Scholars Earn Chancellor’s Award For Excellence

MIDDLETOWN – SUNY Orange students Rancelli Burdier and Laurie Atiste were named as recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence during a ceremony Monday (April 24) in Albany.

In all, 193 students from 63 two-year and four-year campuses across the SUNY system were recognized by Chancellor John B. King Jr. Founded in 1997 as SUNY’s highest honor given to students for academic excellence and leadership, the Chancellor’s Award recognizes students for their outstanding achievements throughout their SUNY experience in areas including academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service and the arts.

“There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and each of the students recognized today is an example of our extraordinary student body and their rich and diverse ‘SUNY stories,’” King said. “Student success is at the core of everything we do, and I am honored to celebrate students from 63 SUNY campuses who are receiving this year’s Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence. Every student can find their community at SUNY, and I congratulate each of the CASE winners for making the most out of their college experience.”

Burdier, of Ellenville, is a humanities and social science student at SUNY Orange who ultimately plans to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a career as a counselor or mental health therapist. Last Spring, she was a recipient of the Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for EOP Student Excellence. Presently, she is a student ambassador with the Admissions Office and serves in the same capacity for the Educational Opportunity Program. She is a peer orientation leader and works with first-year students in helping them get acclimated to SUNY Orange and college life.

She is a graduate of the College’s “I am a Leader” program, a year-long series of workshops and presentations designed to help students strengthen their leadership skills and build relationships with academic and community leaders. She also served as a student representative on a working group during the College’s recently completed accreditation process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. She is also a member of the College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society for students at two-year colleges and universities.

Atiste, of Westtown, is pursuing a nursing degree. She is a member of the College’s PTK chapter and is a member of the Honors Program. She serves as secretary of the student-run Board of Activities and earlier this Spring, she was among three SUNY Orange Honors Program students selected to present their capstone research projects at the Northeast Regional Honors Council Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. Her topic was “Understanding a Declining Life Expectancy Rate: Turning Loss Into Resiliency.”

SUNY Orange offers 40 degree and certificate programs housed within seven academic communities: Arts and Media; Business; Culture, Society and the Mind; Education and Human Services; Health Sciences and Wellness; Justice and Community Engagement; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).