A Panhandle native will be honored with Chadron State College’s ‘Distinguished Young Alumni Award’ later this month during Homecoming.
Alyssa Sanders, a native of Dalton, graduated magna cum laude in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
Distinguished Young Alumni Awards are presented at Homecoming to recipients 40 years of age or younger or who have graduated at most 20 years earlier from Chadron State. Recipients must have shown exceptional service to the college through volunteer efforts, distinguished themselves in their chosen career, or active involvement in their community.
Sanders works in the private sector for HDR Engineering, supporting infrastructure design projects in the areas of project management, project controls, and strategic communications.
Sanders began her career as a Deputy State Fire Marshal with the State of Nebraska, managing statewide safety programs and facilitating public communication on fire-related issues. She was the continuity of operations planner and public information officer and co-managed the National Fire Incident Reporting System. She also managed the Joint Information Center in the State Emergency Operations Center and led the Public Information Officer during a $500 million flooding event that affected 84 Nebraska counties.
She later transitioned to the Nebraska Military Department as the State Emergency Response Commission Coordinator within the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. During her time in emergency management, Sanders became part of Nebraska’s newly formed Incident Management Team as a Public Information Officer III, assisting communities statewide during disasters and critical events. In addition to her work in Nebraska, she was assigned to assist with multiple types of severe storms in Kentucky.
Outside of her professional roles, Sanders serves her community as a volunteer firefighter and an emergency medical technician.
