Vindas Named Recipient of Prestigious Hurie Award

University of the Ozarks senior Nataly Paulina Vindas Calderón, a finance and marketing major from Coto Brus, Costa Rica, is the recipient of the 2026 Hurie Award, given to the outstanding member of the senior class.

The award was presented during the University's annual Honors Day ceremony, held Wednesday, May 6, in the Walton Fine Arts Center. University President Richard Dunsworth (pictured, left) presented the award to Vindas (right).

Voted on by the faculty, the award is named for Dr. Wiley Lin Hurie, who served as president of this institution from 1923 to 1949. The Hurie Award is the highest honor an Ozarks student can receive. The faculty members choose a graduate who has been an exemplary scholar, a campus leader and a person of outstanding character.

A recipient of the Walton International Scholarship, Vindas is graduating with Summa Cum Laude honors later this month. An accomplished scholar, she has been on the President's List every semester and has served in various positions with the Entrepreneurship Club, including as president this year. She organized the E-Club's first Start-Up Challenge on campus, leading to an Ozarks team competing in and winning the Arkansas Governor's Cup.

She has also been active in the Hispanic Students Association and has participated in the Innovation and Sustainable Entrepreneurship Summer Program in Mexico City and the Aspire Leaders Program of the Harvard Business School. She was also selected to serve as an AI Analytics Summer Intern for the El Salvadoran government's Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA).

Vindas was also named the Outstanding Student in Finance for 2025-26 during the Honors Day ceremony.

Along with her double major, Vindas will graduate with minors in information science, education and philosophy. She plans to pursue a career combining her interests in finance and technology (Fintech).

"One of my favorite things about Ozarks is the LENS program since I am passionate about multiple disciplines," she said. "Choosing only one thing to focus on was a great anxiety for me in high school. Ozarks let me get my 'salad' of two majors and three minors, which allowed me to explore different areas and ended up showing me the path in Fintech that I want to follow. I know myself way better now, and the areas in which I would like to contribute and impact. All my majors and minors form a connection now, and tell a story about who I am and my career approach. I love Ozarks very much. It did certainly become my home away from home, and I cannot believe it is already time to leave."

Vindas said she will be forever grateful for receiving the Walton Scholarship that helped bring her to Ozarks.

"I would not be the person I am today without the scholarship," she said. "It allowed me to come to Ozarks and grow in so many different areas other than just the academic side. I became a better friend, a better listener, a better leader, a better Christian, and a better person in general. Here I met people with whom I laughed, cried, had critical conversations, and grew. I made friendships with some of the most caring faculty and staff ever, and went on university trips that challenged me both spiritually and physically while having the most fun. Simultaneously, I was doing internships, involved in campus leadership, and learning a lot in class. All of this would have not happened without the scholarship. Being a Walton has been such a privilege and honor, and it will definitely continue to be for the rest of my life."