Three Westminster College juniors were awarded prestigious leadership and service awards during the College’s 2025 Spring Honors Convocation ceremony held Wednesday, April 23.

Kole Alcorn, a psychology and criminal justice studies double major from Eau Claire, Pa., and Alena Taladay, an early childhood and special education major from Ford City, Pa., were each awarded the McQuiston Outstanding Service Award, while Elliott Wentzel, a biology major from Houston, Pa., was presented with the Allen P. Splete Leadership and Service Award. The McQuiston awards are each valued at $12,000, while the Splete award is a $600 prize. All funds are used to offset the students’ tuition for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Alcorn’s on campus involvement is varied and grounded in his strong leadership roles. He is president of the Campus Programming Council, which plans campus student activities, and is current vice president and president-elect of Titan Theater Group. As an orientation leader, he assists new students in their transitions to campus life. He is also the orientation student coordinator and has served as a student panelist for Westminster’s Accepted Students Day and New Student Days. He is a member of the Pi Sigma Pi Honors Society, which honors superior students, as well as the psychology honor society Psi Chi and the criminal justice honor society Alpha Phi Sigma. He is also a member of the Westminster Concert Choir. Alcorn is a graduate of Moniteau Junior-Senior High School.

Taladay’s roles on campus echo her desire to help others through service. She serves as president of Westminster’s chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children, which is dedicated to advancing the success of children with exceptionalities. She is the event planning and fundraising chair of Westminster’s Little Library, which promotes reading engagement among children, and has volunteered with the Special Olympics event on campus. She also serves as s student mentor for the School of Education. She belongs to the Pi Sigma Pi honors society for superior students  and Lambda Sigma honors society, which fosters leadership, scholarship, fellowship and the spirit of service. She is a member of the women’s soccer team and the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. Taladay is a graduate of Amstrong Junior Senior High School.

Wentz has been a consistent leader among the Westminster community. He is president and past community engagement chair of the Student Government Association and serves as philanthropy chair of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He engages with prospective students in his role as a Titan Guide and helps new first-year students get acclimated to campus life in his position as an orientation leader. He is a member of the Pi Sigma Pi honors society for superior students and Beta Beta Beta—also known on campus as TriBeta—the honor society for biology students. He has assisted with the Special Olympics and Night to Shine events on campus, and has volunteered with the New Life Bread Basket, a food pantry in New Castle. Wentz is a graduate of Chartiers-Houston High School.

The McQuiston Outstanding Service Awards—endowed by class of 1929 alumnus W. James McQuiston and his wife—were established in 1979 and are given annually to a rising senior man and woman for unselfish service to the Westminster community during their college careers. Selection is made by the faculty and administrative members of the Student Life Committee from nominations made by classmates. The awards are in honor and in memory of seven members of the McQuiston family with Westminster ties: the Rev. J.A.C. McQuiston, College trustee from 1913-1917, and first business manager from 1917-1920; Mrs. J.A.C. McQuiston, acting dean of Hillside Dormitory from 1917-1918; Daniel H. McQuiston, class of 1915, director of athletics from 1922-1923; Helene McQuiston (Mrs. D.H.), music faculty from 1922-1924; Charles M. McQuiston, class of 1916; Minnie Belle McQuiston Ege, class of 1918, dean of women from 1921-1922; and Mary E. McQuiston ’69.

The Allen P. Splete Leadership and Service Award is awarded annually to a student who has provided sound leadership and selfless volunteerism to the curricular and co-curricular life on the Westminster campus. The award is named in honor of Dr. Allen P. Splete, president of Westminster College from 1982-1985.

Pictured above from left are Kole Alcorn, Alena Taladay and Elliott Wentzel.

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