Senior Mariann Kukielka’s resume got a little bit longer after she was voted the 2015 Tommie Award winner.

Kukielka is a captain of the swim team, which caused her to get the news about winning the award nontraditionally. Kukielka said Vern Klobassa, director of student engagement, had to give her the news in person because her phone fell out of her pocket into the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Center pool when she was congratulating some teammates during a swim meet.

“So the whole week during the voting process and the announcement I was … sans cell phone,” Kukielka said.

Kukielka’s involvement on campus spans from being a first-year commuter adviser for Off-Campus Student Services to the undergraduate representative for President Julie Sullivan’s strategic planning committee to president of co-ed business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi.

Off-Campus Student Services Program Director Josh Hengemuhle was involved with nominating Kukielka and said she brings “positive energy” to everything she does.

“I think anyone who’s spoken with her for more than two minutes knows she cares about everyone she comes in contact with,” Hengemuhle said.

Kukielka said she was “floored” when she heard the news and has been inundated with congratulations from friends, professors and faculty from the St. Thomas community, whether they know her personally or not.

“I have been so overwhelmed with not only appreciation, but – this is going to sound cheesy – but a sense of pure joy,” she said.

As the first woman to win in 14 years, Kukielka said no matter what gender the winner is, the important thing is that “we are still people.”

“I don’t understand how that’s so hard to forget,” Kukielka said, “because we all can do amazing things, and we all have the ability to do what we want. We just have to put our mind to it, we have to put our hearts to it, and we have to be committed to doing it.”

Baihly Warfield can be reached at warf3860@stthomas.edu.