Four Bearcats Receive Senior Keys or Senior Certificates

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Four Willamette University student-athletes have received special senior awards for the 2020-21 academic year. Senior Certificates went to Sarah Dean (Sr., Boise, ID/Timberline HS) from women's tennis and to Lacey Jones (Sr., F, Portland, OR/David Douglas HS) from women's soccer. Senior Keys were earned by Grasiela Quevedo-Ramos (Sr., GK, Salem, OR/West Salem HS) from women's soccer and by Cameron Taggesell (Sr., Sonoma, CA/Sonoma Valley HS) from women's swimming. 

Senior Certificates are presented to members of the senior class who have contributed "Service to the Associated Students." Recipients are selected based on their time and effort spent supporting Willamette, as well as the diversity of their activities and the impact they have had on other students.

Dean received her Senior Certificate for a variety of accomplishments. She was a leader on the women's tennis team and also participated as an Opening Days leader. She led the WU Votes initiative during the 2020 election and participated in community service learning.

"Sarah was the driving force of the WU Votes initiative," Associate AD/Senior Woman Administrator Leslie Shevlin said. "She worked tirelessly to engage staff, faculty, and students to get out and vote. She has encouraged our younger students to continue to educate their future classmates. Her passion for public service and her ability to influence people to act was inspiring. All of this, combined with her service to our community and her commitment to our tennis program make her deserving of a Senior Certificate."

"I am so happy for Sarah and not surprised with this honor," said Willamette Director of Tennis/Head Women's Tennis Coach Rick Wood. "Sarah is such a team player and deserves all the accolades for her success at Willamette on and off the court. Others around her are inspired (including me) to be the best in all aspects of their lives and work hard to achieve those goals. 'Lead by example' would define Sarah. She is also awesome, positive and so fun to be around. Great things are in her future.

A Senior Certificate went to Jones as a result of her overall efforts at Willamette. She was a leader for the Bearcats on the women's soccer team and for the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She worked as an Intramurals Coordinator. She was a member of Willamette's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She was active in community service.

"Lacey has made an impact on so many aspects of Willamette University student life," Shevlin commented. "Her commitment to service, and her ability to encourage others to get involved, allowed our student-athletes to stay engaged through service during this past year. Lacey organized a food drive for Bush Elementary and a supply drive for the Center for Hope and Safety. She encouraged her fellow student-athletes to stay involved in service efforts during her time as our Service and Philanthropy Coordinator. Lacey is deserving of the Senior Certificate. She has given so much of herself and her time to Willamette University. She will be greatly missed."

"Congratulations to Lacey as one of the Senior Certificate winners!" said Willamette Head Women's Soccer Coach Hillary Arthur. "Lacey has served in many leadership capacities across campus, positively impacting the programs she served, and women's soccer is certainly one of them. Lacey served as a captain for our soccer program for two and a half years. Her leadership has been vital to the success of our team both on and off the field. She led with both her competitive spirit (always working to improve) and compassionate heart (always making time for teammates and putting the team first). She is leaving a legacy and a standard that will be felt for years to come."

Senior Keys are earned by members of the senior class who stand out for their meritorious service to the Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU). These are students who are leaders of multiple clubs or have been broadly recognized by the student body for their work.

Quevedo-Ramos was selected as a Senior Key recipient because of her the various ways she contributed to the Willamette campus community. She was a goalkeeper and team leader on the women's soccer team. She served as the president of the Panhellenic Council, was a member of Alpha Phi, and was significantly involved with the Mosaics peer mentoring program, the Student Life Committee, and Willamette Academy.

"Grasiela has been a great leader for our women's soccer program throughout her four years on the team," Arthur noted. "Her dedication to our team's success was seen and felt every day. She led by both the example she set on the field and through the encouraging words she shared with teammates. I'm so proud and happy for Grasiela to receive the Senior Key Award, it is well deserved."

"Grasiela was our direct connection with Willamette Academy within the Mosaics program and oversaw our first-year students who came through Willamette Academy and opted into our program," Mosaics leader Abdul Ali said. "Grasiela is a really goal-oriented person who is always looking to improve our program in some way. Although this past year was extremely difficult for a lot of clubs throughout our Willamette campus, Grasiela managed to prop us up in Mosaics, and not only help with our first-year mentees, but also bring in and engage the first-years. Grasiela is just one of those people that others naturally gravitate toward due to her incredible work ethic and positive outlook."

Mosaics is a peer mentoring program that connects first-year students of color with current BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students at Willamette.

The Senior Key went to Taggesell for her efforts with a variety of groups on campus. She competed on the women's swimming team. She was an Opening Days Leader. She also participated in the Physics Club, annual Luau, and community service learning. She worked with the Office of Admission.

"As a leader, she was paired with another student to lead a group of 13-15 new students through a five-day orientation program," Willamette Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities Lisa Holliday said about Taggesell's leadership role during the 2019 Opening Days. "In addition to mentoring new students in their first few days on campus, she facilitated conversations about challenging topics such as mental health, alcohol/drug use, and diversity, equity, and inclusion."

"I'm very excited for Cameron that her contributions and leadership to Willamette have been recognized with the honoring of the Senior Key," Willamette Head Swimming Coach Brent Summers commented. "Cameron is someone who led by example with her hard work and commitment to giving her best each and every practice and meet. Cameron's contributions to our program have made our program better over her four years on the team and I know she's going to go on to do amazing things in graduate school and beyond."