The University of Wisconsin-Superior presented the 2024 Henry Blomberg Excellence in Service Awards on Monday, November 11, during its Veterans Day ceremony.
Awards were presented to:
Mechalle Poppy, a current UW-Superior student with a GPA of 3.9 and honoree on the Dean of Students List, executive officer in the Criminal Justice Student Association and numerous accolades during deployment to Afghanistan.
Scott Vosen has been a UWS staff member for nearly four years. During that time, he has been an active member of the campus community; volunteering for various committees as well as campus events. Vosen commonly volunteers at freshman orientation as well as other Veteran and Nontraditional Student Center events and acts as a foundational resource and vital campus connection for his students.
Michael Erickson demonstrated he is a dedicated UW-Superior student having the perseverance to return to his studies after a ten-year break. He is an example of discipline with every assignment turned in on time, outstanding attendance and his willingness to engage with both staff and peers.
Tom Culbert has been an active member of the UW-Superior Alumni and Friends Foundation and served on its board of directors. He was also the alumni chapter leader for the Washington DC/Virginia area. Culbert has been a strong supporter of the Aerospace Studies and Air Force ROTC program and has actively promoted the program. He has also been active in speaking about his experience in the service. After leaving the Air Force in 1991, Culbert founded Aviation Information Research Corporation, which provides information search and retrieval services, for contemporary and historical issues, to leading firms and individuals involved in all sectors of the aviation industry.
Michelle White was deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan, where she worked 11- to 13-hour days issuing ammunition to all forces deployed there as part of operations at the largest ammunition supply point in the country. After work, White took college classes being offered by one of the three universities that had professors on-site. She did this three times a week that would consume at least three hours of her free time to rest.
“Thank you to all the recipients of this award,” said Gabriel Sexton, veterans and nontraditional student coordinator at UW-Superior. “You are all truly deserving of it, and I can say proudly that we all feel the same way.”
Presented at UW-Superior since 2013, the Henry Blomberg Excellence in Service Awards are named for Lieutenant Henry Blomberg, who was born in Superior August 3, 1892. He attended Superior Normal School (now UW-Superior) where he became a top debater and played baseball and football. He joined the Wisconsin National Guard after graduation in 1916. Blomberg registered for the draft and soon found himself on a boat to France with the 32nd Division amid World War I. Blomberg’s acts were recognized with a promotion to captain, but he was too busy to accept. During the Battle of the Argonne in October 1918, Blomberg was seriously wounded. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest military honor.