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Award Overview

Celebrating Excellence: The USF Golden Bull Award 2025 Recipients

Each spring, the ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏ (USF) honors up to 30 outstanding graduating undergraduate and graduate students with the prestigious Golden Bull Award. This accolade is presented by USF Student Success in celebration of students who embody the spirit and values of USF through exceptional leadership, academic excellence, and dedicated service to the community.

In April 2025, 26 exemplary students—21 undergraduates and five doctoral students—across USF’s three campuses were honored at the 2025 Celebration of Leadership Awards ceremony for their remarkable achievements and contributions to the university community. Among the recipients include:

• Eduardo Barbosa Sanchez, an industrial engineer peer mentor who is joining Goldman Sachs
• Kayla Domres, a Student Government officer and Congressional intern who authored legislative policy to improve behavioral and maternal health resources
• Briana Miele, the founder of a children’s mental health art therapy program in Ghana and the Dominican Republic
• Fernanda Silva Pimenta, a committed doctoral student and peer leader with focused research on sustainable fuel solutions.

Read about the accomplishments of all 26 Golden Bull Awards recipients here, and learn more about the award and the selection process below.

The 2025 recipients have set a high standard for future students, showcasing the impact of leadership, service, and academic dedication. Congratulations to all the awardees for their remarkable accomplishments and contributions to the USF community!

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Overview

Presented by the Student Success unit, the Golden Bull Award is one of USF's highest honors given annually in the spring semester to deserving undergraduate and graduate students who encompass the spirit of USF and have demonstrated its values. Recipients must exemplify exceptional leadership and service to the University and the community. 

The award is bestowed to up to 30 individuals across USF’s campuses in the following way:

Tampa campus – up to 15 undergraduate students, up to 5 graduate students
St. Petersburg campus – up to 5 students total
Sarasota-Manatee campus – up to 5 students total
Winners are selected by an anonymous panel of judges who will review applications provided. Judges represent academic and student success areas across the institution.

Winners receive their award at each campus’ student leadership award ceremonies in the spring semester.

Qualifications for Golden Bull Award

Applicants for the 2025 Golden Bull Awards must meet the following qualifications:

Class Standing by the START of Fall 2024
Undergraduates: Must have achieved senior class standing - 90 credit hours completed.
Graduate ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏ: Must have completed a minimum of 12 graduate-level course credit hours.

NOTE: All authorized credits toward degrees count in this tabulation, including dual enrollment and transfer credits.

Intent to Graduate
Undergraduates: Must have graduated in Fall 2024 or intend to graduate in Spring 2025 or Summer 2025 semesters.
Graduate ºÚÁϱ¬ÁÏ: N/A

Enrollment Status
Must be enrolled as a full or part-time student at the institution (on any of the three campuses) or recently completed courses (Fall 2024 graduates only). If you are part-time, you must be in your final semester and have applied to graduate this semester. Your campus is determined by what you have confirmed as your home campus in Student Self-Service (formerly Oasis). 

NOTE: You will only be judged against other applicants from both your same campus and student type.

Grade Point Average
Must have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA (College of Medicine students must be in good standing).

Standing at the Institution
Must be in good academic and conduct standing as defined by the Academic Catalog and Student Code of Conduct.

Award Limit
You must not have received the award in previous years. A student may only win the award once as an undergraduate student and once as a graduate student.

Submit Your Application