Female students honored as Legacy Leaders

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Shea Oleksa

The 2016 Women’s Career Achievement Dinner was held Monday to celebrate the accomplishments of women at Rochester Institute of Technology, including 38 graduating seniors who received Legacy Leader Awards.

The 2016 Women’s Career Achievement Dinner was held Monday to celebrate the accomplishments of women at Rochester Institute of Technology, including 38 graduating seniors who received Legacy Leader Awards.

“We love this event because it feels like a celebration of yet another successful year,” said Darci Lane-Williams, director of RIT’s Center for Women and Gender, which organized the dinner with The Leadership Institute and Community Service Center.

“The students have been active through their entire careers here doing lots of amazing things. We like women to come here and do well academically, but we also like them to leave as leaders,” she said.

Keynote speaker was Tamara Brown, director of sustainable development and community engagement at Praxair Inc. She is a 2011 White House Champion of Change.

“The premise of the growth mindset is simple: Intelligence, capacity, learning are not fixed. There is always the potential for increase. You can always learn. We can always grow,” Brown said. “Each of us has the capacity to be extraordinary. There is nothing that you can’t do. But more importantly, there are things that will never be done if you don’t do them.”

Sophia Maggelakis, dean of the College of Science, was given the Edwina Award for Gender Diversity and Inclusiveness, which honors staff and faculty who have made gender diversity at RIT a significant part of their work.

“Dr. Maggelakis has done so much for the College of Science,” Lane-Williams said. “She created the Women in Science Program and has been committed to increasing the number of women faculty.” Maggelakis was instrumental in the College of Science receiving three Changing Hearts and Minds Awards from RIT’s Office of the Provost and the Office of Faculty Recruitment, she said.

The students given Legacy Leader Awards this year are:

College of Applied Science and Technology

• Nimrun Dhillon of Binghamton, N.Y.
• Samantha Morton of Hamden, Conn.
• Jasmine Phan of Syracuse, N.Y.
• Aida Al Yaaqoubi of United Arab Emirates

Saunders College of Business

• Margot Dayton of Tappan, N.Y.
• Nicole Dugan of Glassboro, N.J.
• Mila Le of Vietnam
• Emma Rogers of Rochester, N.Y.

B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences

• Angelic Brown of Washington, D.C.
• Swagata Dutta Choudhury of India

Kate Gleason College of Engineering

• Nicole Anklam of El Paso, Texas
• Kristen Hennessey of Clarence, N.Y.
• Anna Jensen of Fayetteville, N.Y.
• Srikripa Kartik of India
• Layla Petruzzelli of Ballston Spa, N.Y.
• Melissa St. Preux of Dedham, Mass.

College of Health Sciences and Technology

• Jessica Paton of Ontario, Canada
• Kristine Reed of Walton, N.Y.
• Madeline Zuchlewski of Kenmore, N.Y.

College of Imaging Arts and Sciences

• Amber Kates of Philadelphia, Pa.
• Holley Leone of Centerport, N.Y.
• Veronica Line of Italy
• Emily Moore of Sterling, Mass.
• Allison Parssi of West Palm Beach, Fla.
• Shruti Sharma of India

College of Liberal Arts

• Jackie Bergin of Webster, N.Y.
• Jessica Clark of Rochester, N.Y.
• Laura DeMartino of Corning, N.Y.
• Ja’Nai Gray of Rochester, N.Y.
• Lauren Harradine of Manchester, Conn.
• Nicole Howley of Phoenix, Ariz.
• Kelsey Kiefer (also of CAST) of Old Forge, N.Y.
• Jacquelyn Lenta of Ijamsville, Md.
• Katey Sackett of Honeoye, N.Y.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

• Alexandra Wright of Massapequa Park, N.Y.

College of Science

• Lucinda Dass of Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
• Sarah Wang of Plattsburg, N.Y.

School of Individualized Studies

• Cecilia Grugan of Huntingdon, Pa.