Academic Achievement Awards

In addition to committing early in her academic career to develop and deepen her intellectual understanding of the experiences of Africana and Latinx communities in the classroom, Bealon has also spent her time in dialogue with her peers emerging as a student leader and peer partner. Besides serving as a Teaching Assistant in the classroom, she has served as Vice President of B.E.E.F. (Black Engaged Enlightened Feminists) and as a peer advisor, orientation leader, dragon guide and phonation caller. Following through on an ambition identified early, she plans to pursue a career in social work.

Keller has earned the Richard Siegfried Award for Academic Excellence, the Susan Sutton Student Award for Academic Excellence and has twice been awarded the Jean Parish Scholarship for Art. Keller is active in the Computer Art Club and the Gamers Club. He has done independent studies for "Traditional Animation Portfolio," "Character Design" and "World Building." His work has been included in several exhibits in the Art Gallery Exhibition in the Fine Arts Center. Post-graduation, Keller would like to get a job and work visa for Canada, Ireland or Iceland, to explore what kind of art culture they have to offer.

Hallenbeck has received the Richard Siegfried Student Award for Academic Excellence (fall '23), the Susan Sutton Smith Student Award for Academic Excellence (spring '23), and the Jean Parish Scholarship for Art (AY'23/'24). She has been a member of the Chess Club and the Environmental Club. Hallenbeck has been a teaching assistant to Ceramics classes for two semesters. She also interned with the Art Department's Artist in Residence, working on a collaborative video installation. She has exhibited numerous pieces of her artwork in the Art Gallery Exhibitions in the Fine Arts Center.

Flores has been awarded multiple scholarships, including the prestigious Haverly and Alice Moyer Scholarship, the Promise Scholarship, the TAP Grant NYS, the Excelsior Scholarship and the Global Connectedness Scholarship. During her time at SUNY OnMark, she has actively engaged in various community service initiatives such as Operation Santa, community clean-ups and volunteering at the Lord's Table. As the president of SUNY OnMark, Flores has demonstrated exceptional organizational skills through her planning of innovative events, production of comprehensive reports and effective leadership of meetings. Under her guidance, the chapter participated in the Holiday Parade, distributing candy along Main St. Furthermore, she is currently coordinating a trip to the International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans.

Maopolski is Vice President of Membership at Beta Gamma Sigma and a talented musician recognized as one of Scream Blast Repeat's Top 7 Guitarists of 2022. He consistently makes the Provost’s List, and received prestigious scholarships, including the Ignatius Ts'ao Scholarship, SUCO Presidential Scholarship and Economics and Business Endowed Scholarship. Maopolski serves as a Small Group Leader in the Oneonta Campus Ambassadors, interning at NewLife Oneonta and volunteering to give guitar lessons at NewLife Oneonta Church. Maopolski serves on the Sullivan County BOCES CTE Music Production/Broadcasting Advisory Committee. He is also dedicated to mental health advocacy, volunteering at live concerts, and facilitating connections between HeartSupport and heavy metal musicians. All these achievements were accomplished while pursuing dual degrees in Business Economics and Music Industry, along with a minor in Audio Arts and interning at three different organizations at SUNY Oneonta.

Sumba has excelled academically and professionally. She has served as an executive board member, for many organizations, receiving awards, volunteering on and off campus, having paid and unpaid internships, and maintaining an overall excellent GPA. She received several awards such as the Provost List, Tri Alpha and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies, and the John Doherty '87 and Oneonta Promise Scholarships. She has served as an executive board member, participated in various internships such as the Arc Otsego, Morgan Stanley and Oneonta State Emergency Squad (OSES), and demonstrated leadership skills as a Residential Advisor and Treasurer for the Hispanic Organization Learning Advancement. Sumba has also been involved in community service, working with veterans and children, serving food at Lord's Soup Kitchen and donating to a local shelter.

Hernandez shines as an outstanding student, consistently producing work of a caliber fit for a graduate-level course. Beyond her written excellence, she actively engages in classroom discussions, sharing valuable insights and knowledge with her peers. Hernandez's leadership shines during group activities, inspiring others, while consistently pushing herself to better her academic and creative potential. She truly embodies the pinnacle of achievement among SUNY Oneonta students.

Ritter is a student whom the faculty dream to have in class. She has incredible focus and an inquisitive mind, always striving to learn in deeper, thought-provoking ways. Her offerings in class are always insightful and prepared. An organized thinker and writer, Ritter has a critical sensibility that led to her creating an original class activity that was both creative and allowed students to think critically about course materials in an entirely new light.

Tortorice is a student who embodies the true spirit of a student-athlete. She was always prepared, engaged and used her athletic competitive spirit to push her scholarly self to new heights. Her work was always of the highest quality, and she consistently demonstrated an understanding and care for the classes she was enrolled in.

Harrigan is a double major in Economics and Africana & Latinx Studies. She is president of the Black Engaged and Enlightened Feminists, Economics Club, and Omicron Delta Epsilon (Economics Honorary). She is a recipient of the Richard Siegfried Award and the Susan Sutton Smith Award. Harrigan served as a residential advisor from August 2021 to May 2022. She is currently the student intern for the Economics Department’s Sustainable Development Goals Speaker Series. Her senior thesis explores the gender and racial wage gap across industries in the U.S.

Morris received the Susan Sutton Smith Award for academic excellence in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and the Richard Siegfried Award for excellent GPA. She is a member of the international English honor society Sigma Tau Delta and has been treasurer of the Oneonta chapter since fall of 2022. She was also the recipient of the Goodrich Poetry Prize in 2022, had poems exhibited at the SUNY Oneonta PRIDE Art and Poetry Gallery in 2023, published poems in SUNY Oneonta's Art and Scope Magazine in 2023, and was a panelist at SUNY Oneonta's New Critics Conference in 2023. Morris plans to continue writing and publishing poetry after graduation.

Dunne is a member and officer of Phi Sigma Iota, the Foreign Language Honor Society, and has a passion for Spanish linguistics. She has been an RA in Golding, Grant and Wilber halls and looks forward to teaching Spanish.

Clarke’s work in all subjects is carried out at a high caliber. In all her courses, she took on extremely difficult topics that required an in-depth knowledge of the subject and a great deal of personal research in both primary source material and historiographical debate. Clarke has shown unique levels of motivation in her work and dedication to all responsibilities with which she is entrusted. She greets every obstacle enthusiastically and enjoys exploring a topic, its historiography and related information. She has shown great skills in handling historiographical debates and is fearless in approaching non-conventional topics or taking her research into less documented areas.

Muka has completed three internships in the field, done lighting work in the Goodrich Theatre, participated in SUNY Oneonta Theatre and TERPS productions for sound and lighting and worked at Buffalo’s Indigo Productions to learn the ins and outs of concert setup. Muka is excited to move forward with a degree in Music Industry and would like to thank the professors, industry professionals, friends and family who have guided her to where she is now.

Dean has spent three years pursuing a passion for the country music industry in Oneonta. One of the first SUNY students accepted to the Country Music Association’s leadership class, Dean worked at 2023’s CMA Music Festival and CMA Awards and interned with Townsquare Media, Albany Broadcasting and Country Aircheck. Serving as the President of the Music Industry Club and Communications Director of WONY 90.9FM, Dean is heavily involved in campus life. Having received an NYSBA Award and three ISBC Awards for work at WONY, Dean is looking forward to a career in country music and radio broadcasting.

Altobelli is an excellent student and excels in philosophical inquiry. She is currently an intern with City Hall while carrying the workload of a double major. Altobelli has been an active participant in the philosophy club and in planning the annual undergraduate philosophy conference.

Throughout the last four years, Izzo has performed many roles in and out of the theatre department. Izzo’s many roles onstage at SUNY Oneonta include most recently, Frau Schultz, in the April 2024 production of Cabaret. While studying at SUNY Oneonta, Izzo also worked as a light board operator and costume designer. Additionally, Izzo has been the Vice President of Mask and Hammer, the Student Association theatre club, President of Alpha Psi Omega, the Theatre Honor Society and a production assistant and Pub Wench for the Sterling, NY Renaissance Festival. Izzo also performed at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and was nominated for the Irene Ryan Award in acting.

Meyenhofer is a shining example of academic excellence and campus leadership. A top performer in the classroom, Meyenhofer consistently goes above and beyond, delving deep into course material and reflecting with remarkable insight. Meyenhofer actively contributes to classroom discussions, skillfully navigating challenging topics with grace and empathy setting a positive example for peers. Beyond academics, Meyenhofer serves as an RA, was an adept intern for the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, is a member of Triota, the Women’s and Gender Studies Honor Society, and holds a leadership role in Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society, demonstrating unwavering commitment to both academic and community enrichment.

Genova has been an excellent student academically in the school counselor program. As a counselor trainee, her performance during her field experience exceeded all expectations. Her field supervisor commented on her performance stating that she has “all of the qualities that you would hope to find in a school counselor. She is warm, welcoming and an empathetic listener. She made every student feel safe and comfortable in counseling.” Genova worked diligently and was very efficient as a graduate assistant for the school counselor program as well.

Haefele has an exceptional academic record in the M.S. Nutrition and Dietetics program. As an already credentialed dietitian, she has emerged as a leader in the program and her expertise in eating disorder treatment has added an enhanced perspective for other students to learn from. Her community health intervention project highlights a higher-level understanding of research and a strong commitment to serving the dietetics community. Specifically, the eating disorder training program she developed for this project will address a recognized gap in future dietitians' educational training and positively impact the profession.

Arpino has a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility which helped her to complete her education while caring for a family member. She is a strong communicator, a hard worker and dedicated to her profession.

Chapman is a grad student who is graduating this spring. She has been exceptionally engaged in her Literacy B-6 Master's degree courses and shares teaching resources with her peers.

Cherkis always went above and beyond in working with students in the Worcester-SUNY Oneonta Clinically-Rich partnership. She also presented at the Rural Pipeline and other events that involved student engagement in service to SUNY Oneonta. She was a member of many clubs while excelling at her coursework. She is an extraordinary teacher who puts her students first by engaging them in place-based learning that builds on their assets.

Quezada always went above and beyond in working with students in the Milford CSD-SUNY Oneonta Clinically-Rich partnership! She was active in extracurricular events and simultaneously excelled at her coursework. She is an extraordinary teacher who puts her students first by engaging them in place-based learning that builds on their assets. Quezada has a deep understanding of STEM content shown through in all her lessons. This semester, she serves as a mentor-student teacher to this semester’s Block 26 preservice teachers at Milford.

Dix is an extremely strong student in the dietetics program. She has gained practical experience through internships at private practice, clinical nutrition and food service sites. Dix recently worked as a clinical nutrition intern at the NYS Veterans Home where she was praised for her work ethic and ability to independently complete work tasks. Her career goal is to work as a private practice dietitian offering services for a variety of nutrition-related conditions using the latest evidence-based guidance. Dix is a member of several honor societies and received the Susan Smith Sutton scholarship award in 2023.

Witkowski has served our Revival of Apparel Club (the RAC) for the last three years as an eBoard member and is currently the president. She has also served in the Ford Hall Government for two years as secretary and treasurer. She is an award winner in both of her majors, fashion and history. In fashion, she has received a Richard Siegfried award; in history, she has won the Michael Wright Book Award. She has also taken advantage of experiential learning at the PUMA showroom in New York City and has served as a teaching assistant for an advanced, upper-level fashion course.

Emerson excels academically and her work outside the classroom in her service to others is most impressive. She is President of the Human Development and Family Studies Club, helping feed dozens of community families at Thanksgiving, raising nearly $1000 to buy Holiday gifts for Oneonta children and spearheading a hygiene drive with local schools. Moreover, she has mentored an at-risk youth in one of the local schools for the past two years. Emerson is completing her internship at a residential treatment center that works with youths with behavior disorders.

Ferara is a second-grade teacher at Minisink Elementary School, he serves as the grade-level curriculum chairperson to train the faculty on how to become digital literacy experts. He is also an active community member as the Director of Maintenance and Events where he coordinates over 50 different events for the City of Middletown. Ferara is a scorekeeper for the Minisink Valley Central School District and he serves as a coordinator for a non-profit organization, called Run 4 Downtown, which hosts a 4-mile run to raise money for the town's downtown area.

Spadoni is an exemplary graduate student who has earned an Educational Technology Specialist Master's Degree from SUNY Oneonta. She is a 12th-grade English Language Arts teacher at Challenge Charter High School, providing impressive support to students and her faculty. Spadoni holds a Regents Preparatory Enrichment Course before school every day where she helps students learn how to pass the Regents exams. She also helps to assist and co-teach a composition college course for twelfth-grade students who excel in English Language Arts. She recently has been accepted to publish her research on using AI to develop lesson plans. She has also provided her faculty with professional development in using AI tools for lesson and assessment preparation.

Gillette is an exceptional student and peer mentor at SUNY Oneonta. Gillette has been an excellent peer mentor in leading class discussions and assisting students who need extra support. She led a session for local high school students at a Common Read event and is a Campus Ambassador. Her academic excellence is only outmatched by the kindness and grace she imbues in her work with her peers.

In addition to stellar academic performance, McPeek has served as a residence advisor, a National Science Foundation Noyce Scholars Intern in the A.J. Read Science Discovery Center and volunteered to serve as an admissions representative during open house events. Moreover, McPeek is an active member of the Geology Club and Sigma Gamm Epsilon where he's completed numerous community volunteer activities.

Alsdorf had a remarkable journey during her time at SUNY Oneonta. Alsdorf is a well-rounded student with multiple leadership, community service and social organizations such as Alpha Phi Omega, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Delta Chi. Alsdorf has researched social justice themes found in children’s literature, for which she presented her work at the New York State Reading Association’s Cultivating Genius. Alsdorf also worked with a group of her peers to help create a course devoted to teaching Global Studies, and her efforts have made a lasting impact on the secondary education social studies program.

Fabrizio is a teaching assistant for the Physiology of Exercise lab, assisting with practical tasks and activities and filling every lab with constructive learning, support and inspiring energy. She is on the Oneonta Volleyball and Track and Field teams and engages in numerous extracurricular activities including volleyball camp counselor and Special Olympics Regional Track and Field volunteer. Fabrizio is a perpetual learner who leaves every experience, with newfound knowledge, tools and skills to make her a better coach, trainer, athlete, educator and person.

Wooden is captain of the men's basketball team and winner of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. Wooden has dedicated time and effort to community service, earning two merit awards for his volunteer work creating inclusive opportunities and access for all sport participants. This includes participating in Adapted Basketball Clinics, Adapted Field Days, and earning an SRCA Grant to work with a regional adapted sport program to develop volunteer training programs. Beyond his volunteer work, Wooden runs a personal training business where he works with local athletes on holistic fitness and wellness programs.

Burnett has been an active member of the Sports and Exercise Sciences department. She has served on the Sport Management E-Board and currently holds the position of President. She has been actively involved in learning about Title IX and spent two independent studies helping to gather data for Title IX studies. She studied abroad in Greece and was very involved in her internship with the Binghamton Bearcats. Burnett will be heading to graduate school to advance her interest in Sport Management and is deciding on a few academic programs.

Whitcomb has demonstrated excellence in her research project on the parasites of fishes of the Oneida Lake tributaries. She also was awarded two internal research grants. She has conducted extensive outreach at schools in the Oneida Watershed, with seven presentations in the watershed ancillary to her thesis work. She has rapidly grown from someone with a good basic skill set in parasitology research to someone who does work that is consistent and of exquisite quality. Whitcomb has served as a mentor for several of the undergraduates in the lab and is the de facto leader among graduate peers.

Shea worked closely with a private lake association at Craine Lake in Earlville, NY. He interacted closely with this small stakeholder group to identify concerns related to their lake and undertake monitoring of multiple lake characteristics. Shea provided support in Underwater Research and Quantitative Biology courses in the fall of 2023. In 2024 he began teaching his first undergraduate lab section and took over for a second partway through the semester when the department needed additional instructional support. He is also a student-athlete, which presents challenges he navigated well with respect to his learning and academic responsibilities.

In addition to being an exceptional student, Jones takes on challenges that place her outside of her comfort zone. She has been a graduate assistant, providing 10 hours of work each week to tasks supporting CGP faculty. In addition to working with the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums as a volunteer coordinator for the association’s annual conference, she took on planning and implementing the state-wide conference for New York State History Day, working with schools, teachers and regional coordinators across the state.

Clarke completed a Research Assistantship in Anthropology and is part of the Intercultural Immersion Project with the Cooperstown Graduate Program and the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance. She attended the Pine Lake Archaeological Field School and completed an internship for the Genesee Country Village and Museum. Clarke has received multiple scholarships, been nominated for the Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society and is a Tri-Alpha National Honor Society member. She worked multiple jobs while attending school and serves on the e-board of the Black Student Union.

Beyond Beck’s exceptional performance in major and non-major courses, she has been involved in individual research projects, such as surveying the species of two different groups of aquatic insects. Beck was a summer intern at the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station where she performed independent research on populations of invasive mussels and also conducted watershed monitoring. She is taking a graduate course in her final semester as an undergraduate.

Deming is a super-engaged student who has done phenomenal work to make sure she masters as much biology content as possible before she starts teaching in her classroom. In addition to her classroom performance, Deming was President of the Biology Club, organizing meetings and trips and helping bring biological knowledge to the greater campus. Deming is finishing her time as a student teacher and is looking to teach biology in high school after graduation.

In a notoriously difficult program, Skoczek has excelled in all his courses. He worked as a Medical Assistant for over a year. An outfielder on the Red Dragons baseball team, he served as President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has participated in SUNYAC-wide conventions. In addition to his scholarship and campus leadership roles, he has participated in the Special Olympics, the One Love Foundation and the Gift of Life marrow registry.

Conron-Chamberlain came to SUNY Oneonta with 13 years of experience in the accounting non-profit industry. She has been recognized with the Richard Siegfried Award for Student Excellence and the Chance Imperato Foundation Scholarship. Conron-Chamberlain has been described as a role model and mentor by her department peers and is an advocate for women in science. She has memberships in national honor societies such as Sigma Gamma Epsilon and Tau Sigma. In research, Conron-Chamberlain is the lead author of an investigation into the record warmth in 2023. She is also actively involved in the Meteorology Club and is a Trained Skywarn spotter for the National Weather Service.

Stanzione is an excellent student who succeeds in the classroom through hard work and dedication. His membership in Gamma Theta Upsilon Geography Honor Society and Omnicom Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society reflects this. His academic achievements as a student-athlete on the Varsity Swim Team were also recognized in the 2022-2023 school year when he was named an All-Regional CSC Scholar and nominated as SUNY Oneonta's Academic Athlete of the Year. He also participated in many student clubs and service opportunities during this time. Stanzione has been accepted into a fully funded master's program at SUNY Binghamton starting fall 2024.

Throughout his undergraduate studies, Conan has worked on research projects about fast food wait times, lawn coverage in residential properties and plastic utensil strength. He has also developed a visualization application in R to analyze economic QCEW data. Conan has been an active member of the campus community, working as a peer tutor and participating in the Outdoor Adventure Club and Taekwondo Club. Conan is also a member of Oneonta’s mathematics honor society and has received the Fraley Scholarship and Steven Edelstein Scholarship. After graduating, he will attend RIT to pursue a graduate degree in data science.

McLaughlin is a recent graduate who finished his bachelor’s degree in December 2023. He started his computer science degree at SUNY Broome and from there finished it at SUNY Oneonta. During his time at Oneonta, he received multiple scholarships and awards including the Mildred J. Haight Memorial Fund and the Jane M. Hazzard '56 Scholarship. His plan after graduation is to work in his field of study, he is looking to start his career in software development or cyber security.

As a SUNY Oneonta Summer Research Fellow, Ghiorse developed computer code to analyze the characteristics of waves forming in enclosed bodies. To get more accurate data for this study, he designed, fabricated and evaluated a pressure sensor that could be used to observe the surface height of water over time. Ghiorse and teammates presented the results at the New York State Section of the American Physical Society 2022 fall Symposium where they received best undergraduate poster honors. Additionally, Ghiorse was a leader of the Physics and Astronomy Club, a valuable contributor to the award-winning 2022 IGEM Team and a Fielder Scholarship recipient.

Johnston is the unanimous Department of Political Science selection for this year’s award. The Department praises Johnston for the consistently outstanding quality of her academic work, which exceeds expectations. She is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha and has been awarded the Erich James Mathiasen ’87 Scholarship. In addition to her outstanding academic work, Johnston has worked and been active in clubs while at Oneonta. Johnston has been an officer in three clubs that show a range of interests outside class: Knit Wits, Gamer’s Guild, and Drag N’ Roll Drumline. She plans to attend law school after graduation.

Legg is a superb student whose insights and commentary improve any classroom experience. Her composure, professionalism, and motivation to succeed allow her to be an outstanding academic performer yet these attributes also make her an ideal representative and ambassador for the university as she inspires new generations of students to explore and excel at SUNY. Legg’s dedication to understanding human behavior has shown her scholarly and civic character to be of the very highest quality.

Manley is an outstanding and dedicated student. She worked as a teaching assistant for Cognitive Psychology and Research Methods. She also spent multiple semesters as a research assistant, ultimately contributing to a project presented at the Eastern Psychological Association’s conference. She held the Treasurer role in the Ski Club, is actively involved in SOAR as coordinating editor and is a Psi Chi Honor Society member. Manley was accepted to the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Experimental Psychology M.S. program, which will begin in fall 2024.

Schuler has proven herself to be an excellent student, a strong leader and a valuable member of the community. She served as a teaching assistant for multiple courses and is currently involved in independent research. Schuler is the President of Oneonta’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She also served as a Mental Health Resident Assistant and a Walk Coordinator for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Schuler represents the student body on several college-wide committees including the Recent Alumni and Programs Committee, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Taskforce and the Mental Health Advisory Committee.

Lettich is currently actively involved in primary research for her senior thesis, examining the link between social media use and mental health.

Whittington has the highest GPA among sociology majors. She is currently engaged in a highly significant internship with the City of Oneonta, leading the Climate Smart Communities project.