Student Spotlight
Honors College alum Kaylynn Enright '18, MPA '20, works as a budget examiner for the New York State Division of the Budget. Kaylynn visited Honors College students in 2022 to share her internship experiences and provide advice on course selection, honors thesis development, and working in state government.
Honors College alum Katie Almon '20 was selected as a recipient of the 2020-2021 Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research at the University at Albany for her honors thesis project. This important University-wide competitive award is established to recognize undergraduate research and scholarship. Recipients receive a certificate and plaque to commemorate this honor.
Honors College alum Alexa Rose Passante '20 was selected as the recipient of the 2021 Agnes E. Futterer Scholarship. This $1,250 Alumni Association scholarship recognizes an outstanding student in theatre or theatre-related fields with support for the winner’s pursuit of graduate study in theatre.
Honors College senior Maxim Couillard was selected as a recipient of the 2020-2021 Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research at the University at Albany for his atmospheric research paper. This important University-wide competitive award is established to recognize undergraduate research and scholarship. Recipients receive a certificate and plaque to commemorate this honor.
Honors College alum Simone Hassan-Bey '20 has won a Critical Language Scholarship to study Korean for summer 2021. She is the first University at Albany student to have received this nationally competitive award since 2016 and the first ever for the Korean language.
Honors College alum Danielle Saint Hilaire '20 has been selected as a recipient of the 2020-2021 Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research at the University at Albany for her honors thesis, "Genetic Approaches for the Cell-Specific Deletion of the Neuronal Glutamate Transporter EAAC1." This important University-wide competitive award is established to recognize undergraduate research and scholarship. Recipients receive a certificate and plaque to commemorate this honor.
Honors College alum Michael Allain, a senior Public Administration and Policy major, was a 2019 Truman Finalist. He's a field director for Generation Vote and has worked for several state entities, including the State Senate, Department of Health, Gaming Commission, and the State University of New York. Michael wants to earn a J.D. with a concentration in labor and employment law, so that he can one day work in the antitrust division of a prosecutor’s office.
Honors College alum Jalissa Thomas, a Chemistry major, attends graduate school at UAlbany following her graduation in Spring 2020. As an undergraduate, she participated in ForensicsBites, Lednev Lab, STEP Program and Club Lacrosse. She also served as the Vice President ('20) and Treasurer ('18-'19) of the Chemistry Club. Jalissa earned several awards, including the Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research, Shelton Bank Award for Excellence in Chemistry and Spellman TOP Achievement Award.
Honors College alum Patrick Farley, a grad of the Financial Analyst Honors Program, has won Donald E. Boyce Business and Financial Market Regulation Scholarship, as well as the Dean C. Backer ’88 Scholarship. Patrick has worked as a sales, trading and investment banking intern for Fearnley Securities, and as an operations specialist intern for Carthage Federal Savings and Loan Association. On campus, he is the treasurer for Students of Albany Against Cancer. Patrick will be working full-time for HSBC as a Global Banking and Markets Analyst after graduation.
Honors College alum Robin Lieb, who graduated with Business Administration degree in the Financial Analyst Honors Program in 2018, now works at Goldman Sachs. He presented the findings of his honors thesis, “The Impact of Labor Rights on Equity Returns: A Cross-Country Analysis,” at the Dallas Federal Economic Scholars Program. Robin hopes to attend graduate school after getting a few more years of work experience.
Honors College alum Paul Pangburn graduated with an Economics degree in 2019 and attended Cornell University for his Master in Health Administration, graduating in 2021. As an undergraduate, Paul won the Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award and Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research. He placed second in the Undergraduate Paper Conference at the 2018 NYS Economics Association Conference for his research on the effects of the 2014 Medicaid Expansion on health behaviors in low-income adults. Currently, Paul is employed as an analyst with Atrius Health, one of the largest primary care providers in Eastern Massachusetts, serving over 700,000 patients. His primary responsibilities include detailed analysis of operational performance; supporting quality improvement initiatives; and evaluating practice growth trends as they relate to recovery from COVID-19.
Honors College alum Caroline Veldhuizen, who graduated with a Political Science degree in 2019, is now attending law school at Indiana University. Carolina won the President’s Outstanding Senior Award and the Presidential Award for Undergraduate Research for her thesis, "A Child Left Behind: How Harsh Disciplinary Tactics Contribute to the School-to-Prison-Pipeline.”
2021 Recipient: Chidiogo Igboekwe
2020 Recipients: Max Sevor, Victoria Tiranno, Jeremy Tu
2019 Recipient: Fu Yee Chua
2018 Recipient: Anna Agnes
2017 Recipient: Stuti Misra
2018-2019 Recipients: Sierra Acri, Terence Allard, Julia Bataille, Nicole Bulanchuk, Valerie Bresier, Indiana Brown, Jessica Charles, Charles Coley, Elise Coombs, Allix Coon, Caitlyn Doherty, Rachel Eager, Niki Garguilo, Mary Grace Hren, Olivia Johansen, Simranpreet Kaur, Madeeha Khan, Stacie Klinowski, Luke Lebel, Molly MacIsaac, Katarina Manzi, Merissa Marthage, Samuel Marthage, Marisa Way, Clara Meyer, Shannon MoQuin, Shanice Morgan, Tocorey Oughterson, Niamh O’Sullivan, Danielle Rambuss, Erin Ray, Destiny Valentine, Jessica Van Saders, Caroline Veldhuizen, Arielle Westcott, Kelly Wingfield, Anna Agnes, Danielle Amoretti, Kathryn Helm, Peter Gajic, Nicholas Prescott, Michelle Kobou Wafo, Baylee West
2017-2018 Recipients: Julia Bataille, Madeeha Khan, Charles Coley, Shannon Moquin, Elise Coombs, Rachel Eager, Nikki Garguilo, Mary Hren, Destiny Valentine, Shanice Morgan, Tocorey Oughterson, Jessica Charles, Katarina Manzi, Niamh O'Sullivan, Erin Ray, Indiana Brown, Allix Coon, Molly Macisaac, Arielle Westcott, Marisa May
2021 Recipients:
Academic Leadership Award: Kayla Higgs
Ada Craig Walker Award: Simone Hassan-Bey
Athletes & Recreation Leadership Award: Sheridan Messier
Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award: Chidiogo Igboekwe
Great Dane Ambassador: Julie Jasewicz
Great Dane Award: Jahnavi Bonagiri, Nicole Gaglia, Carolyn Jones, Kavipriya Kovai Palanivel, Jonathan Matza, Margret Rice, Shira Silverstein, Kevin Thomas
International Student Leadership: Benitha Muyizere
Outstanding Senior Award: Katelyn Almon, Julia Lembach, Carly Lindsay, Clint Mohammed, Emmanuella Owusu Ampaw, Kassandra Sturm, Benitha Muyizere
Project SHAPE Award: Anna Baumer
Residential Life Outstanding Achievement Award: Clint Mohammed
Returning Woman Award: Danielle Saint Hilaire
Sustainability Leadership Award: Carly Lindsay
2020 Recipients:
Great Dane Award: Nurat Affinnih, Michael Allain, Julie Jasewicz, Jillian Cheng, Sana Effendi, Sabrina Fleming
Academic Leadership Award: Thomas Banco, Niara Nichols
Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award: Danielle Duguid
Outstanding Senior Award: Valerie, Bresier, Petar Gajic, Mirren Galway, Haley Lynch, Le Gia Cat Pham, Max Sevor, Harshal Shet, Gina Tan, Jeremy Tu, Nicholas DiModica
University Governance Leadership Award: Ankeith Illiparambil
Great Dane Ambassador: Casey Pav
Middle Earth Award: Kassandra Sturm
Residential Life Outstanding Achievement Award: Charles Coley
2019 Recipients:
Academic Leadership Award: Elisabeth Dubois
Athletes and Recreational Leadership Award: Jeremy Tu
Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award: Jeremy Carter, Dhanisha Nandigama, Paul Pangburn
Great Dane Award: Nicholas DiModica, Michelle Raissa Kobou Wafo, Niara Nichols, Max Sevor
Interfaith Center Award: Emma Thrasher
International Student Leadership Award: Benitha Muyizere
Outstanding Senior Award: Fu Yee Chua, Elise Coombs, Virginia Cooney, Joseph De Santis, Morgan Eldridge, Amanda Helak, Ilene Rothman, Carolyn Solimine, Destiny Valentine, Caroline Veldhuizen
2018 Recipients:
Academic Leadership Award: Jalissa Thomas
Distinguished Scholar-Leader Award: Allix Coon, Molly MacIsaac
Great Dane Award: Paulina Hatzipetrakos, Nicholas Gonzalez
Interfaith Center Award: Aileen Eagleton
Outstanding Senior Award: Anna Agnes, Madison Corbeil, Elisabeth DuBois, Marina Danielle Infantado, Annie Songeun Lee, Robin Lieb, Lauren Maitner, Michelle Kobou Wafo
Ada Craig Walker Award: Claire McCulley
Residential Life Outstanding Achievement Award: Samantha Spoor
Christine A. Bouchard School Spirit Award: Carolyn Solimine
2017 Recipients:
Academic Leadership Award: Gertrude Morgan Dadzie
Diversity & Inclusion Award: Madeeha Khan
Great Dane Award: Madison Corbeil, Ashley Cummins, Andrew Cutrone, Sarah Farrell, Harlan Ginsburg,
Antonio Iacobelli, Morgan Knudtsen, Rachel Levit, Jessica Van Saders
Outstanding Senior Award: Mathew Boll, Caitlin Briggs, Carlie Eagle, Cassandra Edwards, Michael Lorka,
Colin Manchester, Jibin Manimala, Naomi McPeters, Stuti Misra, Steven Troy, Natalie Turner
Residential Life Outstanding Leadership Award: Robin Lieb
Rod Hard Memorial Award: Elisabeth Dubois
2021 Recipients: Maxim Couillard, Katie Almon, Danielle Saint Hilaire
2020 Recipients: Alyse McAlpine, Thomas Banco, Jayda Melnitsky, Chloe Ross, Anthony Scalise, Arielle Westcott, Emily O'Halloran
2019 Recipients: Nurat Affinnih, Roxanne Grieggs, Jiwon Kim, Luke LeBe, Julia Melfi, Maksim Papenkov, Jalissa Thomas, Caroline Veldhuizen
2018 Recipients: Lisa Dobrowolsky, Kaylynn Enright, Leah Gloskey, Paul Pangburn
2017 Recipient: Stuti Misra
2016 Recipient: Troy Norton
2020 Recipients
Spellman Award for Outstanding Community Service: Sana Effendi
Spellman Award for Distinguished Leadership: Benitha Muyizere
Spellman Top Academic Achievement Award: Nabiha Ahmed, Jonathan Codipilly, Nathaniel Foster, Sarah Giansante, Thu Hoang, Niara Nichols, Sana Patel, Jivan Ramjisingh, Kayleigh Ross, Kevin Thomas, Kiera Whitely, Ali Banfield
2019 Recipients
Spellman Award for Outstanding Community Service: Valerie Bresier
Spellman Top Academic Achievement Award: Caroline Corona, Niara Nichols, Tocorey Oughterson, Jivan Ramjisingh, Kayleigh Ross, Gina Tan, Kiera Whitely
2017 Recipients
Dr. Seth Spellman NIA Scholar Award: Cassandra Edwards
Spellman Achievement Award for Academic Excellence: Nurat Affinnih, Stuti Misra
Spellman Award for Outstanding Community Service: Stuti Misra
2016 Recipients
Spellman Achievement Award for Academic Excellence: Oyenike Ilake, Stuti Misra
Spellman Achievement Award for Distinguished Leadership: Cassandra Edwards
2015 Recipients
Dr. Seth Spellman NIA Scholar Award: Stuti Misra
Spellman Achievement Award for Academic Excellence: Cassandra Edwards, Oyenike Ilake
Spellman Top Academic Achievement Award: Stuti Misra
2014 Recipients
Spellman Achievement Award for Academic Excellence: Cassandra Edwards, Stuti Misra
2020 Finalist: Caitlyn Zon, Psychology major
2019 Finalist: Michael Allain, Public Administration and Policy Major
2021 Recipient: Simone Hassan-Bey
Situation Prize for Research
2020 Recipients: Caleb Levine, Deborah Ariyibi, Jalissa Thomas
2019 Recipients: Jeremy Carter, Michelle Raissa Kobou Wafo, Maksim Papenkov
2018 Recipients: Valerie Bresier, Robin Lieb, Molly MacIssac, Michelle Kobou Wafo
Sorrell Chesin Research Award
2021 Recipient: Danielle Saint Hilaire
2020 Recipients: Caleb Levine, Le Gia Cat Pham
2019 Recipients: Thomas Banco, Jeremy Carter, Morgan Eldridge, Gabrielle Shames
Dr. Dolores Cimini Service Award
2020 Recipient: Valerie Bresier
The Greenwald Research Fund
2021 Recipient: Danielle Saint Hilaire
Yoonhee Yoshi Kim Scholarship
2021 Recipient: Ali Banfield
The Moyer Research Fund
2021 Recipient: Danielle Saint Hilaire
College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity’s Best Research Project Award
2020 Recipient: Gabi Bartley
Department of Economics Gordon Karp Award
2017 Recipient: Morgan Knudtsen
Departmental Philosophy Prize
2019 Recipients: Mackenzie Darling, Gregory Zaloom
Celebration of Scholarship
2018 Nominees: Allix Coon, Elisabeth DuBois, Simi Kaur, Dhanisha Nandigam, Maksim Papenkov, Natalie Turne
Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award for Computer Science
2016 Recipient: Stuti Misra
Heritage Circle Society Scholarship Award
2017 Recipient: Fuyee Chua
International Atlantic Economic Society's 15th Annual Best Undergraduate Paper Competition Winner
2019 Recipient: Maksim Papenkov
James Unger Memorial Award
Troy Norton
Julie Forster Student-Athlete Academic Award
Ashley Cummins, Cassandra Edwards
Professor Rich Holt's essay "Forever Home," based on his Fall 2017 Honors seminar course, appeared in Honors in Practice (HIP). HIP is a refereed journal published by the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) on innovative honors practices. Professor Holt wishes to acknowledge the students in his seminar.
Professor Dennis McCarty’s article discussing his human trafficking honors seminar was published in Homeland Security Today and featured descriptions of the projects his students worked on during the semester.
One of his students, Mika Ella Rectin-Hernandez, recently made the UAlbany newspaper for her five-minute video describing the pain felt by human trafficking victims. The video — inspired by a poem also written by Mika Ella — was originally produced as a project for a Honors seminar offered by Professor Dennis McCarty. The one-credit course offered students a unique opportunity to develop material they believe would help prevent human trafficking. “I was immediately intrigued by this course,” said Rectin-Hernandez, who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines when she was an infant. “Through hearing stories from Professor McCarty and doing my own research online, I felt a duty to humanize victims of these terrible crimes.”
For more information on this unique course and the projects by Mika Ella and other students, please read the article, “Honors College Course Empowers Students to Fight Human Trafficking.”
McCarty, D. (2019, Jan. 7) Perspective: Give students the tools to fight human trafficking. Homeland Security Today. Retrieved from https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/human-trafficking/perspective-give-students-the-tools-to-fight-human-trafficking/.
Six honors students’ pieces were selected to be published in JPHMP Direct, a journal for public health practitioners. The pieces were developed in Professor Erika Martin’s class.
Brooks, A. (2018, Sept. 7). Increasing the number of advance directives in the United States. JPHMP Direct (the multimedia companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from jphmpdirect.com/2018/09/07/advance-directives-commentary-by-alexa-brooks/.
Brooks, A. (2019, Oct. 7). Racing against the clock: Improving speed and effectiveness of emergency medical service response in rural areas. JPHMP Direct (the multimedia companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from jphmpdirect.com/2019/10/07/improving-speed-effectiveness-ems-response-rural-areas/.
Galway, M. (2019, Aug. 23). Anti-vaxxers: A threat to our future. JPHMP Direct (the multimedia companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from https://jphmpdirect.com/2019/08/23/anti-vaxxers-mirren-galway/.
Melnitsky, J. (2018, Sept. 20). Through Haiti: How a natural disaster disproportionately affects populations with lower socioeconomic status. JPHMD Direct (the multimedia companion website of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from https://jphmpdirect.com/2018/09/20/jayda-melnitsky-student-commentary/.
Shet, H. (2018, Aug. 22). I-Generation and the use of social media to help dispel misconceptions about vaccines. JPHMP Direct (the multimedia companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from https://jphmpdirect.com/2018/08/22/i-generation-and-the-use-of-social-media-to-help-dispel-misconceptions-about-vaccines/.
St. Hilaire, D. (2019, Aug. 8). Preventing water contamination: Potential solutions in the United States. JPHMD Direct (the multimedia companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from https://jphmpdirect.com/2019/08/08/pfoa-contamination-danielle-st-hilaire/.
Tan, G. (2018, July 24). Preventing intimate partner violence: Integrating routine screening into primary care. JPHMD Direct (the multimedia companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice). Retrieved from https://jphmpdirect.com/2018/07/24/preventing-intimate-partner-violence-integrating-routine-screening-into-primary-care/.
Berman, J., & Rees, K. (2017). Affecting eternity: Sharing eulogies in the classroom. Radical Pedagogy, 14(1), 42-61. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/406582688/Berman-Rees.
Brunelle, E., Huynh, C., Alin, E., Eldridge, M., Le, A. M., Halámková, L., & Halámek, J. (2017). Fingerprint analysis: Moving toward multiattribute determination via individual markers. Analytical Chemistry, 90(1), 980-987. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b04206
Chandrasekaran, A. R., Levchenko, O., Patel, D. S., MacIsaac, M., & Halvorsen, K. (2017). Addressable configurations of DNA nanostructures for rewritable memory. Nucleic Acids Research, 45(19), 11459-11465. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkx777.
Coon, A. M., Beyramysoltan, S., & Musah, R. A. (In press). A chemometric strategy for forensic analysis of condom residues: Identification and marker profiling of condom brands from direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometric chemical signatures. Talanta.
Tapawan, G. (2017). Endearment. In Z Publishing House (Ed.), New York’s best emerging poets: An anthology (p. 130). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Teevan III, J. R. (2017). A mysterious evening in Vienna. (n.p.): CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Teevan III, J. R. (2019). Secret weapon and last hope. Self-published; printed by Kindle Direct Publishing.
Teevan III, J. R. (2018). The love letter with a bullet hole. (n.p.): J. R. Teevan III.
Teevan III, J. R. (2018). The traveler’s sketchbook. Self-published; printed by Kindle Direct Publishing.
Turner, N., Hastings, J. F., & Neighbors, H. W. (2018). Mental health care treatment seeking among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: What is the role of religiosity/spirituality?. Aging & Mental Health. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2018.1453484
Chang, H. C., & Hanson, A. (2018, November). Transgressing the boundaries of program to college. Panel to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Boston, MA.
Holt, R., Wright, P., & Yu, B. (2018, November). Forever home: Grounding transgression inexperience. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Boston, MA.
Ilake, O. (2018, October). A comparison of health literacy measurement tools for a sample of college students. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Health Literacy Research Conference, Bethesda, MD.
Papenkov, M. (2018, November). Empirical asset pricing at the sector-level using Fama-French factors Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Boston, MA.
Strine, S. (2018, November). Effects of stereotype threat on black and white individual’s verbal responses in police encounters. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Boston, MA.
2019: Nurat Affinnih, Vincent Alagna, Terence Allard, Thomas Banco, Jeremy Carter, Elise Coombs, Fu Yee Chua, Morgan Eldridge, Kathleen Gibson, Roxanne Grieggs, Ashley Hull, Jiwon Kim, Michelle Raissa Kobou Wafo,Luke Lebel, Carlee Litt, Chris Lownie, Joshua Martin, Julia Melfi, Niara Nichols, Maksim Papenkov, Matthew Pascazi, Andrew Punnoose, Nicholas Sobotka, Carolyn Solimine, Gina Tan, Brenna Thibodeau, Jalissa Thomas, Destiny Valentine, Caroline Veldhuizen, Drew Zaweski
2018: Eden Alin, Ryan Badalamenti, Valerie Bresier, TJ Brown, Christina Burgos, Fuyee Chua, Allix Coon, Lisa Dobrowosky, Morgan Eldridge, Kaylynn Enright, Samantha Giuliano, Leah Gloskey, Grace Hren, Ashley Hull, Oyenike Ilaka, Danielle Infantado, Olivia Johansen, Simi Kaur, Robin Lieb, Keily Linger, Erin Lynch, Michael Main, Joshua Martin, Paul Pangburn, Maksim Papenkov, Marquette Rocque, Cara Sherman, Samantha Strine, Nina Williams
2019: Joshua Martin, Maksim Papenkov
2018: Robin Lieb, Maksin Papenkov, Paul Vita, Samantha Giuliano, Ashley Hull, Simi Kaur
Campus Tour Guides: Julia Batallie, Michelle Delaski, Nicolas DiModica, Nick Gonzalez, Emily Guererri, Alyssa Hathaway, Grace Hren, Anthony Piche, Damian Rodriguez, Kayla Rees, Christina Skrastins
CURCE Ambassadors: Nurat Affinnih, Thomas Banco, Petar Gajic, Micheele Raissa Kobou Wafo, Niara Nichols, Maksim Papenkov, Matthew Pascazi
Global Institute for Health and Human Rights Interns: Rachel Dejean, Thomas Banco, Natalie Turner, Joseph Walsh, Rachel Eager, Valerie Bresier, Audrey Caplan, Oyenike Llaka, Michalina Kulesza, Allyson Marshal, Shannon Moquin, Dhanisha Nandigama, Paul Pangburn, Sam Quetchenbach, Lindsey Riback, Peter Gajic
International Representatives (AIRs): Michelle Delaski, Amanda Helak, Michael Sudden
Orientation Leaders: Joe De Santis, Michell Rogerson, and Alana Ruth
Peer Career Advisors: Emily Guererri, Christina Skrastins
Purple and Gold Ambassador: Emily Guererri
Undergraduate Research Ambassadors: Michelle Raissa Kobou Wafo, Molly Maclsaac, Maksim Papenkov, and Natasha Permau