Senior Class Marshals

Senior Class Marshals are selected and announced one year before their own graduation, at the end of their junior year, based upon their academic achievement, campus and community involvement and commitment to service. Upon beginning their senior year, the selected students will participate in a number of activities, including meeting with senior University leaders to share their insight on the student experience, participating in alumni and celebratory events, and serving on committees. They also lead Syracuse University’s Commencement ceremony the year after they are announced.

2024 Senior Class Marshals (Syracuse University)

Lucio Maffei, a senior majoring in political philosophy and ethics in A&S | Maxwell and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program

Sofia Rodriguez, a senior majoring in communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts

2025 Senior Class Marshals (Syracuse University)

Mark Nzasi, a junior majoring in neuroscience and psychology and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program

Yifan “Ivan” Shen, a junior dual majoring in music history and cultures in A&S and architecture in the School of Architecture, a vocal performance minor in the Setnor School of Music and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program

2024 College Marshals

College Marshals are students selected to represent A&S | Maxwell at the Syracuse University Commencement exercises. These students reflect distinguished achievement in academics and service to the University.

Diana Erenburg

William Joseph Treloar

Malachi Washington

Convocation Student Speakers

Graduate Ceremony Student Speaker

James Matthew Carson

Undergraduate Ceremony Student Speaker

Diana Erenburg

Syracuse University Scholars

Seven A&S seniors were among the 12 students making up the 2023 cohort of Syracuse University Scholars, the highest undergraduate honor bestowed by the University. Scholars are chosen by a University-wide faculty committee that use criteria including coursework and academic achievement, independent research and creative work, evidence of intellectual growth and/or innovation in their disciplinary field, a personal statement and faculty letters of recommendation.

Marwa Abedrabbah, a psychology major and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Alana Coffman, an international relations major in A&S | Maxwell, a citizenship and civic engagement major in Maxwell and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Yvonne Kuo, a psychology and forensic science major and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Mitchell Mazza, a psychology and neuroscience major and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Yasmin Nayrouz, an English and textual studies major in A&S, a public relations major in the Newhouse School and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Matthew Snyder, a psychology and neuroscience major and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; and
Iona Volynets, an international relations and history major in A&S | Maxwell and member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.

Graduate Dean’s Awards

These awards are presented annually to recognize overall academic excellence and outstanding research and creative activities by master’s and doctoral students. Honorees receive a certificate of recognition and a $500 award.

Fatima Dobani, a doctoral candidate, clinical psychology: “Multiracial Youth Alcohol Misuse”
Kellan D.L. Head, doctoral candidate, philosophy: “Evaluating Beliefs and Epistemic Value”
Emily Pifer, doctoral candidate, composition and cultural rhetoric: “Pulling Up the Tangled Roots of Rural Nostalgia”
Ashley Schiros, doctoral candidate, clinical psychology: “Misinformation Mayhem: The Effects of TikTok Content on ADHD Knowledge, Stigma and Treatment-Seeking Intentions”
Julia Zeh, doctoral candidate, biology: “Investigating Vocal Development in Humpback Whales”

Honorable Mention:

Aatif Abbas, doctoral candidate, philosophy
Abigail Long, doctoral candidate, composition and cultural rhetoric
Samantha Maguire, doctoral candidate, school psychology
Teresa Ott, master’s degree candidate, creative writing
Ashley Prow, doctoral candidate, earth sciences
Laura Streib, doctoral candidate, earth sciences

Mary Hatch Marshall Award (for best essay by a graduate student in the humanities)

This prize celebrates Mary Hatch Marshall’s distinguished career at the University, where she notably was the first woman appointed a full professor in A&S in 1952 when she was named the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of English Literature.

Victor Sholl, doctoral student, philosophy; Essay title: “Writing the story of the world: the case for World Narrativism”

Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence

Excellence in Student Research

This award recognizes students who have engaged in collaborative research that has the potential to make a deep and lasting impact on greater society.

Ashtha Singh, international relations and citizenship and civic engagement major in A&S | Maxwell

Goldwater Scholars

Five A&S students have been selected for the 2024 Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship awarded in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics in the United States.

Julia Fancher, a sophomore physics and mathematics major and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Sadie Meyer, a sophomore mathematics major in A&S and biomedical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS)
Kerrin O’Grady, a junior biomedical engineering major in ECS and neuroscience integrated learning major in A&S;
Serena Peters, a junior chemistry major; and
Gianna Voce, a sophomore computer science major in ECS and neuroscience integrated learning major in A&S.

2024-25 Remembrance Scholars

Each year, a select group of juniors are awarded Remembrance Scholarships as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The $5,000 scholarships are awarded on the basis of scholarship, leadership and service to the community. The 2024-25 cohort includes 30 students from A&S.

Alba Aljiboury, a policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell, an information management and technology major in the School of Information Studies and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
Linda Baguma, a double major in international relations and political science in A&S | Maxwell and member of the Crown Honors Program;
Adam Baltaxe, an international relations major in A&S | Maxwell, a Spanish major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Tanner Boshart, an economics major and history major A&S | Maxwell, a finance major in the Whitman School of Management and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Danis Cammett, an international relations major in A&S | Maxwell, applied data analytics major in the School of Information Studies, a member of the Crown Honors Program and a member of the University’s Army Reserve Officer Training Program;
Natalie Dolenga, an international relations major A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Charlotte Ebel, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, a women’s and gender studies and German major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Luke Elliott, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School, a public relations major in the Newhouse School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Tabitha Hulme, a public health major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and health humanities major in A&S;
Abigail Jones, a public relations major in the Newhouse School, a policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Rajan Joshi, an economics major in A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Sierra Kaplan, a health humanities major in A&S; a political science major in A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Nadia Lyngdoh-Sommer, a sociology major in A&S | Maxwell, a law, society and policy major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Sophia Moore, a television, radio and film major in the Newhouse School, a sociology major in A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Zachary Murray, a political science and policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell, a modern foreign languages major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Ryan Myers, a public relations major in the Newhouse School, a psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Mark Nzasi, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Jenna Poma, a policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Tia Poquette, a policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell;
Alekhya Rajasekaran, a biotechnology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Olivia Reid, a policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Mason Romero, a music education major in VPA and the School of Education, a music history and cultures major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Alie Savane, a biology major in A&S;
Abigael Scott, a neuroscience and biology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Yifan “Ivan” Shen, a student in the School of Architecture, a music history and cultures major in A&S, and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Justine Smith, a political science and policy studies major in A&S | Maxwell and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Joshua Spodek, a history major in A&S | Maxwell, a social studies education major in the Maxwell School and the School of Education and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Alyssa Sutherland, a public health major in Falk College; a women’s and gender studies major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
Evelina Torres, a political science major in A&S | Maxwell, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program; and
Leondra Tyler, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S.

Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award

The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recognizes Teaching Assistants (TAs) who have made distinguished contributions to Syracuse University by demonstrating excellence in significant instructional capacities, such as classroom teaching, laboratory or studio instruction, leading recitation or discussion sections, or assisting senior faculty members with high-enrollment courses.

This year’s A&S honorees:

Jeffrey Adams, English
Ava Breitbeck, physics
Chun Chu, chemistry
Siddharth Gavirneni, Earth and environmental sciences
Kellan Head, philosophy
Jianqing Jia, mathematics
Molly Joyce, art and music histories
Joumana Kalouch, languages, literatures and linguistics
Leanne Kelley, biology
Daniel Kimmel, religion
Marie Kramer, mathematics
Abigail Long, writing studies, rhetoric and composition
Sean Nalty, philosophy
Ocean Noah, English
Sadie Novak, chemistry
John Christoper Rodriguez, writing studies, rhetoric and composition
José Romero Reyna, languages, literatures and linguistics
Sourav Roy, physics
Chelsea Sato, mathematics
Morgan Shaw, English
Rachel Shepherd, biology

Critical Language Scholarship

Five A&S students have been selected as recipients of the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), through which they will immerse themselves in intensive language study this summer.

Christian Bevilacqua ’24, a social studies education and geography major in A&S | Maxwell and the School of Education, studying Urdu;
Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer G’24, a creative writing master’s of fine arts (M.F.A.) student (poetry), studying Russian;
Anthony Ornelaz G’24, a creative writing M.F.A. student, studying Turkish;
Chelsea Sato, a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics, studying Korean; and
Ciara Young ’24, an international relations and anthropology major in A&S | Maxwell and linguistics major in A&S, studying Korean.

Student-Athlete Award

This award is given to the senior female and male students with the highest cumulative grade point average over their careers as student-athletes.

Izabela Krakic, an international relations major in A&S | Maxwell and member of the women’s rowing team

Chancellor’s Citation

Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction

This award is intended for faculty who have made extraordinary contributions as collaborators in work of intellectual richness that has the potential for future impact.

Wayne Franits, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Art and Music Histories

Meredith Teaching Recognition Award for Early Performance

In 2001, the Meredith Professorship Program was expanded to recognize teaching excellence by non-tenured faculty and adjunct and part-time instructors.

Darwin Tsen, assistant teaching professor of Chinese and Chinese language

Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award

This award honors faculty who have a significant, positive influence on graduate education through their commitment to superior graduate teaching, dedication to departmental and community presence and research initiatives. A&S faculty make up five of this year's nine recipients.

Kenneth Baynes,  professor of philosophy
Kevin Adonis Browne, associate professor of writing studies, rhetoric and composition
Christopher Green, associate professor of languages, literatures and linguistics
Patricia Roylance, associate professor of English
Lixin Shen, professor of mathematics