Daryl Parungao, a senior at William Woods University (WWU) and a resident of Fulton, was honored with two prestigious academic awards from the University as part of its year-end Co-Curricular Awards. At the end of each academic year, WWU recognizes a select group of graduating seniors who have achieved excellence in academic, co-curricular and service projects during their time at the University.
Parungao, who graduated this spring with a degree in Psychology, received the Faculty and Cockrell Awards from the University.
The Faculty Award is the highest award given to a student by the University each year. It is presented to the 2020 graduating senior who, in the estimation of the faculty of the University, has evidenced exemplary devotion and commitment to the life of the mind. In order to be eligible, the student must be a graduating senior who has completed a minimum of 60 hours through William Woods University and has a minimum 3.75 grade point average.
The Cockrell Award is presented to the graduating senior who has participated in a variety of campus activities, serving as an officer or chair and who has held membership in honorary groups. The student must exemplify outstanding campus citizenship, contribute to society, exhibit loyalty to the University and its policies and have a genuine regard for others in personal relationships.
A 4.0 honors student, Parungao completed numerous research projects at WWU including with the biology department, a mentor-mentee project with Dr. Caroline Boyer and two independent research projects in the psychology department. She presented at a research conference at Monmouth University in 2017 and was accepted to present at the Southwestern Psychological Association, where she was to receive a student award, at the beginning of April, that was cancelled due to Covid-19. She also served as a mentor to the honors Connections class during her time at WWU, and as an academic tutor in the school’s Academic Success Center. Parungao has been accepted into the doctoral program in clinical psychology at East Tennessee State University, earning the rare distinction of gaining admittance into the school’s doctoral program without having earned a Master’s degree first. She is planning a career of working with pediatric clients in a medical setting, and wants to do so in a rural setting like her hometown of Fulton.
