Lebanon Valley College students Hannah Horengic ’25 and Athena Vinson ’25 received Rising Leader Awards during the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Second Annual Emerging Leaders Awards Program.

Horengic, an Environmental Science major, was nominated for the award by Dr. Rebecca Urban, Director of Environmental Science and Professor of Biology.

“Hannah has consistently impressed me as she developed strong leadership skills, demonstrated a dedication to environmental issues, and commitment to growth,” said Dr. Urban. “Hannah’s career goal is to become an environmental scientist at an environmental consulting company. While she has strongly excelled academically in the classroom, Hannah has stood out from other students by actively broadening her background through research, internships, and extensive community involvement.”

Horengic conducts research on orchid propagation in the lab under the supervision of Dr. Rob Carey, Professor of Biology. She is President of the Environmental Club and a member of the College’s Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Beyond LVC, Horengic completed paid internships at the Lebanon Refuse Authority and Lebanon County Conservation District. She became the first student to be invited to join the board of the Lebanon Valley Conservancy, where she was voted Board Secretary.

Vinson, who transferred to LVC from Harrisburg Area Community College, is an English and Social Justice & Civic Engagement double major. She serves as a Social Media Manager and Student Ambassador in the Humanities Department, as well as Community Coordinator for LVC’s Sustained Interfaith Dialogue Colloquium Series and Community Development Coordinator for the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Vinson works at LVC’s Bishop Library as an Archival Assistant and at the local Annville Free Library as a Youth Librarian and Social Media Intern. She is President and Co-founder of LVC’s DEIB Club and a Co-founder of the LVC Chapter of A+F Public Research Equity Group, which meets weekly to improve equity gaps on Wikipedia. Vinson plans to pursue a master’s in Library Science.

Dr. Robert Machado, Chair of Humanities and Director and Professor of English, nominated Vinson for the award.

“In addition to her broader work for the community and College, Athena has a near-perfect academic record and GPA, is a member of multiple honors societies, has presented her sophisticated scholarship and workshops in various colloquia and forums, and brings positivity, creativity, professionalism, and radiant intelligence to every involvement.”

In addition to the student honorees, two LVC alumni received Emerging Leader awards from the Chamber at the event. Alaina Ehrgood ’10, an Art and Art History alumna, works as the Vice President of Marketing at Lebanon Federal Credit Union. Darby Seymour ’23, a Business Administration and English graduate, is the Public Relations Manager at Visit Lebanon Valley.