Binghamton University announces winners of student awards
Binghamton University students are known for going above and beyond, pushing themselves to be the best versions of themselves they can be. In turn, the University strives to make sure their accomplishments are recognized and rewarded.
In the past, some student awards were given out by the dean of students and the Campus Life Office. More recently however, Vice President of Student Affairs Brian Rose and Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Randall Edouard shared a vision for centralizing and expanding student awards.
In the spring of 2020, Rose and Edouard tasked different areas within the Division of Student Affairs and other University entities to develop awards that aligned with the themes and values of their areas and the University as a whole.
In response, 13 new awards were created to honor individual students, student organizations and a faculty or staff member who goes the extra mile to support students. The awards recognize a wide range of involvement, but those receiving the most applications include: Best All Around New Bearcat, Student Organization President of the Year and Bearcat Award for Outstanding Service and Support. Descriptions of each award can be found on the dean of students website. This year alone, 71 nominations were submitted for the 13 awards.
And, for the first time this year, an award includes a financial component. Al Vos, associate professor emeritus of English and former collegiate professor of the Hinman College residential community, funded a $500 Al Vos Excellence in Community Engagement Award.
As a collegiate professor, Vos oversaw the Hinman Public Service Learning Community for many years, helping students truly engage with the local community.
“Students are always told to ‘get involved,’” said Vos. “One of my missions has been to help students find concrete, rewarding ways to do that.”
The initial intent behind these awards was to recognize exceptional students, but also to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments at an event commemorating their achievements. Rose and Edouard had hoped to host a fancy gala event, but COVID-19 put a halt to those plans. So for the past two years the awards have been announced virtually on the Office of the Dean of Students Facebook and YouTube pages via live streams.
This year, special consideration was given to nominees who excelled despite the many challenges the pandemic presented to typical student engagement and involvement.
According to Linda Salomons, assistant director of parent and family programs and Food Pantry operations, the University is determined to continue growing this event and developing other awards and prizes to continue recognizing students.
“We know how important it is to acknowledge students,” said Salomons. “We all believe in student engagement and involvement, and we’re excited to host this event highlighting the great work that our students and student organizations are doing. We are so proud of what they achieve while here at Binghamton University.”
Next year, the University intends to finally host the gala event downtown and give all nominees and winners a proper celebration for all of their hard work.
Individual student awards
Distinguished Student of the Year — Laura Deluca
Deluca is in the English Rhetoric 4+1 program and graduating one academic year early. In addition to maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, she edits and writes for several student publications on campus, including the Ellipses Literary Magazine, Pipe Dream, Binghamton Law Quarterly and Harpur Palate. Her poetry has also been published in several magazines outside of the University. Beyond her literary pursuits, Deluca is a Writing Center tutor, a Binghamton University marketing and public relations intern, a teaching assistant for two courses, an Education Abroad Ambassador and a member of the Binghamton University Kickline team.
Resident Assistant of the Year Award — Jodie Cabin
Digman Hall RA Jodie Cabin is a senior in the School of Management and will be receiving her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and management information systems when she graduates in less than two weeks. Cabin has consistently supported her residents and staff members this year — beyond the expectations of the RA role — with positivity, empathy, determination and genuine care. She not only kept her residents engaged this year with fun, safe community building activities, but even went to Dunkin’ Donuts during midterms to buy a box of Munchkins that she then individually packaged with encouraging notes for all of her residents, amidst her own active schedule as a student leader, simply because she wanted to cheer them up. Cabin’s passion and genuineness embody the very spirit of what it means to be RA of the year.
Graduate Student Employee of the Year Award — Daniela Santamaria Vargas
Vargas is a biomedical anthropology master’s student. Under her leadership, the Harpur Edge office instituted a new Harpur Edge experts program and re-envisioned the Harpur Edge LACE (Liberal Arts to Careers Externship) program to the new Harpur Edge Connection Builder program. She meets with students individually, has trained fellow graduate assistants and helps oversee the student staff in the office.
Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year Award — Sarah Loshinsky
Loshinsky is a senior biomedical engineering major who has worked in the Watson Career and Alumni Connections office for two years. She is looked to as a mentor and leader by both her supervisors and her fellow peers. She volunteers to work additional hours, trains student staff and consistently goes above and beyond in her everyday duties.
Resilience Award (B-First Network) — Kayla Elder
Elder is a junior integrative neuroscience major who has demonstrated astounding perseverance and tenacity in the face of hardship and obstacles often faced by first-generation college students. This award, created by the BFirst Network (a mentoring program pairing first-generation students with first-generation faculty, staff and alumni), has a strong emphasis on mentorship. On top of Elder’s commitments to her academic and career endeavors, she is also a student mentor for Student Support Services and the president of the Charles Drew Minority Pre-Health Society.
#BingPride Spirit Award — Kaylee Harmon
Harmon is a sophomore nursing major with a minor in health and wellness studies. According to peers on her dance team, her natural spirit and positive energy are defining factors that made her stand out from the crowd from day one. She has proven to be a crucial part of creating and establishing the team’s spirited culture. She is a great role model and strives to be the best representative of the University and dance program with her humble, kind and quiet confidence. Her spirit can inspire an entire room of her peers!
Best All Around New Bearcat (On-Campus) — William Maurer
Maurer is a first-year student, currently undeclared in Harpur, but working to transfer into the School of Management. He exemplifies maintaining an ideal balance between challenging academics and rewarding extracurricular opportunities, particularly as a Division 1 student athlete. Maurer’s most notable accomplishments include regularly competing on the University Men’s Swimming and Diving Team (which just won the America East Championship); membership in an organization called Top Soccer, where he coaches children with special needs, as well as participating in the Active Minds and Student Association Marketing and Promotions clubs.
Best All Around New Bearcat (Remote) — Jaiden Price
Price is a first-year student, currently majoring in business management. She is an exceptional example of successfully embracing the opportunities available to Binghamton students as a remote learner. Her most impressive accomplishments include spending roughly 250 hours starting a new student club, Entrepreneur Connect; establishing closer ties to the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator; making countless calls to prospective students — double the amount expected of her — through the Tour Guide and Student Ambassadors programs; and maintaining membership in various other organizations.
Al Vos Excellence in Community Engagement Award — Maximilian Kurant
Kurant is a sophomore social systems science (Individualized Major Program) major who has made community engagement a core theme of his time at Binghamton. He has participated in both curricular and co-curricular engagement experiences to enhance his knowledge of community engagement and ability to contribute meaningfully to our community. In his role as vice president of service for Hinman and the Public Service Learning Community, Kurant has focused on an ongoing partnership with the North of Main (NoMa) Community Center and has maintained individual and group involvement in NoMa activities throughout this pandemic school year.
Student Organization President of the Year Award — Michelle Tiangco, Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
This year Binghamton’s SASE chapter established strong relationships with schools including San Jose State University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute via collaborative events. Tiangco effectively motivated every member in SASE even during a pandemic. One nominator said, “I was new to the Binghamton community and was feeling lost and isolated. Michelle told me a great deal about SASE, and I felt encouraged to join the organization and find my sense of community.” Through frequent check-ins with the members, safe bonding events and assisting everyone with event planning, Tiangco helped the organization execute numerous successful events.
Accomplished Graduate Student of the Year Award — Max Goldfarb
Goldfarb is currently studying to complete his Master in Public Health (MPH) degree while maintaining his role as chief of Harpur’s Ferry Student Ambulance Service (overseeing an agency of ~90 student members) and serving our community during this pandemic. He is able to budget his time to focus on school while giving his all to our Binghamton University community. In addition to his contributions to Harpur’s Ferry, Goldfarb has also worked as an EMT with Broome Ambulance, as a medic for the New York State COVID-19 testing site, as an instructional support assistant at the University COVID-19 surveillance site and as a vaccinator for the New York State COVID-19 site.
Student organization awards
Outstanding Organization of the Year Award — Harpur’s Ferry Student Ambulance Service
Since the beginning of the current academic year, Harpur’s Ferry has responded to over 400 emergency calls, 43 of which have been from Broome County directly, calling on Harpur’s Ferry to assist surrounding agencies through mutual aid and to provide care to patients throughout the county. In the spring, Harpur’s Ferry members volunteered in Rockland County and other hard-hit areas across New York and New Jersey. Over the summer, Harpur’s Ferry was contracted by New York state to provide standby coverage at the state-run testing site on campus. Throughout the academic year, members have also been working and volunteering across Broome County as EMS providers, COVID testers and vaccinators.
Excellence in Community Engagement Award — American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP)
APhA-ASP has made community engagement a key component of the academic and professional preparation of pharmacy students. They have engaged in partnership with community organizations, including working with local schools to deliver programs on over-the-counter medicine safety and substance use awareness. Pharmacy students have also played a key role in our community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with APhA-ASP members partnering with a local pharmacy to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine in nursing homes and senior centers.
Faculty, staff and administrator award
Bearcat Award for Outstanding Service and Support — Karima Legette, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) director
As director of EOP, Legette could have easily retreated into a bubble of just keeping EOP running and limiting her extra commitments over the past year. The pandemic, compounded by the social justice issues that have continued coming to the forefront of our nation’s conscience over the last year, have hit the communities served by EOP hard, and it would certainly have been understandable had she just done only what she needed to do to survive the academic year. Legette has had a lot on her plate, but she’s still there for the students, often on an individual mentoring level, helping them grow and develop.