Elevating Student Leaders Program

The recipient of the SUNY Outstanding Student Affairs Program Award, The Elevating Student Leaders Program (formerly the Emerging Student Leaders Program) is an interactive program open to freshmen and sophomores designed to enhance you as a leader and student here at UAlbany.

This 10 week program meets for 90 minutes per week, generally on Friday afternoon. Attendance at a minimum of 8 sessions is required for program completion. Since participants are expected to stay for the full 90 minute session each week, please make sure you can commit to one of the scheduled section times for the entire semester. Participants selected for this program will be placed in a section at the time of acceptance based on the availability provided by the student on the application form. A graduation ceremony will be held in May before the conclusion of the academic year.

What to Expect From the Program:

The Elevating Student Leaders Program is grounded in the Social Change Model of Leadership Development to develop leaders who want to facilitate positive change and which supports the view that leadership is a process.

As an Elevating Student Leader you will meet, network, and make connections with other students, faculty, and staff, while developing the experience and knowledge to become a leader in and outside of the University community. The following session topics relate to the three critical values (Consciousness of Self, Congruence, and Commitment) as identified in the Individual perspective of the Social Change Model:

• Theories of leadership
• Public speaking
• Emotional intelligence
• Marketing yourself as a leader
• Cultural competency                
• Leadership ethics                                        

Requirements:

• Must be a freshman or sophomore
• Must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher
• Must have a clean judicial record
• Must be free from class, work, or other commitments during one of the section times on Fridays during the semester when classes are in session

Students must attend 8 of the 10 sessions to receive the Elevating Student Leaders Certificate.

For more information on the Elevating Student Leaders Program contact the Center for Leadership and Service via [email protected].

Elevating Leaders Alumni:

Fall 2018:

Habib Affinnih
Doris Aning
Anthony Atristain
Imani Austin
Natalie Badding
Joseph Belmonte
Nyasha Biggs
Natasha Borchert
Sonika Bowen
Hannah Cast
Ryan Choi
Eva Clervoyant
Emily Copertino
Kojo Dadzie
Kamana Devkota
Justine Eadie
Jennesis Escoboza
Noelia Espinal
Omolabake Fagbenro
Xavia Francis
Nicole Gaglia
Annaliese Happ
Kate Iguchi
Julie Jasewicz
Izaiah Jefferson
Amelia Johnston
Hana Kastrati
Kelsey Kestenbaum
Bianca Lavaud
Thomas Lindstrom
Samantha Long
Katherine LoNigro
Marion Lyons
Sherika Martin
Kira Mehta-Rao
Harry Mikros
Jessica Moran
Tinotenda Muchenje
Chloe Nenner
Aminata Niare
Faythe Nicholson
Bria Niland
Devin O'Brien
Severina Oro
Maricielo Ortega Rojas
Jennifer Alex Peraza
Che'-Doni Platt
Vashan Ramlochan
Sara Rivera
Emily Ruffen
Samuel Salazar
Alyssa Sandy
Dymond Santos
Grace Schlembach
Andrew Scott
Abraham Siskind
Kellie Siu
Grace Sorci
Kyle Spector
Jenna Speranza
Cailyn Stevens
Clifford Sweezey
Ryan Szpicek
Meghna Tetambe
Kanan Vadalia
Michael Vallejo
Lauren Velez
Courtney Veno
Kathryn Weidner
Kiera Whitely
Mya Williams
Amy Zhang
Caitlyn Zon

Spring 2018:

Farhat Ahmad
Damilola Adesanya
Kennie Adeyemi
Beatrice Amma Afrah Adusei
Nurat Affinnih
Moazam Afzal
Rachael Ajayi
Kevin Allen
Brianna Amezquita
Yafet Andemariam
Tamika Andre
Alula Asfaw
Ashley Barcia
Gabi Bartley
Jackie Bedore
Katie Behlok
Kimberly Berger
Tristen Bishop
Anahi Bolanos
Michael Bowers
Nia Brockington
Sandra Castillo-Santamaria
Nick Cataldo
Sabrina Chan
Kayvon Chase
Jill Cheng
Elane Chin
Alave Chowdhury
Chevonesse Chushnie
Kayla Cintron
Colin Daniels
Glenny De Mota Munoz
Tiara Dillard
Joe DiPaola
Darima Dorzhieva
Latisha Eboigbe
Sana Effendi
Erin Fahey
Brendan Gallagher
Mirren Galway
Amina Garcia
Kilsy Gil
Candy Gonzalez
Yaqarra Greene
Emanuel Gutman-Gates
Antione Harris-Bowen
Mahima Huq
Reginald  Hyppolite
Chidiogo Igboekwe
Ankeith Illiparambil
Farzana Jewel
Andrew Kennedy
Joe Kodetsky
Nate Kue
Rithik Kunapuli
Cyayn LaGuerre
Mirabel Lartey
Ashley Latchman
Siddarth  Laveti
Erynne Lee
Shirley Liang
Dennie Lightle
Serena Lomb
Jon Mains
Juliet Manu
Jocelynn Marmolejos
Polina Mateo
Affreen Maureen
Finn McCandless
Grace McGrath
Naieka McTurner
Kartumi Mohammed
Emily Moy
Aarzoo Mukhi
Skye Muniz
Stacy-Ann Murdock
Mahnoor Nasir
Dimitri Nelson
Essence Nipper
Onyeka Okwu-uwa
Daniel Olokose
Imade Omozore
Rufus Oteniya
Casey Pav
Jason Perez
Joe Petraglia
Genesis Pierret
Katherine Pozo - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Travis Price
Yelena "Yely" Reyes
Jade Rivero Connell
Stephine Rodriguez
Helen Rodriguez
Mario Romano
Andrea Rua Llano
Anthony Savasta
Rehat Singh
Soraya St. Clair
Tiffany Stackhouse
Mahmuda Tasmeem
Yasser Teouri
Opemipo Tukuru
AJ Varisco
Emily Vega
Whitney Walker
Christin Whiteside

Fall 2017:

Precious Agyeman-Badu
Maddy Awawdeh
Carlo Basconcillo
Matt Belizaire
Morgan Bennett
Yara Bonifacio
Samantha Jo Buczeksmith
Brid Carroll
Matinah Cesar
Emily Cheung
Jasmine Cunningham
Betty De Jesus
Luciano DeAngelo
James Donohue
Juliana Duodu
Taylor Eaton
Tullis Gardner
Lareck Gayle
Ryanah Germany
Carmen Gonzalez
Melanie Granados
Chamberlain Harris
Mike Harvey
Amanda Hoffman
Brooke Howell
Chelsea Isaac
Aria Jordan
Joshua Kam
Greyton Kegler
Jimmy Kong
Amanda Lai
Macy Lambert
Shirley Li
Alex Louis
Allanah Matthews
Jon Matza
Emma Moran
Mouhamed Niang
Shay Owens
Emmanuella Owusu Ampaw
Maleesha Perera
Ruthy Pierre
Kat Ramos
Genevieve Roberts
Shaniah Roseborough
Jae Rosenberg
Katie Rouleau
Brittany Schut
Emily Schwartz
Genesy Sencion
Harshal Shet
Ying Shi
Archer Shurtliff
Angel Stewart
Emily Thompson
Linda Tran
Samantha Urena
Lisbeth Valdez
Rachel Vatelia
Joselyn Villarruel - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Noel Vizcarrondo
Nicholas Wenndt
Brian Yu

Spring 2017:

Nana-Hawwa Abdul-Rahman
Jonathan Acevedo
Abeer Awawdeh
Pamela Baez
Lauren Balogh
Samantha Benedetto
Makenzie Carroll
Amy Chan
Kristin Collins
Shehan Angelo Cooray
Justin Davis - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Triyanna Davoren
Claudine Desroches
Julia Ericksen
Ezequiel Esparza
Gabriel Flaten
Alexandra Galligan
Jacob Grabois
Mohammad Hashmi
Kathryn Helm
Dejonna Jackson
Pamela Mejia
Jordan Moass
Nyasia Robreno
Aleyna Sarap
John Scialabba
Kanishak Sethi
Joselyn Simmons
Adam Stojanovski
Bryce Symonette
Brittney Wisdom

Fall 2016:

Kelsey Albach
Mumen Bishawi
Emily Blachorsky
Zion Burwell
Emily Chan
Adralice Chatman
Thupten Choephel
Fu Yee Chua
Jonathan Collins - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Justin Collins
Zachary Cudney
Steven Engelhardt
Noemi Fana
Emily Gaillard
Samantha Giuliano
David Gonzalez
Lesanne Grant
Dominic Graziadei
Vanessa Hakizimana
Jefferson Hector
Daryle Henry
Anna Hess
Tajnin Islam
Rebekah Jabbar
Justin Jines
Branden Johnson
Brandon Johnson
Terrik Kobryn
Katarina Kronrad
Michalina Kulesza
Shane Leuschner
Anna Levine
Ashley Lewis
Michael Lim
Fanny Lin
Megan Lutz
Riley Moriarty
Teniola Olafuyi
Chandni Patel
Jazlin Perez
Alexandra Rattiner
Kristin Rizzi
Emily Rocks
Christina Skrastins
Emily Sullivan
Patrick Tehan
Jacob Totten
Charlotte Van Wely
Brook Vonbartheld

Spring 2016:

Nicole Acker
Cortney Alleyne
Rainer Alvarado
Sylvia Ayoub 
Lauren Byrd 
Alexandria Calegari
Christina Carlson 
Virginia Cooney
Sean Correia
Grace Coste
Briah Davis
Rendy Desamours 
Aline  Dipoumbi 
Diane Dreifuss 
Ray Farrell 
Shannon Farrelly
Jordan Fields 
Tekene  Figueira
Ana Flores 
Hannah Gauthier 
Lizbeth Gonzalez
Alana Green 
Charlotte Hatzel
Ashley Hidalgo 
Desiree Jaiman
Rose Jean-Louis
Michelle Kobo Wafo 
Nashikah Lamour
James Lee
Laura Leekin
Nika Mais 
Dulce Maldanado
Alex Morales 
Jon Mulhern
Arian Munoz 
Melissa Nealon
Nway Nway
Pooja Parikh 
Sciescka Parsons 
Nikita Patel
Tammy Pope
Kimberly Roblero 
Micaela Rodriguez 
Michelle Rojas - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Ayman Salloum 
Alejandro Sevilla 
Maya Sunar 
Gillian Tapawan
Emma Thrasher 
Gabrielle Weir
Denshauna White 

Fall 2015:

Anna Agnes
Julia Alford - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Neil Basu
Kendra Baxter
Emma Blodgett
Irene Boakye
Dara Bordman
Gwen Bowman
Vicky Chong
Bradley Choy
Karina Coraisaca
Jessica Cuoccio
Andrew Cutrone
Mackenzie Darling
Claire Deegan
Amanda Demma
Morgan Eldridge
Jessica Fousse
Daniella Gelman
Emily Guererri
Ali Hansen
Amanda Helak
Sarah Hladik
Matthew Horbacewicz
Xiaobei Hu
Samantha Japaz
Kaliyah Jordan
Luke Kellish
Matt Levine
Elena Lipsiea
Shanice McCauley
Maxwell McNeil
April Meerzoumen
Ashlee Mitchell
Dunni Ogundiran
Katelyn Palermo
Luis Ramirez
Christian Ramos
Emily Rattanaphasouk
Zahid Reddy
Malcolm Reece
Daphney Rudolph
Alana Ruth
Christina Schiappa
Karissa Shenk-Bellamy
Dean Spilka
Cate Strebing
Ali Syed
Subha Tasnim
Michaela Webb
Ashley Whiteside
Julianna Williams

Spring 2015:

Ubaidat Abdul-Rahman
Oluwanifemi Abe
Modia D. Alexandre
Kelvin Andrickson
Kelsey Auman - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Ben Bayly
Kelsey Briddell
Bibi Chaterpateah
Samuel Cittadino
Edith Cofie
Allix Coon
Kareem Crump
Jordene Daley
Kerry DeBruce
Victoria A. Edwards
Julio Garcia-Ortiz
Kwaku Hammond
Alyssa Hathaway
Roman Hula
Kayla James
Tariq Johnson
Sacha Johnson
Jennifer Jules
Olive Kapetanos
Colleen Levine
Rebecca Levinstein
Robin Lieb
Robert Lombardo
Rico Madera
Lauren Maitner
Stuti Misra
Chansa E. Mushota
Brittany Newell
Mariam Noory 
Jalen Parson
Latoya Paul
Lexi Reeves
Keren Rubin
Danielle Ruggiero
Aubrey Salamone
Ralphy Sanchez
Shaye Taylor
Brittney Williams

Fall 2014:

Cristina Alston
Nadia Bamba
Tirelle Barron
Daniel Broderick
Denise Brunskill
Alyssa Cacoperdo
Sharon Choi
Cristina DeCamargo
Rachel Eager
Thomas Ferris
Elias Fokine
Nag Gandham
Alexa Giha
Harlan Ginsburg
Charlie Glucksman
Hannah Godson
Aneta Golaszewski
Athena Gutierrez
Danielle Haft
Erin Hill
Emma Hughes
Bryce Kahler
Madeeha Khan
Leah Kosinski
Joey Lallman
Matthew Leger - recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa Emerging Leader Award
Shani Mars
Andrea Minchala
Dan Mondoro
Sera Nakisli
Nigel Pura-Bryant
Matthew Richmond
Diasia Robinson
Chris Rodriguez
Andréa Sanfilippo
Christopher Sansing
Alex Schindler
Robert Schubert III
Colleen Sickles
Rachel Siggilino
Kat Stroh
Sophia Uwechue
Jessica Van Saders
Joshua D. Van Wert

Spring 2014:

Ore Adelaja
Ashley Anderson
Bryan Ball
Gregory Bedik
Samantha Bruno
Jovaun Buchanan
Tara Byers
Olivia Carroll
Helena Cosenza
Kenya Dominguez
Rino Galente
Josselyn Gallardo
Kaylin Harrington
Luis Heras
Chibuokem Ikwuazom
Victoria Jordan
Fiona Jung
Jean-Paul LeBlanc
Jessica Levine
Thalia Liriano
Colin Manchester
Nicholas Marricco
Payton McDermott
Alistair McKee
Jannelys Mercedes
Jessica Michel
Tyanni Niles
Alexa Noel
Maia Nunes
Tori O'Neal
Vrunda Patel
Joanna Perlman
Nora Petrucci
Haley Pogonowski
Daniel Post
Marcy Robles
Vanessa Salamy
David  Schnall
Emma Schwab
Khadisha Smikle
Karina Soler
Michael Spielberger
Sally Trye
Genevieth Vargas
Anastacia Vassell
Wileena Verneus
Shira Wexler
Ijala Wilson

Fall 2013:

TJ Albanese
Destiny Anderson
Stephanie Augustin
Eric Bisaillon
Beth Caron
Mary Colabattista
Ashley Cummins
Tim Curran
Steve Curry
Stephanie Degraft
Britney Desouza
Philana Fraser
Christina George
Gabby Gregoire
Britanee Gugel
Tiffany Henry
Brad Hershenson
Kelsey Hidalgo
Kelly Hwang
Manny Jara
Julia Kim
Reid Kisselback
Evanna Lerouge
Hui Lin
Jacob Lindenauer
Mina Louis
Aquaisha Milligan
Trudy Morgan Dadzie
Amanda Nieto
Jesus Nunez
Julia Nye
Renee Pennant
Kassandra Rosales
Kylie Scheibling
Jessica Schultz
Nick Seyum
Jenifer Suprena
Melody Tien
Phil Waknin
Nicole Wallack
Michael Watts
Elizabeth Weiss
Elaizha Wright

Spring 2013:

Jamie Aldrich
Haris Alic
Brian Bholan
Brittany Bourne
Tony Breuning
Robert Briare
Celia D’Agostino
Nurat Daniju
Sofia De Luise
Danielle Fayerman
Ariana Gandevani
Winsthony Garcia
Emily Grasso
Richard Grimes
Emily Heinl
William Hurd
James King
Sandra Kuffour
Jenna Levine
Ellen Liebenthal
Grace Manos
Claire Miller
Fatima Mustafa
Cassidy Myszelow
Peter Pastuszka
Urvi Patel
James Perry
Vanessa Planty
Victoria Prevosti
Karl Ravilus
Symone Reid
Aaron Say
Katarina Spero
Carlton Steele
Monique Szafranski
Mellissa Villalba
Joash Ward

Fall 2012:

Salma Arif
Matthew Bernardo
Nagendra Bisram
Kelly Black
Deon Brown
Rebecca Brown
Johanna Buitrago
Marc Cohen
Dyani Dawes
Morgan Devuyst
Matthew Fedorchak
Dominick Foti
Sonia Frederick
Laura Gallagher
Krystyna Gloss
Josie Hartnett
Benjamin Israel
Dakotah Kidd
Gadi Langsam
Julian Lopez
Mariana Maeda
Elizabeth Maldonado
E. Christian Mallare
Amanda Michael
Rachel O'Donnell
Delonie Plummer
Rebecca Prince
Bethzaida Rivas
Nia Sanders
Angelo Setaro
Leah Silecchia
Shana Small
Anthony Tufano
Saritha Venugopal

Spring 2012:

Margaret Banda
Sarah Barden
Audrey Bridge
Erica Brunelle
Adriana Carozza
Mikailla Carwin
Krissie Chapman
Tako Chkadua
Tal Cohen
Joe Frigolette
Jess Hamburg
Murielle Henriquez
Luke Henry
Rebecca Kurlander
Lyam Lugo
Shawndele Lutchman
Katie Lyons
Jerome O'Grady
Casey Olszewski
Ama Otchere
Jade Petro
Bria Ramsey
Smiley Rojas-Nunez
Shanice Saunders
Eric Slater
Courtney Stern
Ryan Stern
Genesis Tejeda
Kelty Tippos
Kendra Van Valkenburg
Priya Winston
Paige Wood

Fall 2011:

Mavis Addai-Mensah
Robert Bernardini
Alana Biegelson
Yvette Boafo
Kwame Darkwa
Brianna Cheri Dean
Derek Ellis
Desiree Giroux
Nicholas Kennedy
Veronica Kolegue-Spalaris
Christine Marlowe
Emily Martinez
Thomas McCarty
Kate Mikoley
Emma Spalti
Michaela Torres
Katy Wilbur

Spring 2011:

Elizabeth Aritonang
Jennifer DeVito
Stephen Ellis
Andrew Forenza
Jose Guillen
Samantha Katz
Mariah Martinez
Blaire Mershon
Mariela Mihaylova
Daniel O'Shea
Krista Sehested
Brandon Suter
Alex Talamo
Michelle Truong
Sara Ventura
Sophia Vindeni
Luana Wang
Christina Wedderburn
Yunfan Zhu

Fall 2010:

Alana Agular
Victoria Bond
Hillary Closs
Nicole De Masi
Arthur Ford
Trish-Ann Kydd
Robin Schwenke
Lauren Stern
AJ Tafuro                           

Spring 2009:

Michael Arias
Nicole Calcanes
Jahqueena Haynes                                                              
Jason Jacobskind                                                                 
Whitney F. Martinez                                                  
Kate Messina 
Mike Mucciolo
Scott Stofeberg                                                                                            
Alicia Tambe                         

Testimonials

100% of the Fall 2011 Emerging Student Leaders indicated as a result of the program they are prepared to take on a leadership role at the University at Albany.

100% of the Fall 2011 Emerging Student Leaders are confident in their ability to be an effective leader as a result of participating in the program.

“I learned many practical tips and skills [in the Emerging Student Leaders Program] that I have already put into practice and seen the effectiveness of.  All of the sessions definitely benefited me and all of the speakers were exceptional.  I am also much more aware of the various offices and services here at the University and have already used this knowledge as well as to assist others and inform them of the many opportunities available to them.  My only complaint is that there weren’t more sessions!  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a great program.”

“It was nice to be recognized for taking an early initiative in getting involved.”

“[The Emerging Student Leaders Program] is definitely a program worth devoting time to.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and gained several new things from the sessions!”

“Very great presenters – I hope this trend continues for future participants of the Emerging Student Leaders Program!”