SUNY Delhi Students Honored with Chancellor's Awards

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Angelica Gorman

DELHI, NY (04/12/2018) (readMedia)-- Two SUNY Delhi students have earned the prestigious 2018 Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. The annual awards recognize State University of New York students who excel in blending academic excellence with achievements in other aspects of their lives, including campus leadership, athletics, and community service.

Angelica Gorman, a Nursing major from Brooklyn, and Kassandra Mott, an Architecture major from Middletown, were among an elite group of students honored by the State University of New York on April 10 at the Albany Capital Center in Albany, NY.

"Angelica Gorman and Kassandra Mott are examples of the diverse nature of SUNY Delhi students, from online adult learners to traditional residential college students," said SUNY Delhi President Michael Laliberte. "Their academic achievements and contributions to the campus have helped shape a community of learners at SUNY Delhi that is truly unique. I am extremely proud of their accomplishments and confident in their continued success in whatever goals they pursue."

"I am immensely proud of these students, who have demonstrated academic excellence and dedication to enriching their campuses and communities," said SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. "From research publications in industry journals to volunteering in hospitals and local clinics to holding leadership roles at their institutions, I am inspired by each student we recognize today. Congratulations to all of the students receiving this year's award."

Angelica Gorman is SUNY Delhi's first online student to earn a SUNY Chancellor's Award. An immigrant from England, Gorman arrived in the U.S. without a high school diploma in 1990. She followed a calling to become a nurse by first completing her GED as an adult student and then attended the Borough Manhattan Community College, graduating with an Associate's Degree in Nursing in 2012 with honors. She accepted a position at Project Renewal, a men's shelter for the homeless with an alcoholic detoxification center, located in lower Manhattan, where she still works.

To further her education, Gorman enrolled in SUNY Delhi's RN to BSN online program in 2013. Her ability to commit to the program and excel academically, in addition to her full-time position as a nurse and supervisor, is exceptional. A December 2017 graduate, she earned a 3.90 GPA while actively sharing her knowledge through the online classroom, contributing to class discussions, and demonstrating a great depth of understanding and research ability. She presented an inspiring webinar to the SUNY Delhi Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society on her work at the project Renewal Center. Gorman's senior practicum project focused on a national health problem – the opiate epidemic. She designed and will be implementing an opiate addiction screening tool so that patients can be identified as early as possible to lower the horrific statistics for addiction.

SUNY Delhi Professor Cheryle Levitt calls Gorman an inspiration and an outstanding student who exemplifies the essence of nursing: caring for those around her.

Kassandra Mott is a recognized scholar and campus leader. In addition to maintaining a 3.75 GPA in Architecture Design and Build, she serves as Senator of the SUNY Delhi Architecture Club, President of the Residence Hall Association, and Vice President of the National Residence Hall Honorary, an organization that inducts only the top one percent of residential students. She is also the President of the Hall Council, a member of the Student Senate and its Finance Committee, and the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. Mott also finds time to work as a Resident Assistant at SUNY Delhi Residence Life and as a studio monitor and peer tutor at the Architecture Department.

Throughout her four years as a student at SUNY Delhi, Mott has consistently been on the Dean's List. She was the first-place winner of the Sophomore Design Charrette in 2016 and received the Student Life Leadership Award and Scholarship in 2017, among a number of other awards and honors.

Janet Ho, Associate Professor of Architecture, says Mott shows a genuine desire to be helpful and make a difference. Mott is a trusted leader that other students, and even teachers, turn to and count on, according to Ho.

At the university-wide event celebrating the recipients of the Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence, recipients were awarded a medallion and a certificate from the Chancellor. An awards reception for the recipients and their families followed the ceremony.