2026 Spirit of the Billiken Award Honorees Announced
Saint Louis University’s Office of Alumni Engagement has named 16 outstanding seniors as recipients of the 2026 Spirit of the Billiken Award, with two additional SLU-Madrid seniors to be announced at a later date.
Established in 2014, the Spirit of the Billiken recognition program annually honors 18 seniors who are dedicated to SLU’s mission as both students and future alumni and have demonstrated significant achievements in academics, leadership and community service.
Family, friends, faculty and staff will celebrate the honorees at a ceremony on Feb. 21, 2026.
The 2026 awardees are:
- Riya Aradhyula, College of Arts and Sciences
- Lucy Billadeau, School of Science and Engineering
- Jesse Driese, School of Social Work
- Tori Garrett, Doisy College of Health Sciences
- Riley George, Doisy College of Health Sciences
- Areeb Hasan, College for Public Health and Social Justice
- Tamera Harvey, Doisy College of Health Sciences
- Emi Hercules, School of Education
- Russell Hooker Jr., College of Arts and Sciences
- Irene Ibay, Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing
- Andrew Kowalski, Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
- Grace LoPiccolo, College of Arts and Sciences
- Ngan “Daisy” Nguyen, School of Science and Engineering
- Nathan Sewell, College of Arts and Sciences
- Damara Stevens, College of Arts and Sciences
- Sabrina Zapasnikas, Doisy College of Health Sciences
“The selection of the Class of 2026 awardees was highly competitive,” said Jack Johnson (A&S, ’22), program director of alumni and student engagement. “These students embody the spirit of the Jesuit value, magis, which means ‘more,’ by making an impact on their classmates, student organizations and campus environments. We look forward to celebrating them and their contributions to the SLU community, and we can’t wait to see what they will achieve as alumni.”
To qualify for the Spirit of the Billiken Award, students must be in their final year of undergraduate studies at SLU or SLU-Madrid, maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0, submit a written application, participate in interviews with Billikens of the Last Decade (BOLD) and commit to upholding SLU’s mission post-graduation. The application process kicks off in June, with awardees announced in the fall semester.