51����

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—The 51���� invites the public to attend the 2025 Alumni Awards Celebration and join in honoring the winners.

The awards will be presented at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 in the North Campus Auditorium, 2702 Spring Street. The event helps kick off the 2025 Homecoming Weekend at 51����.

“We are excited to extend an invitation to the public to help celebrate these tremendous 51���� alumni and their many uplifting contributions to their communities and beyond,” Director of Alumni Relations Tony Didier said.

The 2025 honorees:

Distinguished Alumni Award

Adam Green | BA ’02 | 

Green is an animation supervisor who has worked for more than 15 years with Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is currently the supervising animator for “Zootopia 2,” was the supervising animator for “Moana” and has worked on many Disney films.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award

Adilynn Girardot | BSW ’23 | 

Girardot works as a community mental health case manager at Westwood Behavioral Health Center in Van Wert, Ohio. She is passionate about serving others, specifically those living in poverty, sharing the love of God and living life to the full.

Distinguished Service Award

Francie Hogan | AA ’78 | 

Hogan serves as the graphic designer for Today’s Catholic newspaper, where she brings creativity, precision and technical expertise to the production of each issue. She serves on the board of Miss Virginia’s Food Pantry and is a dedicated member of St. Mary Mother of God Parish.

Distinguished Honorary Alumni Award

Jane Martin, Professor Emerita | 

Martin retired in May after 32 years in various faculty roles at 51����. She received the Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award (1997), the LeePoxy Teaching Award (2014) and the Club Advisor of the Year (2014) for her work with both the Public Relations Club and the Film Club. 

Cougar Spirit Award

Mitch Thornton | BBA ’03 | 

Thornton, a football alumnus, has helped raise nearly $2 million for student-athletes as co-chair of the Cougar Classic golf outing. He has spent most of his career working in the pharmaceutical industry, including the last four years focusing on oncology.

College of Health Sciences

Alumni Achievement Award

Rachel Marion | AS ’20 | 

Marion serves as general laboratory supervisor at Franciscan Health-Munster, where she oversees multiple departments—including chemistry, blood bank, hematology, coagulation, urinalysis, specimen processing—and supports phlebotomy operations.

College of Arts, Sciences, and Business

Alumni Achievement Award

Dr. Jared Clodfelter | BSE ’10 | 

Clodfelter is the director of Roberts Academy at Vanderbilt University, an elementary school for students with dyslexia. He has more than 15 years of experience in education, including serving as the upper school division head at Currey Ingram Academy, a college-preparatory school for students with learning differences.

For more information, contact Tony Didier at adidier@sf.edu.

Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the 51���� offers more than 60 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts, Sciences, and Business. In addition to its traditional programs, 51���� designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point, Lafayette and online. USF Downtown houses the music technology program while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The 51����, recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution, has 21 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships. More than 1,900 students from a broad geographic region attend 51����.