2026 NIRSA Wasson Award Winners
Two UC Davis students honored with this year’s NIRSA Region 6 Wasson Award.
UC Davis Student Leaders Receive Prestigious NIRSA Region VI Wasson Award
This year, UC Davis Campus Recreation was honored to have two students selected for the NIRSA William N. Wasson Student Leadership and Academic Award. These awards recognize exceptional undergraduate and graduate students who set the standard for campus recreation departments across the country. Students from Region VI (comprising Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and California), were selected—two of them are Aggies! We are honored to congratulate Alysse Tessier and Ella Riccomini as recipients of this year’s NIRSA Wasson Award.
Alysse Tessier
UC Davis Campus Recreation is proud to celebrate Alysse Tessier, recipient of the NIRSA Region VI William N. Wasson Student Leadership & Academic Award—one of the highest honors recognizing outstanding student leaders in collegiate recreation.
Nominated by Aquatics Coordinator Jocelyn Morgan, Alysse earned this recognition for her exceptional leadership, academic excellence, and meaningful impact within the Aquatics Unit and across the UC Davis community.
A Commitment to Academic and Professional Excellence
Alysse is a Neurology, Physiology, and Behavior (NPB) major with plans to pursue a career as a registered nurse. Her academic work reflects a strong commitment to understanding and supporting others across all stages of life.
In addition to her studies, Alysse works as an Emergency Department Medical Scribe, where she supports physicians and nurses in a fast-paced clinical setting. Through this role, she has developed strong communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to remain composed under pressure—qualities that carry into her leadership within Campus Recreation.
Leadership That Builds Community
Alysse’s journey in the Aquatics Unit highlights her dedication and leadership. Starting as a lifeguard, she quickly advanced to Head Lifeguard and then Student Manager—progressing faster than any student staff member in recent years.
In her role, Alysse has:
- Led and developed training programs for more than 50 lifeguards
- Managed complex staffing schedules for over 90 student employees
- Created systems that improve daily operations and communication
- Enhanced staff spaces to foster a stronger sense of belonging
Beyond operations, Alysse prioritizes mentorship—taking time to support new staff and ensure they feel confident, valued, and connected. She plays a key role in bridging communication between professional and student staff, modeling a leadership style grounded in empathy, consistency, and accountability.
Service Beyond the Pool
Alysse’s impact extends well beyond Campus Recreation. As a member of the pre-health sorority Kappa Gamma Delta, she volunteers with organizations such as the Yolo County Food Bank, Thriving Pink, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Gift of Life Foundation.
She also supports campus programming by instructing lifeguard courses and mentoring youth in the Junior Lifeguard Program—helping young participants build confidence, leadership skills, and a strong foundation in safety.
Lasting Impact on the Aquatics Community
Alysse’s influence is deeply felt throughout the Aquatics Unit. The team’s 95% staff retention rate reflects the supportive and inclusive environment she helps cultivate. Staff consistently describe her as one of the first people who made them feel welcome and supported.
Known for her reliability, proactive problem-solving, and calm leadership in emergencies, Alysse has become a trusted and respected leader among her peers and supervisors. Her outreach efforts, mentorship, and engagement have also strengthened Campus Recreation’s connection with the broader UC Davis community.
Recognizing an Exceptional Leader
Reflecting on Alysse’s contributions, Jocelyn Morgan shared that Alysse has stood out since her very first day—consistently elevating not only her own work, but the experience of everyone around her.
As Alysse prepares for graduation, her impact will remain in the systems she improved, the culture she helped shape, and the people she inspired. Her leadership embodies the mission and values of Campus Recreation, making her an outstanding nominee for the Wasson Award.
Ella Riccomini
From her very first shift as a soccer official freshman year, Ella Riccomini has done something rare in student employment; she has grown without leaving anyone behind. Ella held dual leadership roles as Competitive Sports Supervisor and Recorder-Manager, Ella's story is one of quiet ambition, genuine service, and a commitment to making recreational sports more welcoming for every student who walks through the ARC doors.
A commitment to academic and professional excellence
Ella joined Rec Sports as an official and quickly demonstrated she was equally comfortable leading as she was officiating. After one year on the floor, she earned the Recorder position, managing all administrative duties for the competitive sports program. By her sophomore year she held both roles simultaneously and then was promoted again, earning the Competitive Sports Supervisor and Recorder-Manager titles after what her supervisor described as "the perfect interview."
Ella's intellectual life and professional life extends well beyond the playing fields. A Political Science major with a Statistics minor, she is one of only a select few UC Davis students chosen to complete an honors Thesis a 50-page original research project examining how rising housing costs shift political attitudes among young American voters. She supplements this work as a Research Assistant in the UC Davis Political Science Department, where she has contributed to more than four faculty-led projects, performing topic modeling on political speech and evaluating survey data.
She has also completed an internship with the Butte County Democratic Party, advising them on social media strategy and helping organize community events. This blend of statistical rigor and real-world civic engagement reflects a student who takes learning seriously in every area.
Leadership that builds community
As Recorder Manager, she trained and mentored a staff of seven employees. Yet even after moving into supervisory roles, Ella still steps in as a fill-in official whenever a last-minute callout leaves a game uncovered. Her willingness to return to an earlier role not as a backup plan, but as a gesture of solidarity with the officials she now manages is the kind of humility that makes teams stronger.
Her leadership roots run deep. At Pleasant Valley High School, she captained the Field Hockey team for two years, earning five recognition awards and back-to-back MVP honors chosen by popular vote. She also served as President of the school's Debate Club, where she grew membership to over sixty new members through organized recruitment campaigns, a skill she has brought directly to Rec Sports.
Service Beyond
During her time as an Orientation Leader for UC Davis Student Housing, Ella didn't just help new students settle in, she ran a two-week recruiting effort at the ARC and personally encouraged five friends and roommates to apply for positions in Rec Sports, directly expanding the department's workforce and its diversity. She was also among the first supervisors to master FusionPlay, adding students to their requested teams and walking participants through sign-up one by one. She helped remove barriers for Rec Sports participation that others hadn't noticed yet.
Her service extends into club sports as well, where she has met with club officers on weekends and worked outside of scheduled hours to help members navigate travel event paperwork to ensure that anyone who wants to compete gets the chance to do so.
Community service defined Ella's life long before college. From leading youth groups at Vacation Bible School for five years to assisting summer programs at Chico State Recreation, she has consistently shown up to create space for others to thrive.
Lasting impact on the community
Ella's impact is measurable and personal at the same time. She has trained the entire recorder staff, brought new employees into the department, and helped club sports participants access travel opportunities they might otherwise have missed. Her most enduring contribution is the culture she is in as a role model.
Executive Director Deb Johnson notes that Ella "leads with integrity, serves with humility, and continually invests in others' success."
Ella Riccomini is, in every sense, the kind of student leader that campus recreation programs hope to find and are fortunate to keep. She arrived as a freshman official and left her mark as a supervisor, manager, mentor, scholar, and advocate. She is someone who made the program better not by standing above it, but by pouring herself into every level of it. Her story is a reminder that true leadership is not measured by titles earned, but by the people lifted along the way. UC Davis Campus Recreation is proud to call her one of our own, and we look forward to watching everything she will build next.