Student Spotlights

Veran Stanek & Dorothy Suzuki-Burke

Students Veran Stanek and Dorothy Suzuki-Burke were both selected as 2024-2025 John Wiley Jones Award Recipients. Each year, one student from each of the College of Science’s five academic units is honored with the John Wiley Jones Outstanding Student in Science award for academic excellence, citizenship, and campus contributions. Veran Stanek (left) is a third-year student in the School of Physics and Astronomy pursuing a combined BS/MS degree in physics (BS) and materials science and engineering (MS), as well as a minor in mathematics. Dorothy Suzuki-Burke (right) is a fourth year Applied Mathematics BS major, and is taking a general education immersion in Japanese. Dorothy intends to earn a doctorate in applied mathematics after graduation.

Carter Ptak

Honors student Carter Ptak was one of three students on the winning "Tigers Trading" team at the 2024 Bloomberg Global Trading Challenge. The team got together in 2023 as members of the Financial Management Association, a club open to all students at RIT. The group was one of 2,453 teams and 296 universities that participated in the Challenge. Carter is a third-year software engineering major, whose winning strategy was focusing on foreign stocks in this competition. Given a starting budget of $1 million USD, the team earned an overall profit of $1,676,618. The Tiger Traders' hard work earned every RIT student free access to Bloomberg.com for a year, as well as a $5,000 donation to be used toward a charity of the team's choice.

From left to right: Evan Macko (finance), Carter Ptak (software engineering), and Rosa Kauffman (Japanese)

Guerline Guerrier

Fouth-year biomedical science major Guerline Guerrier was featured in a Democrat and Chronicle article about Unity House's annual Soul Food Sunday celebrating Friendsgiving. The event celebrates cultural significance and community, drawing over 100 ALANA students annually. As a former Unity House Vice President, Guerline reflects on the significance of attending Soul Food Sunday and its importance to RIT students. Unity House was founded in 1986, and has been used as a community-based space for new students within ALANA. Soul Food Sunday brings the ALANA community together for students on campus during the holidays with food, music, and dancing.

Fram Chair Award for Excellence in Applied Critical Thinking

The Fram Chair Award comes from Gene Fram's philosophy of encouraging students to engage with interdisciplinary and deeper thinking. 

Large Group Winner:

Honors students Christine Espeleta and Emily Ott were a part of the winning large group team for the presentation: The RIT Iceberg: Exploring RIT Student Culture. This exhibit is an extension inspired by work by Igor Polotai, seeking to educate and engage viewers with RIT's student culture and history through a curated selection of media including materials, folklore, stories, legends, and pranks. 

Small Group Winner:

Honors student Leanna Frasch was a part of the winning small group team for the presentation: Leveraging 3D Ceramic Printing for Personalized Bone Implants. This exhibit showcases the potential of utilizing ceramic 3D printing for personalized implant design for patients and implant reserach. Materials are shown at various stages, demonstrating the entire process from computer-aided design (CAD) and simulation to post-processing and final products. 

Honorable Mention:

Evelyn Zou for their contribution to the presentation: Kinetic Artwork and Interactive Computing.

Outstanding Undergraduate Scholars

The Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar Award celebrates the top 1% of undergraduate students who achieve academic excellence while also giving back to the community through civic or volunteer work, by conducting research, or being engaged in a co-op or work in their field of study. 

Learn more at the Office of the Provost's Website! Please see the list below for this year's Honors Students Scholars. 

The 2024-2025 Cohort includes:

• CAD: J.X. Chen, Jessica Hall, Carina Johnson, Lucy Nguyen, Valentina Ada Scottini, Hannah Slate, Troa Vimahi
• CET: Oran Betz, Rachael Tobey, James Warren
• CHST: Sammy Deol, Zahra'a Ghazle
• COLA: Ava Douglas, Sam Marino, Riley Mason, Adrienne Sanza
• COS: Abigail Broscius, Madeline Mariano 
• GCCIS: Kaelyn Beeman, Aemilia Blais, Peter Catalano, David Cho, Melanie Couillard, Veronika Kirievskaya, Angie Li, Kora Lovdahl, Gavin Monick, Rina Peshori, Ty Platow, Alyssa Rios, Sherry Robinson, Garrit Witters
• KGCOE: Adheesh Ankolekar, Antar Chowdhury, Jolie Crunelle, Madison Dziulko, Paloma Hamilton, Tomasz Mazur, Michael Oldziej, Carley Visser 
• SCB: Aeriana Brentlinger, Ericka Chen, Tira Heiss, Hunter Hodge, Olivia McDonald 
• SOIS: Kylie Aquaro

Community Impact Award 

The Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement coordinates the application and/or selection process for the Community Impact Awards, awarding scholarships to students for serving and leading in their communities.

2025 Honors Award Recipients:

• Susan Willoughby, Lanette Moore, and Cheryl Bulls Scholarship: Alaina Mupparthi
• Tiger Spirit Leadership Award: Olivia Gauthier
• Alfred L. and Ruby C. Davis Scholarship: Kiersten Delk, Alaina Mupparthi, Maya Sullum, Faria Sultana
• Isaac L. Jordan Dr. Endowed Scholarship: Olivia Gauthier

Excellence in Student Life Award 

Since 1964, Excellence in Student Life Awards have celebrated undergraduate students who represent the guiding principles of engagement, scholarship and leadership and demonstrate a healthy balance of academic success and student engagement. Students selected for this honor have a high GPA and hold significant leadership positions within RIT-related activities. 

2025 Honors Award Recipients:

• CHST: Sammy Deol, Buyi Owo-Odusi
• GCCIS: Kora Lovdahl
• KGCOE: Ellie Fairchild, Paloma Hamilton, Tom Mazur, Crystal Qu, Lily Roberts, Ali Stambayev, Daniel Zeznick
• SCB: Kimberly Kaleta, Olivia McDonald

Legacy Leader Award 

Campus life awards the Legacy Leader award to students who have left a legacy at RIT or the greater Rochester community by demonstrating a great commitment to leadership. Students selected for this award must be graduating and identify as a woman or non-binary. 

2025 Honors Award Recipients:

• Chris Baron 
• Guerline Guerrier 
• Buyi Owo-Odusi 
• Crystal Qu 

Outstanding Service Award for International Students  

Honorees of this award are international students recognized for high commitment to community groups and student clubs and organizations while maintaining high academic achievement, contributing to RIT and the greater Rochester community. Students selected for this award must be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate or graduate international student at the main RIT campus. 

2025 Honors Award Recipients:

• Showmik Bhowmik
• Faria Sultana

RIT Annual Student Writing Awards

Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Liberal Arts honors student achievements each year in writing which recognize exceptional student writers whose work embodies scholarship, creativity, and excellence in our RIT community.

2024-2025 Honors Award Recipients:

Henry and Mary Kearse Writing Award

• Garrit Witters (GCCIS - Cybersecurity)
• Matthew Stanton (KGCOE - Mechanical Engineering with the Aerospace Option and Economics)
• Adria Clines (SOIS - ASL-English Interpretation and Applied Modern Language and Culture French Option)
• Adrienne Sanza (COLA - Applied Modern Language and Culture Japanese Option)
• Elandria Brzezniak (COLA - Psychology)
• Caroline Richards (GCCIS - Cybersecurity)
• Abigail Block (NTID - ASL-English Interpretation)

Fulbright Awardees

Established in 1946, the Fulbright prize is one of the most prestigious in academic circles and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, promoting cultural exchanges with more than 140 countries. Approximately 1,900 US students earn this award each year from around the country.

Past Honors Awardees:

• Matthias Hausman (Mechanical Engineering and International Global Studies)
• Victoria Scholl (Imaging Science)
• Kaylin Beiter (Biomedical Sciences)
• Rose Rustowicz (Imaging Science)

Goldwater Scholars

The Goldwater Scholarship is a prestigious national award for undergraduate students in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The award is based on academic merit and research experience, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree. 

Eva Reilly (right) is a biochemistry major from Erie, PA and a 2025 recipient for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Out of over 5,000 applications, Reilly is one of the 1,350 students who received this award. While also working as a learning assistant and being a member of other student organizations, she has conducted lab research in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science under associate professor Suzanne O’Handley with a focus on enzymology and characterizing enzymes as potential novel antibiotic targets, specifically those in the bacteria causing tuberculosis and leprosy. Reilly hopes to earn a Ph.D. and establish a career as a professor to continue fulfilling her passions of research and teaching. 

Aidan Miller is a biochemistry major and 2024 recipient for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Miller, who is from Rochester, N.Y., is one of 438 recipients out of 1,353 nominees and has engaged in research in the laboratories of Lea Michel, professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, and George Thurston, professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy. Most recently, Miller has studied the biochemical and biophysical analyses of cataract-causing mutations in certain proteins through NMR spectroscopy and light-scattering, presenting his research at the national meeting of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2024. 

Honors Student Government Members

CHST Senator: Sammy Deol

Cross-Registered Senator: Emma Kane

ACA President: Guerline Guerrier

Gavin Palmer

Honors Student and Electrical Engineering major Gavin Palmer was a co-winner of the 2024 Ovation Performing Arts Showcase! Paired with Brandon Faunce, the two performed a cello rendition of "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson. 

Anh Nguyen

Computer Science Student Anh Nguyen was selected for the 2024 DAAD RISE Germany Scholarship, which landed him a research position at the Dusseldorf University of Applied Sciences this past summer. He spent 10 weeks researching data analysis and explainable AI, particularly dimensionality reduction. 

Siobhan Gannon and Eryk White

Honors students Siobhan Gannon and Eryk White (Film and Animation) won special recognition for their short film, Limelight, at the Ithaca Short Film Festival (Best Animation) and at the Virginia Emerging Filmmakers Festival (Official Selection) with many festivals still to be decided. This work, created as a senior animation capstone, depicts a retired game show host struggling to let go of his glory days gone by. In an allegorical journey through the game show’s sound stage, Siobhan and Eryk address the challenge of what to do when the limelight fades away.

Elena Fuentes Solano, Guerline Guerrier, and Buyi Owo-Odusi

Three Honors students attended the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), which focuses on undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, graduate students and postdoctoral scientists in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), accompanied by CHST Professor Bolaji Thomas. All travel arrangements were funded through their respective programs and some students had an opportunity to present their research conducted at RIT. Honors students in attendance include McNair Scholars Elena Fuentes Solano (third-year) and Buyi Owo-Odusi (fourth-year), and CSTEP student Guerline Guerrier (fourth-year), all majoring in biomedical sciences. Be sure to congratulate them on their achievement! 

Chris Baron, Lucy Nguyen, and Valentina Scottini

Metaproject is an annual design initiative that pairs students with industry partners to develop products consistent with the Vignelli “Design is One” philosophy.” Students collaborated with Icon Design and alumni-owned ARBR Studios to create unique furniture solutions, and the results are showcased in a global venue Three Honors industrial design students: Chris Baron, Lucy Nguyen, and Valentina Scottini participated this year and will have their half-scale models the students created will be displayed during the annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York City in May 2025. Designs by Chris Baron and Valentina Scottini were selected among the six to prototype at full-scale for display at ICFF. 

 Leanna Frasch and Aemilia Blais

Honors students Leanna Frasch and Aemilia Blais each took home prizes for their projects during WiCHacks '25. Frasch won Best Wellness Hack for their website, amiokay.com. It focuses on providing women and LGBTQIA communities the resources to make educated decisions regarding their health and well-being by simplifying medical information to promote accessibility. Frasch and their partner say they are proud to create a safe space and help people navigate a changing world of medical coverage and policies, and they plan on continuing to update and expand the website.

Blais won Best Financial Hack for their website Her Two Cents, an online financial manager aimed to promote budgeting techniques in a user friendly manner. Their website allows flexible goals, smart budgeting, and chatbot assistance to answer financial questions. There is also a vision board incorporated to help motivate users to meet their financial goals. Blais and her team have a goal of adding more features to Her Two Cents, including notifications on tracking your spending limit.

Albert Hynes and Ashley Alt

Honors students Albert Hynes and Ashley Alt were part of a team of eight RIT CyberScholars from the NSF CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program placed first and 11th at the University of Arkansas's RazorHack cybersecurity competition on the weekend of Oct. 27. The competition tested their skills in penetration testing, cryptography, steganography, buffer overflow attacks, web attacks, and physical security. The CyberScholars also presented on topics such as covert communications and AI ethics, earning high praise for engagement from the University of Arkansas’s CyberHogs club. Albert was a member of the first-place team, and Ashley was a member of the eleventh-place team. 

Asa Horn and Massimo Marino

Asa Horn and Massimo Marino were part of a team of cybersecurity students that placed third in the Hivestorm collegiate cyber defense competition on Oct. 16. Teams compete by securing provided virtual machines, accumulating points for removing malware and other infections, correcting misconfigurations, mitigating vulnerabilities, and disabling vulnerable services.

Patrick Dwyer

Honors student Patrick Dwyer competed in the 2024 Lockheed Martin Ethics in Engineering Competition. This competition is a thirty minute head-to-head debate style tournament. Teams of two will assume one of two sides in a predetermined case that balances ethics, engineering, and business. In 2024, the case was concerning a NASA near earth orbit asteroid detection system that was having technical issues prior to launch. Patrick partnered with fellow student Adrian Ricketts and faculty advisor Dr. Mario Gomes. They finished as semifinalists among over 70 competing schools.

Ariel Cthwe and Leah Torregiano

Honors students Ariel Cthwe and Leah Torregiano were part of a team of Game Design and Development students that won the Nexus Award in the November WolfJam. Their team, Hook Car Man Fan Club, was recognized for the best project that features a strong connection or theme related to influencers. Their game, Scare Parts, was inspired by a 4chan Tumblr repost story where the original author wrote a horror short story. Gameplay involves two roles–Driver and Support–and both must trust each other to escape through the woods from the cursed Hook Hand Car Man.