Joshua Chandler ’23, a biology and psychology dual major and Air National Guardsman, named College Student of the Year
Stay Work Play has named Joshua Chandler ’23 the 2022 College Student of the Year. Chandler will receive the award at a ceremony on September 9 on the Bank of America Stage at the Capital Center for the Arts in Concord.
“Since Josh’s arrival on the PSU campus, he has been part of the fabric of this community,” says Marlin Collingwood, interim vice president of communications, enrollment and student Life. “His leadership abilities, empathy for his fellow students, serious academic work, and willingness to work however he can to improve our community truly make him not just a rising star but a shining star at Plymouth State.”
Chandler serves as a New Hampshire Air National Guard firefighter and EMT. While deployed to Kuwait in the fall of 2021, Chandler took a full course load at PSU and served as speaker of the PSU Student Government Association. Back in New Hampshire, Chandler works with an emergency medical service providing 911 and interfacility transfers for the Lakes Region.
Chandler would organize and attend Student Government meetings via Zoom while serving in Kuwait, even when it was 3 a.m. in Kuwait.
“I’m honored to be recognized by Stay Work Play as College Student of the Year. Whether it’s in the classroom or overseas, I feel like I do my best work when I’m part of a team,” Chandler says. “Plymouth State and its unique Clusters program affords me opportunities I wouldn’t have anywhere else to collaborate with community organizations and learn new skills.”
Chandler is pursuing a dual degree in cell and molecular biology and psychology, with minors in chemistry and neuroscience, and hopes to become a physician assistant. Most recently, he has been working with Biology Professor Chris Chabot on research involving horseshoe crabs and the genes that regulate their circadian rhythms.
He has been inducted into the Phi Gamma Mu and Sigma Alpha Phi honor societies, and in 2018 earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
The US Army recently awarded Chandler the Army Achievement Medal, which is given for outstanding achievement and meritorious service, for providing medical care to Afghan refugees in Kuwait last year after more than 5,000 citizens were evacuated from Kabul and brought to his base.
After graduation, Chandler plans to pursue a master’s in data health science or a master’s in healthcare administration while he waits for a selection to the military’s interservice physician assistant program.
