Gomez, graduating student from A-State received R.E. Lee Wilson Award for 2024
Natan Gomez, a senior from Irapuato, Mexico, received the R.E. Lee Wilson Award for 2024 at the Wilson Award Dinner.
This is the 91st year that the Wilson Award, Arkansas State University’s highest award to a graduating student, has been presented.
Gomez will graduate from AState in May with a degree in biotechnology from the Beck College of Sciences and Mathematics. He was selected from a group of six Distinguished Service Award (DSA) winners honored at the ceremony.
Other DSA honorees included Bailey Blackmon of Perryville, Christopher L. Crutchfield of North Little Rock, Ann Long of Cape Girardeau, Mo., William “Garrett” Partain of Lepanto, and Khushi Singh of Bryant.
Perry Wilson of Little Rock, the award namesake’s great-greatgrandson, announced Gomez as the recipient.
With a cumulative grade point average of 4.0, Gomez has received numerous honors and awards including the Red Wolf Works Signature Experience Medal, Justin M. Humpreys Memorial Scholarship and AState Achievement Scholarship. He was also on the Chancellor’s List for each of his four years at A-State.
Born in Oregon and raised in his family’s home country of Mexico, Gomez is a dual citizen. He said when planning his future, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunities available to him. He considered attending several universities but found A-State to be his best match.
He served as arts and culture director for the Student Activities Board and that position really led him to visualize what being a leader meant to him and the impact he could have on campus and other students.
Gomez already speaks four languages and strives to one day speak seven. He said he wants to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical engineering or drug design. After completing that degree, he is considering seeking a doctoral degree.
R.E. Lee Wilson, a Mississippi County planter and businessman, served on the institution's Board of Trustees from 1917 until his death in 1933. The annual Wilson Award presentation began the following year, more than eight decades ago.
The names of Wilson Award winners are permanently listed in a prominent display outside Centennial Hall in the Carl R. Reng Student Union.
Previous Wilson Award recipients formed a Wilson Fellows Chapter of the A-State Alumni Association that has funded a scholarship program. Wilson Award winners receive a post-graduate scholarship from the chapter to be used for additional education after graduation from A-State.