Recognizing Alumni Achievements and Service
Spartans of the Year is an annual awards program that recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated dedication, excellence, professional achievement, and a commitment to staying engaged with York College after graduating.
Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
The Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award is presented annually to an alumna/us who has demonstrated noteworthy and distinctive professional achievements. Achievements may be specific to their chosen career, industry, or leadership experiences. Consideration is also given to a nominee’s contributions to their community and York College.
2025 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award Recipient: Lena Nebel ’99
Lena Nebel ’99 is President & COO of BFG Financial Advisors and a dedicated advocate for women and diversity in finance. A Certified Financial Planner™ with a master’s in financial services, she is an active leader in organizations like Leadership Maryland and Executive Alliance. Lena frequently mentors students and recently established the Lena M. Nebel Women in Business Scholarship at York College of Pennsylvania. She credits her York education with launching a career that now spans client service, firm leadership, and team development. A Maryland native and mother of three, she enjoys sports, concerts, and puzzling in her free time.
Distinguished Alumni Service Award
The Distinguished Alumni Service Award is presented annually to an alumnus who has demonstrated noteworthy and distinctive service to the greater community and/or York College of Pennsylvania throughout their life and career.
2025 Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient: Timothy P. Kerner ’87
Timothy P. Kerner ’87 is President of Millennium Group and a former U.S. Army National Guard officer with 20 years of service. His leadership journey began at York College through the Army ROTC program, where he developed a foundation in discipline, adaptability, and purpose-driven leadership. A passionate mentor and entrepreneur, Timothy also founded the YCP Student Emergency Fund to support students facing urgent financial needs. He lives in Sea Bright, NJ with his wife, is active in the New Jersey veterans’ community, and remains closely connected to York College through service and mentorship.
Distinguished Young Alumni Award
The Distinguished Young Alumni Award is aimed at honoring a York College graduate who, within ten years of graduation, has demonstrated noteworthy and distinctive professional achievements and/or outstanding service to the community.
2025 Distinguished Young Alumni Award Recipient: Brianna Hamm Ahner '16
Brianna Hamm Ahner ’16 is an Administrative Attorney for the Philadelphia Family Court, where she helps ensure the timely resolution of family law matters. After earning her law degree from Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law, she built a career focused on public service and family advocacy, including a standout bench trial win that kept a child with their custodial parent. Brianna credits York College—and especially Dr. John Altman’s political science courses—for instilling the perseverance that carried her through law school and the bar exams. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, four cats, and two dogs, and enjoys gardening, music, and reality TV.
Nomination and Recognition
Eligibility
Alumni are eligible if they have earned an associate, undergraduate, or graduate degree from York College of Pennsylvania, York Junior College, York Collegiate Institute, or York County Academy. To be considered, alumni cannot currently be employees of York College, voting members of the Board of Trustees, or current members of the Alumni Board.
Criteria
York College’s Spartans of the Year awards program recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated dedication, excellence, professional achievement, and most importantly, a commitment to staying engaged with York College after graduating. For more detailed descriptions, please see below:
- A nominee who has demonstrated dedication is someone who continuously gives their full attention to something they are passionate about, whether a cause, others, or their professional goals.
- A nominee who has demonstrated excellence is someone who rises above and beyond standard expectations, personally or professionally, and continuously strives for growth.
- A nominee who has demonstrated professional achievement is someone who has accomplished, or exceeded, their goals and has contributed to furthering their respective field.
- A nominee who has been committed to staying engaged with YCP post-graduation is someone who actively works to keep connected, whether in person and/or digitally, and contributes to the growth of the institution.
Strong nominations will include robust answers with specific examples of why the nominee is deserving of this award. You can also provide any supporting materials such as a resume, newspaper article, LinkedIn account, etc. Please see below for an excerpt of a strong nomination example:
How has this nominee demonstrated dedication, excellence, and/or professional achievement?
NAME has been employed with COMPANY since graduation from York College in 2003. Immediately upon his undergraduate degree, NAME also completed his Masters Degree, working part-time in the evenings, with high honors from Johns Hopkins University. He has demonstrated dedication and excellence through the following accomplishments:
- Established and continues to mentor a team responsible for modeling and simulation of chillers. (Our family of four recently returned from a two and a half year assignment abroad in order for NAME to build this team. He returned to his local colleagues with a fresh perspective as it relates to international business and management. He will continue to serve as the lead for his immediate team; though challenging he is creating best practices to ensure that the growth of that team continues from abroad).
- Six issued patents including heat exchanger design and cooling systems.
- Developed centrifugal chiller performance rating platform.
- Created engineering analysis tools to automate and expedite test data analysis.
NAME is continually recognized for his excellent work and work ethic at COMPANY.
Spartans of the Year Selection Committee
- Hayley Althoff '19
- Allison Dobstetter '17
- Greg Erb '06
- Kate Gaudet '09
- Thomas Gaudet '18
- Julie Kulp '13
- Barb Sleeger '71
- Molly Thate '21
- Sean Umbenhouer '91
- Brooks Walter '12
Following the release of the award winners, the Office of Alumni Relations will work to feature each recipient through social media and other multimedia channels. Additionally, the Office of Alumni Relations will work with each recipient to create individualized engagement opportunities where they will be honored and presented with their award, whether at an on-campus event or at a regional event in their area.
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