To the Campus Community:

I’m pleased to announce the four student recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, recognizing outstanding achievements in academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, or the arts. It is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by SUNY. This year’s honorees include:

Oscar Bonilla, Class of 2023
Oscar was an exemplary student in the electrical engineering technology (EET) major, who graduated in December 2023 with Latin Honors and the Student Award for Academic Excellence in mathematics. Oscar worked as a peer tutor and was involved with the CSTEP and RAM programs. He served in several student organizations, including as founder and co-president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, as treasurer of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and as a member of the National Society of Black Engineers. Oscar also conducted advanced research with several of his EET faculty and completed internships at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He was a recipient of the 2023 FSC Campus Life Spirit Award, as well as the 2023 President’s DEI Student Leadership Recognition Award. Oscar is currently majoring in applied mathematics at FSC.

Destini Buchanan, Class of 2024
Destini is pursuing a major in bioscience, a minor in business management, and a certification in cannabis production and management. Destini is the current president of the SGA and was vice president of the SGA for two years. She also served as Secretary of the NAACP, Vice President of the Afro-Caribbean Club, and was the recipient of the 2023 President’s DEI Student Leadership Award. Destini received the Student Achievement Award at New York State Senator Monica Martinez's Annual Black History Month Celebration.

Daniela Figueroa, Class of 2024
Daniela is an applied psychology major with a minor in english literature. A Sillcox scholar, she is also an academic scholar in the RAM program since 2020. Daniela has taken part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute at Farmingdale and was selected for a spot at Brown University for a sociology department study of finance inequalities within the education system. Other accomplishments include being named the 2022 Newman Civic Fellow and earning the 2022 President’s Award for Student Leadership.

Marco Iorio, Class of 2024
Marco is an exemplary first-generation college student in the electrical engineering technology major with a dual minor in legal studies and applied mathematics. Marco is scheduled to graduate in May with Latin Honors. He currently works as a peer tutor for the Tutoring Center and computer lab assistant in the EET department. Marco is involved on campus as a CSTEP student, President of the IEEE Student Branch, member of the Farmingdale Undergraduate Research Association, and has completed two Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships under Brookhaven National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He plans to pursue a PhD in electrical engineering upon graduation.

Please join me in congratulating these remarkable students on this achievement, and well-deserved recognition of their academic pursuits and contributions to the campus community.

John Nader
President