Benjamin Skye Awarded the Julius Olsen Medal During Hardin-Simmons University Commencement

ABILENE, TX (05/23/2011)(readMedia)-- Benjamin Skye, of Abilene, TX, was awarded the Julius Olsen Medal during spring commencement ceremonies held May 14, 2011, at Hardin-Simmons University.

The Julius Olsen Medal was established by Dr. and Mrs. Julius Olsen in 1914 in memory of their son, Julius Nelson Olsen, and was perpetuated through a bequest by Dean Julius Olsen, who was professor of physics at Hardin-Simmons University from 1902-1942 and dean of the university during much of that time.

The Olsen Medal is awarded annually at the spring commencement to the graduate who has the highest grade average, has exemplified the highest scholarly achievement, and has completed at least 90 semester hours of residence credit at Hardin-Simmons.

Skye has been named to the President's List each semester he has been at HSU, and has achieved a cumulative grade point average of 4.00. He is a member of Gamma Beta Phi National Honor Society; Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious studies and theology; and Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.

Over the course of his studies, Skye has received the Trustees Academic Scholarship, the Stone Memorial Scholarship for Christian Counseling, the Ray and Nancy Ellis New Testament Greek Scholarship, the Judge Ed F. McFadden Endowed Greek Scholarship Award, the Dr. and Mrs. W. B. Irvin Endowed Memorial Missionary Grant, the Logsdon School of Theology Award, and the Logsdon Dean's Scholarship.

A student preacher in Ministerial Education Day since 2008, Ben was a New Student Orientation leader, co-founder and leader of Revamp, a student tutor for academic advising, and communication coordinator for ELI 360, a partner with HSU for International Student Recruitment.

Skye will continue his studies in the fall pursuing a Master of Arts in Family Ministry at Logsdon Seminary. A double major in Bible and psychology with a minor in philosophy, he is the son of Mr. Chee Khoon Ooi and Mrs. Lai Sheong Wong of Penang, Malaysia.