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2023 Student Awards Gala Winners

Thank you to all who participated, and congratulations to this year's winners and nominees! ÂÌñÉç is proud to honor and recognize the outstanding achievements of our students who shine in and out of the classroom, who lead by example and who have made significant contributions to the University community. Donations to the are what help create the magic of the Student Awards Gala year after year.

Al Vos Excellence in Community Engagement Patrick Saint Ange Saint Ange mentored a student at Benjamin Franklin Elementary for four years through the New York State Mentor Program. In addition, he worked with program leadership to recruit other students from campus to participate, creating the New York State Mentoring Club at ÂÌñÉç.

Excellence in Community Engagement (student organization) Happy Medium The producers of ÂÌñÉç’s student-run, non-partisan, Happy Medium magazine, strive to create space for students to respectfully and productively discuss the politics of the nation and world. Editor in chief Trevor Fornara and copy editor Amanda Escotto expanded their reach to local secondary school students at Chenango Valley Central School District, where they provided a unique opportunity for a group of students in eighth to 11th grades to explore their interest in political journalism, engage in college-level political research and become published authors through the process of founding a politics magazine.

Excellence in Civic Engagement (individual student) Luca Cassidy In his role as chief of staff for the vice president of student success in the Student Association, Cassidy worked with the Center for Civic Engagement and several multicultural student organizations to increase voter participation. He also worked with the campus Technology Accessibility Advisory Group to improve technology and facilities for students with disabilities.

Best All Around New Bearcat (first-year) Roy Lu Lu was elected to be the vice president of finance for Hughes Hall in Hinman College during his first semester on campus. Known for going out of his way to create a sense of community (he brought six tubs of ice cream to share with potential new friends on his first day on campus), Lu is involved in the Hinman Public Service Learning Community, led multiple fundraising events for local nonprofits and stepped up at the last minute to become a certified poll worker for the short-staffed on-campus polling site during the 2022 midterm elections.

Best All Around New Bearcat (transfer) Jeremy Masterson From his first day on campus as a new transfer student, participating in the Transition and TRANSFERmation summit, Masterson has shown an eagerness to step up and step in. He helped with setting up for that event and has continued to go out of his way to meet new people, help out and ensure others are included at Transfer Student Services events and programs. He is also involved across campus with the Philosophy Club, Parliamentary Debate Society, the College-in-the-Woods Council and the Student Association Congress.

#BingPride Spirit Award Sarah Celt Celt shares her enthusiasm and love for ÂÌñÉç nearly every day. She is a tour guide for prospective students and families, and proudly wears Pantone 342 on every Green Day Friday (and many other days, as well).

BFirst Resilience Award Wilson Li The BFirst Resilience Award recognizes a student who has demonstrated perseverance in the face of the hardships and obstacles often experienced by first-generation college students. Li exemplifies this sense of dedicated perseverance in his academic work and goes out of his way to foster a sense of belonging by enthusiastically engaging with his peers in TRIO Student Support Services.

Excellence in Fraternity and Sorority Life Casey Ruth Anderson Anderson has served Alpha Omega Epsilon engineering sorority as chapter social chair, fundraising chair, professional chair, webmaster, sisterhood chair, chapter president and recruitment chair. She also represented her sorority at the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council Miss Aphrodite Pageant, where she was crowned the winner and raised $2,300 for Golisano Upstate Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year Arianna Costanzo Costanzo has been employed by the Dean of Students Office (DOS) since Feb. 2022. She started as an ice rink monitor during the first winter back on campus after the beginning of the pandemic, and continued in a supervisory position as the lead ice rink monitor the following year. She also worked as a student receptionist in the DOS and as an Orientation advisor for New Student Programs.

Graduate Student Employee of the Year Megan Sticco Sticco began working for the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) as an undergraduate student performing rapid antigen testing for thousands of people across campus at the Surveillance Testing Center, and because of her exemplary work, she excelled as part of that team. Because of her knowledge and professionalism while in this role, she was selected to work in the diagnostic section of the testing site. As a graduate student, she has continued to work with OEM to enhance several University-wide emergency plans, dedicating significant time to helping ÂÌñÉç recover from COVID-19.

Campus Recreation Employee of the Year Sophia Azzara Azzara has worked at Campus Recreation for over two years, starting as a student intern, then progressing to a manager and finally a teaching assistant. This semester, she filled critical staffing deficits in the fitness program that resulted from professional staff shortages.

Residence Life Community Builder of the Year Olivia Giangrasso Giangrasso began her Residential Life experience as a member of the PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) Scholars Program residing in Newing College. For the past two years, she has continued to demonstrate a commitment to building community in Newing as a residential assistant, hosting events, supporting voter registration and cultivating meaningful relationships between students.

Student Organization President of the Year Trevor Fornara Fornara, a senior philosophy, politics and law major, has served as the president of Happy Medium since founding the group in Dec. 2021. He has dedicated over 1,000 hours to Happy Medium since its founding, serving as the editor in chief of Happy Medium magazine, launching Happy Medium’s website and guiding the organization in producing four print editions of the magazine during the 2022-23 academic year.

Outstanding Organization of the Year Happy Medium With nominations coming from the ÂÌñÉç Office of Communications and Marketing, the Center for Civic Engagement, faculty members and the Chenango Valley Central School District, this organization has impressed many in the community with its efforts to foster and support constructive civic dialogue among students on campus and in the community.

Accomplished Graduate Student Xi Wang Xi is a Translation, Research and Instruction Program (TRIP) doctoral candidate who has served as the president of the TRIP Graduate Student Organization and a TRIP graduate instructor. In these roles, she has organized events for graduate students including de-stress yoga sessions and a bowling night at The Union, in addition to arranging translators for guest speaker series.

Bearcat Award for Outstanding Service and Support Anna Jantz, assistant director and advocate of case management services The Bearcat Award for Outstanding Service and Support recognizes a faculty, staff member or administrator who goes above and beyond to help students. Jantz daily works with students going through difficult situations in her role on the CARE Team. She advocates for students, makes sure their needs are met during crisis situations and uses a consistently compassionate, empathetic, trauma-informed approach to her essential work.

Student of Distinction Nora Monasheri In addition to holding a 3.99 GPA in the School of Management, Monasheri is a member of the Student Association Financial Committee, leader in Chabad of ÂÌñÉç and co-professional committee chair for Alpha Kappa Psi, a business professional fraternity on campus. She also worked with President Harvey Stenger to restart the University’s Road Map Internship program, overseeing four interns who meet regularly with campus administrators, faculty and staff to develop campus projects.