The University of Iowa recently honored recipients of the 103rd Hancher-Finkbine Medallions and Distinguished Student Leader Certificates. The UI’s most prestigious awards for faculty, staff, and students were announced April 21, 2020, on the Hancher-Finkbine website. This year’s recipients included two College of Public Health students.

Javier Enrique Flores

Distinguished Student Leader Award, Graduate/Professional
Javier Flores, from Brownsville, Texas, is a doctoral student in biostatistics in the College of Public Health. He first came to Iowa to participate in the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics in 2014 while he was studying at the University of Texas. Flores served as the president of  theBiostatistics Student Association from 2018–19 and worked hard to promote diversity and inclusion at Iowa. He also was the sole graduate student representative to the College of Public Health dean search committee and played a major role in recruitment efforts. Flores has continued his involvement in the Iowa Summer Institute in Biostatistics by becoming a project advisor for the program. He is not only passionate about learning but is also committed to teaching and mentoring and worked as a visiting instructor at Grinnell College last spring. Flores’s long list of accomplishments have made him an inspirational role model for graduate students at Iowa.

Dexter Golinghorst

Hancher-Finkbine Graduate/Professional Student Medallion
Dexter Golinghorst, from Maysville, Iowa, is pursuing a Juris Doctor and Master of Health Administration combined degree in the Colleges of Law and Public Health. Golinghorst is serving his second year as the president of the Graduate and Professional Student Government, where he has worked to increase funding opportunities and partnership for research and mentorship. In addition, he has worked to include graduate and professional students in campus survey data. Golinghorst has been advocating for students with his involvement in the Path Forward Steering Committee, in which he has offered suggestions for improvement of the UI budget review process. He has earned the reputation of a reliable representative for students across colleges, departments, and backgrounds.