award recognizes outstanding student leaders who excel academically, contribute to campus life, and demonstrate a strong commitment to community service. Anderson is a double major in music and musical theatre sponsored by the University's Marching Band. Martin is a psychology major sponsored by Student Government Association.

Southeast Missouri State University recognized outstanding student leaders, organizations, advisors and mentors during its annual Student Life and Leadership Awards celebration, honoring those who made meaningful contributions to campus life through leadership, service, involvement and experiential learning. Awards included the President's Spirit of Southeast, First Year Student, Civic and Global Engagement, Student Life Achievement, University Contributor, Outstanding Student Organization, Outstanding Student Organization Advisor and Experiential Learning across each academic college. The annual recognition highlights how student leadership, service and hands-on learning prepare graduates to make an impact both on campus and beyond.

Southeast Missouri State University recognized outstanding faculty, staff and student mentors during its 2026 Excellence in Advising, Student Success, and Teaching Celebration on April 21. The event honored individuals and departments for excellence in academic advising, teaching, mentorship, research support and student success initiatives, highlighting SEMO's commitment to student learning and career readiness through strong support systems both inside and outside the classroom.

Ten Southeast Missouri State University students have been named finalists for the 2025 Man and Woman of the Year awards, which recognize outstanding student leaders who exemplify academic excellence, campus involvement and community service. Sponsored by various campus organizations, the finalists include Lainey Canning, Sarah Chapman, Sophie Martin, Maddie Robinson, and Sophia Ruffatto for Woman of the Year, and Nathan Anderson, Grant Breece, Romell Johnson, Logan Pruitt and Drew Roth for Man of the Year. The winners will be announced during SEMO's Homecoming game on Saturday, October 18.

At Southeast Missouri State University, students in the historic preservation program gain immersive, hands-on experience that goes beyond the classroom to make real-world impacts. Through partnerships with local organizations like Old Town Cape and the Cape Girardeau County History Center, students work on meaningful projects such as preserving historic cemeteries, assisting museums and nominating buildings for the National Register of Historic Places. These efforts help students shape their future careers while contributing to their communities. SEMO's historic preservation program offers a unique, community-centered learning experience for students passionate about history and storytelling.

Southeast Missouri State University student Calyn Hartmann is pursuing two ambitious degrees-professional pilot and biomedical sciences-with plans to graduate in 2026. After starting in biomedical sciences, her love of travel inspired her to add aviation in 2023, a decision encouraged by SEMO's Director of Aviation, Miranda Sullivan. Balancing flight lessons, labs, and summer coursework while also working as a teaching assistant and at a veterinary office, Hartmann credits her work ethic and support network for helping her succeed. Faculty describe her as driven and exceptional. Hartmann hopes to fly professionally before possibly returning to medical school.

Southeast Missouri State University senior Andrew Behrmann, recently told the University's Board of Regents that Southeast's programs and faculty have given him the professional experiences, knowledge and leadership skills for launching his career.

This spring semester, Southeast students collaborated to help preserve and determine the future of a 100-year-old building located at 101 William St. in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Southeast Missouri State University highlighted its first-generation college students Nov. 8 during National First-Generation College Celebration Day.

Four female Southeast Missouri State University students joined student representatives from 22 universities and institutions across the United States at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Women in Economics Symposium Feb. 27 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Five Southeast Missouri State University students were among 98 college students who participated in the 33rd Annual Missouri Governor's Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values Feb. 14-16 in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Art and history students at Southeast Missouri State University this semester are helping select items for the medieval teaching collection in Kent Library's Rare Book Room.

Eight Southeast students recently spent a Saturday in the Rhodes Hall Geoscience Lab cleaning, gluing and preserving dinosaur fossils they collected in the Hell Creek Formation of the Mesozoic Era near Jordan, Montana, last July. The group reunited with the Adventure 360-Paleo X Adventure Team of Fenton, Missouri, who teamed up last summer to prospect for dinosaur fossils.

Seventeen Southeast Missouri State University education students recently collaborated with the historic Glenn House and Clippard Elementary to create a multi-disciplined learning immersion experience for Cape Girardeau fourth-grade students.

Southeast Missouri State University's Student Missouri State Teachers Association (SMSTA) was recently honored with the SMSTA Service Project of the Year award during the 2019 Missouri State Teachers Association conference. Southeast's SMSTA was recognized for a literacy walk project to promote literacy and the joy of reading at Jefferson Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Eighteen graduate students and five faculty supervisors from Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Communication Disorders recently provided hearing, speech and language screenings to 110 students in kindergarten through second grade at the Lift for Life Academy in St. Louis, Missouri.

Southeast Missouri State University has announced its 2019 Homecoming winners, including Man and Woman of the Year, overall and float winners. Justin Jacobs, a senior from Barnhart, Missouri, and Francesca Bucci, a senior from Gurnee, Illinois, were crowned the 2019 Man and Woman of the Year at halftime of the Southeast Homecoming football game on Saturday, Oct. 26, on Houck Field.

Students in Southeast Missouri State University's hospitality management program have created the University's first hot sauce - being marketed as Hawk Sauce - a fiery condiment heating up the campus and local community.

Eight Southeast Missouri State University students recently took a 12-day adventure trip to Buena Vista, Colorado, to explore interpersonal skills and self-discipline while rock climbing, whitewater rafting, backpacking and mountaineering.

Two Southeast Missouri State University students and a recent Southeast graduate piloted a 16-week TG Missouri Leadership Program this spring at Toyoda Gosei (TG Missouri) in Perryville, Missouri, as part of the industry's TG University.

Six female Southeast Missouri State University undergraduate economics students joined other female students of economics at the "Economics and Women" colloquium Oct. 18 at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The students are members of Southeast's Women in Economics organization and traveled to the colloquium with their faculty advisor Dr. Natallia Gray, associate professor of economics.

Southeast Missouri State University junior Shaquira Blackman of St. Louis, Missouri, told the Southeast Board of Regents on May 10 that the personal support and caring community at Southeast have helped her to discover her career path and instill self-confidence.

Rebecca Gangemella, a dance and multimedia journalism double major at Southeast Missouri State University, has been named a finalist for the Sports Video Group (SVG) and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) 2019 College Sports Media Award.

Senior nursing students in the "Introduction to Critical Care" course at Southeast Missouri State University have spent the spring semester piloting a first-of-its-kind online program on tissue and organ donation. The initiative, "Organ and Tissue Donor Education for Undergraduate Nursing Students," is made possible thanks to a generous grant awarded to Southeast Missouri State University by Mid-America Transplant (MT) in St. Louis, Missouri, the first organization in the world to have a retrieval center for organ and tissue donation.

136 Southeast Missouri State University students will present 92 research projects at the annual Student Research Conference April 17-18. The conference encourages research by undergraduate and graduate students in all academic disciplines and provides a setting to present their work in a professional manner.

Thirteen Southeast Missouri State University students recently participated in a Geophysics in Archaeology Workshop to uncover clues about life in pre-Columbia Mississippian culture in southeast Missouri.

Six female Southeast Missouri State University economics students joined other undergraduate female students of economics at the Second Annual Women in Economics Symposium Feb. 28 at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Southeast Missouri State University senior Mary Ramey recently told the University's Board of Regents that Southeast's faculty and programs have given her professional experiences and a solid foundation for launching her future career.

The Cape Central High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) Cyber Patriot Team has made an impressive showing in its inaugural year by winning the Missouri state competition title in cyber defense with training from Southeast Missouri State University cybersecurity students.

Southeast Elementary Education Program in Poplar Bluff Preparing Future Teachers.