Four SUNY Orange Students Earn Phi Theta Kappa Awards

MIDDLETOWN – SUNY Orange students Amanpreet Bassi, Brittny Harris, Julie Prager and Samantha Welsh have been selected as recipients of the Phi Theta Kappa All-New York Academic Award in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements. The four were honored during a luncheon at the New York State Museum on March 6.

Presented by PTK, the national honor society for students at two-year colleges, the ceremony in Albany celebrated the outstanding SUNY and CUNY students from throughout the state.

Bassi, a resident of Middletown who moved to the United States from her native India two years ago, is majoring in computer science. She serves as a mathematics tutor in the College’s Math Lab and is vice president of the College’s PTK chapter. She was invited to attend the Women in Physics Conference at Harvard University. She is active in Middletown’s Sikh community and also volunteers her time to support fundraisers and other humane endeavors that help hurricane victims, local homeless shelters, food pantries and senior citizens.

Harris is a business administration student from Goshen who plans to continue her studies at either Baruch College or Pace University next fall after graduating from SUNY Orange this May. She is the treasurer of SUNY Orange’s PTK chapter and has participated in the College’s “I am a Leader” program, which equips students with the knowledge and skills to be successful in leadership positions. She volunteers at Pets Alive animal sanctuary in Middletown and works with a Goshen-area business to expand her knowledge of operational management in preparation for her future career.

Prager, of Cornwall, is a liberal arts student at SUNY Orange. She is a member of the College’s PTK chapter, has also participated in the “I am a Leader” program and has been a member of the Chemistry Club.

Welsh, a liberal arts major with an emphasis in history, resides in Newburgh. She serves as president and press secretary for SUNY Orange’s PTK chapter and is a member of the College’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) student club. She works part-time as a pharmacy technician and is the proud mother of a 6-year-old son. She plans to transfer to a four-year university to continue her education, with the ultimate goal of becoming a history professor.