PURCHASE COLLEGE STUDENTS RECEIVE CHANCELLOR'S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher presented awards to a total of 256 students across the university system on April 2 at the Empire State Plaza.

Purchase College seniors Steven Brown, Anna Krol, and Tyler Madell each received the prestigious award, which was created in 1997 to recognize students who have best demonstrated, and have been recognized for, the integration of academic excellence with accomplishments in the areas of leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement.

“It is my highest honor to recognize the achievements of SUNY students who have excelled not only academically but as leaders on their campuses and in their communities,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “Students receiving this award are to be commended for their excellence as role models, artists, scholar athletes, and civic volunteers. Their leadership can serve as an inspiration to all SUNY students and a tremendous point of pride for the entire SUNY family. Congratulations to all of the students receiving the 2015 award.”

Each year, SUNY campus presidents establish a selection committee that reviews the accomplishments of exemplary students. Nominees are forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office for a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award. Each recipient receives a framed certificate and medallion, which is traditionally worn at commencement.

Purchase College Honorees:

Steven Brown (arts management and history) is active on campus as both an RA and an intern in the Offices of Community Engagement and International Programs and Services. A winner of the prestigious Gilman Scholarship Award for his study abroad trip to Hungary, he has also studied in Spain and represented Purchase at the TECHNOS International Week in Japan. As a volunteer for Project Focus, he mentored homeless and low-income children in Mount Vernon. Brown is an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) student and has mentored incoming EOP freshman. He was also recently named the Jandon Outstanding Student in Arts Management.

Anna Krol (Latin American studies and sociology) won the outstanding junior in sociology award as well as three consecutive Scholar Athlete Awards. She is captain of the Purchase Swim Team, volunteers regularly at Hospice of Westchester, and served as public relations and co-events representative for the LGBTQU. In June, she will enter the Americorps City Year program in Sacramento.

Tyler Madell (environmental studies and political science) spent ten weeks in Costa Rica as a Tropical Ecology Field Research Assistant to Susan Letcher, assistant professor of environmental studies, and had his senior thesis research accepted for presentation at a national conference. He was named the outstanding junior in both environmental studies and political science. Since 2013, he has been the director of the campus Broken Spikes Bike Shop run by the Purchase Student Government Association.