A Uniformed Services University airman wins an Air Force leadership award, and two civilian staff members earn quarterly honors.
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| Staff Sgt. Amelia Nixon earns an AFDW Sijan Leadership Award, and 2 USU staff members are named Employees of the Quarter. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU) |
October 2, 2026 by USU News
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Amelia Nixon has received the Lance P. Sijan U.S. Air Force Leadership Award at the Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) level, and two civilian staff members at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) have been named the university's Employees of the Quarter for April through June 2026. Liza Cornfield of the Security Department is Senior Employee of the Quarter, and Sandra Hofmann of the Department of Medicine is Junior Employee of the Quarter.
All three support USU students directly: Nixon through personnel actions, Cornfield through security onboarding, and Hofmann through clinical rotation scheduling.
Staff Sgt. Amelia Nixon: Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award
Nixon, a noncommissioned officer in USU's Military Personnel Office, was recognized for her leadership, character, and devotion to duty. At USU, she has helped resolve personnel and financial issues affecting the university's medical students. Her selection follows the quarterly and annual honors earned by USU Air Force personnel in April.
The Air Force created the award in 1981 to recognize airmen who show the highest qualities of leadership on and off duty. Its namesake, U.S. Air Force Capt. Lance P. Sijan, was a fighter pilot whose aircraft went down over Laos in November 1967. Severely injured, Sijan evaded capture for 46 days. After he was taken prisoner, he continued to resist his captors until his death in January 1968, and he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Much of the record behind Nixon's award comes from her prior assignment as lead instructor at the Airman Leadership School (ALS) at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. ALS is the Air Force's first level of enlisted professional military education, the leadership schooling that prepares airmen to supervise others. There, Nixon eliminated a two-year backlog in that education, awarded 708 Community College of the Air Force credits, and expanded class capacity by 90 seats. That work helped keep promotions on schedule for Department of War (DoW) personnel across multiple commands and units.
Selected to serve as acting commandant, Nixon led the school's instructors and 85 students. She also organized the first joint ALS field exercise, which brought together five bases and trained 324 supervisors, and she led seven graduations for 351 joint-service supervisors. She introduced new instructional technology into the curriculum as well.
Off duty, Nixon supported joint-service athletes at the 2025 Warrior Games, the DoW's adaptive sports competition for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans. She has also led literacy initiatives in her community.
Liza Cornfield: Senior Employee of the Quarter
Cornfield, Personnel Security Specialist in the Security Department, was recognized for her leadership and technical expertise in personnel security, the background investigation and clearance work that supports onboarding for USU students, faculty, staff, contractors, and military personnel.
During a period of staffing shortages and changing DoW requirements, Cornfield took on additional responsibilities. She continued to advise offices across the university, oversee its personnel security programs, and keep USU in compliance with federal and DoW requirements. Her responsiveness, organization, and focus on customer service kept mission support uninterrupted and onboarding on track.
Sandra Hofmann: Junior Employee of the Quarter
Hofmann, a program support assistant in the Department of Medicine, manages the logistics behind USU medical students' clinical training at the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Her work has helped expand and sustain USU's clinical training opportunities there, including an 800% increase in fourth-year rotations in the medical intensive care unit.
Hofmann makes sure students complete required onboarding and training, keeps faculty evaluations and records current, coordinates complex schedules, and resolves problems before they reach students. That work has earned her the trust of students, faculty, resident physicians, and medical center leadership.
Awards and recognitions for future roundups can be sent to news@usuhs.edu.