Four SUNY Oneonta students are among a select group of State University of New York students chosen to receive the 2011 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher will present the awards to the students at a reception in their honor on April 5 at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.
The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence is the highest honor that SUNY bestows upon students. It is presented annually to SUNY students who demonstrate academic excellence and integrate it with other qualities such as leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, entrepreneurship, or career achievement.
The four SUNY Oneonta students who received the 2011 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence are as follows:
Nickeema Cox, a Psychology major from Far Rockaway, New York
Ms. Cox is a member of two national honor societies and has served as president of the Student of Color Coalition, and has been active in the African American Latino Asian Native American (AALANA) Mentor Program, College Assistant Migrant Program, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and in residence hall government. She is a recipient of the Award for Outstanding Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, and the Scott Jenkins Diversity Honors Scholarship.
Ayesha Qamar, a Communication Studies and Psychology dual major from Al-Muzahmiyah, Saudia Arabia
Ms. Qamar has received the Susan Sutton Smith Academic Excellence Award, Clifford Craven Scholarship, and OAS International Education Scholarship. She has served as an executive board member for the International Students’ Organization and Psychology Club. A member of four national/international honor societies, Ms. Qamar has been a teaching assistant to faculty in two departments.
Kristin Santiago, a Child and Family Studies major from Wallkill, New York
Ms. Santiago served a co-president of the Human Ecology Club, as historian for the Phi Upsilon Omicron Honor Society in Human Ecology, and as a tutor for both the College Assistance Migrant Program and the Center for Academic Development and Enrichment. She has received a Best and Brightest Award, Susan Sutton Smith Academic Excellence Award, and a College Assistance Migrant Program scholarship. Ms. Santiago, who graduated this past December, participated in the SUNY Overseas Academic Program in Costa Rica, interned at the Violence Intervention Program at Opportunities for Otsego, and was on the Dean’s List following every semester of her attendance at SUNY Oneonta.
Zishan Wariach, a Business Economics major from Al-Muzahmiyah, Saudia Arabia
Mr. Wariach is president of the Oneonta chapter of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, and president of the Muslims’ Student Association. He has been an officer of five other student organizations, has received five separate scholarships and has been recognized as a Best and Brightest student in five semesters. He has been on the Dean’s List or Provost’s List following every semester of his attendance at SUNY Oneonta.
“These four students’ achievements, academic and otherwise, are remarkable,” said SUNY Provost F. Daniel Larkin. “Each has made a significant contribution to the campus community and deserves this prestigious recognition. We are proud to have had them as our students and delighted to join SUNY in honoring them.”
Since 1998 when the program was implemented, 64 SUNY Oneonta students have received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.