Raines Lucas, Jenna Seidl named winners of 2025 Herfurth-Kubly Awards 

University of Wisconsin–Madison graduating seniors Raines Lucas and Jenna Seidl have been named 2025 winners of Theodore Herfurth and Teddy Kubly Awards for Comprehensive Undergraduate Excellence.

The awards, among the oldest and most prestigious on campus, are given annually to two seniors who have made the most effective use of their time at UW–Madison. Each winner receives $4,000. Established in 1928, the awards are supported by the family of Theodore Herfurth and Teddy Kubly.

Winners are selected based on high academic achievement, effective communication skills, leadership in extra-curricular activities and financial self-support (such as scholarships and employment).

Students must be nominated by a member of the faculty or academic staff and invited to apply. Of the 284 students nominated this year, 12 were selected as finalists and invited to a dinner with the selection committee. After dinner, each finalist gave two speeches, one prepared and one impromptu. At the end of the evening, the committee selected Lucas and Seidl as this year’s recipients.

Raines Lucas

Lucas, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics. Passionate about climate research and mathematical modeling, he works in several labs studying agricultural land use, sustainable energy transitions, and climate policy. He has been supported by fellowships and research grants, mentored aspiring undergraduate researchers, and submitted papers to high-impact journals. Outside of academics, Lucas has been an active member of the music scene — booking concerts, working at the student radio station, and performing regularly with his band, she’s green. He recently completed a 36-city tour while writing multiple research papers on the road. After graduation, Lucas will continue touring North America and Europe and will apply to PhD programs in economics.

Jenna Seidl

Seidl, of Hazelhurst, Wisconsin, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology and certificates in health and the humanities and in disability rights and services. While on campus, Seidl pursued opportunities for learning, leadership, and service in a diverse number of areas. She facilitated connections between current and future students as leader of the Wisconsin Admissions Volunteers, positively impacted her peers as both a teaching assistant and as a university GUTS tutor, and represented the College of Letters and Science as a Dean’s Ambassador. Additionally, Seidl worked as a research assistant studying brain blood flow, helped provide education and networking opportunities for pre-medical students as a leader of Pre-SOMA, and connected with people with dementia as a Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute New Friends program volunteer. Following graduation, Seidl will be applying to medical school while continuing to work in emergency medical services and serving as a volunteer in the community.

The following 10 students were finalists: Sophie Boes (English language and linguistics, political science); Kiko Carbonell (nursing with a certificate in business entrepreneurship); Aiden Culver (political science and philosophy, certificates in history and public policy); Lauren Fitzsimmons (biomedical engineering); Amanda Grant (history and art history); Shelby Jantz (education policy studies and legal studies); Jakob Mills (physics and astrophysics, certificate in criminal justice); Tanay Nagar (computer science and philosophy); Norah Paulsen (molecular and cell biology, certificates in leadership and classical studies); and Caitriona Treacy (biomedical engineering and Spanish, certificates in international engineering and biology in engineering).