French minor wins Chancellor's Award
Eight UAlbany students will be honored next week as winners of the 2025 Chancellor's Awards for Student Excellence, which recognizes student achievement in academics, campus involvement, civics and service, and research or creative works. It is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by SUNY. The awards ceremony will be held April 29 at the Hart Theatre in the Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany.
Congratulations to Mauricio Rodriguez, Chancellor's Award winner, who comes from Briarwood in Queens, and is a psychology major with minors in sociology and French, all within the College of Arts and Sciences. A senior, he’ll be graduating in May.
Rodriguez says his long-lasting UAlbany memories will be of his professors. “They have all made their profound impacts on my development as an undergraduate.” In particular, he is grateful to professors Martin, Herbelin, Goldsmith and Dudek, and Arts and Sciences Dean Jeanette Altarriba. “Even in a niche field of uncertainty, I cannot claim a favorite memory or accomplishment without giving thanks to the whole village that has kept my candle lit whilst in the darkness,” he said.
After graduation, Rodriguez plans to relax and travel for the summer before entering the Cognitive Psychology doctoral program at UAlbany, working in the Cognition and Language Laboratory, under the leadership of Altarriba. In 10 years he hopes to be a tenure-track professor at an R-1 university, directing his own cognitive psychology research lab.
For more information on his research interests: Showcase 2025: UAlbany Senior Explores the Psychology of Sudoku | University at Albany