Two Students Receive SUNY Chancellor’s Award

ALBANY – SUNY Ulster is proud to announce two students, Misael Villa of Kingston, NY and Ariana Lawlor of Freehold, NY, have received the State University of New York Chancellors Award for Student Excellence. A ceremony took place on Wednesday, April 5th at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, NY.

The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence was created in 1997 to recognize students who have best demonstrated, and have been recognized for, the integration of academic excellence with accomplishments in the areas of leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement. This year 256 SUNY students from across the state were given the honor.

Each year, SUNY campus presidents establish a selection committee, which reviews the accomplishments of exemplary students. Nominees are then forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office for a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award.

Misael Villa, a Music Major, chose SUNY Ulster after graduating in the top 10% of his class from Kingston High School. While attending SUNY Ulster, Villa has been active in campus life working as a Campus Connect Orientation Leader, playing on the SUNY Ulster Men’s Soccer Team, and playing in several SUNY Ulster music ensembles. He was also selected for and is participating in the Eleanor Roosevelt Community College Emerging Leaders (ECCEL) Program at the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill in Hyde Park, NY.

He says “SUNY Ulster was the only option for me out of high school. I had not decided on a major and was afraid of picking the wrong school. Because of the College Scholars Program, I was able to attend Ulster tuition free and upon graduation, I will be debt free.”
Villa says he is planning on transferring to a four year music school in order to pursue a degree in Music Education.

Ariana Lawlor, a Liberal Arts and Humanities major at SUNY Ulster, was home-schooled through high school. She says SUNY Ulster, “put me at ease with the entire ‘coming-to-college’ process. Besides that, it was affordable and I was accepted into the Honor’s Program shortly after I applied.”

Lawlor was elected as the Student Trustee to the SUNY Ulster Board of Trustees for 2016-2017 academic year. She also writes for SUNY Ulster’s blog “Stories of SUNY Ulster.” Along with Misael Villa, Lawlor was selected for, and is participating in the ECCEL Program.
She is planning on transferring to Russell Sage College in Troy, NY and hopes to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English.

Dr. Nancy L. Zimpher, SUNY Chancellor, says this about the award: “It is my honor to celebrate the achievements of students who have surpassed SUNY’s highest standards of academic excellence and leadership both on and off campus. Every student we recognize today has demonstrated a strong commitment to their degree program, home campus, greater community, and much more.”

SUNY Ulster President, Dr. Alan P. Roberts, was in attendance at the awards ceremony to help the Chancellor present the honor to Misael Villa and Ariana Lawler.