Event includes student recognition and Pi Sigma Alpha induction
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The Political Science Department held its annual Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Award Induction and Year End Celebration on April 23 in the Claire T. Carney Library Grand Reading Room. The celebration was well attended by 80+ people, including honored students, their family and friends, faculty, staff, and administrators.
Seventeen students were inducted as lifetime members into the Pi Sigma Alpha Mu Kappa Chapter based on qualifications of academic performance set by the Pi Sigma Alpha organization in Washington D.C. We would like to honor those students as being, Rebecca Azer, Olivia Cambra, Christopher Castro-Villasenor, Michelda Charles, James William Coleman IV, Kennyel Cotto, Dominic Deoliveira, Isabella Gulley, Brianna Hume, Lily Mercer, Aidan Mulhern, Brandyn O'Neil, Serena Saade, Andrew Schiller, Tess Shai Sell, Olivia Silva and Logan Wood. In addition, there were eight honors awards and scholarship recipients. Six students received top honors for their academic standing within their graduating class. Breanna Fontes and Paige Matteson for the Sophomore class; Dominic Deoliveira and Aidan Mulhern for the Junior class, and Devin Cook and Serena Saade for the Senior class. The prestigious Emeritus Professor Award was presented to Ronak Jahangirian. Brianna Hume was awarded the $1,000 Gerald Ventura Scholarship, which is annually available to Political Science majors and minors.
Each year, the Department invites a distinguished alumnus back to campus to celebrate their post-graduation accomplishments and inspire the next generation of political science graduates. This year's Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Jennifer Denker, Class of 2012. Jennifer is currently a Managing Partner at Meehan Boyle, a Keches Law Firm, where she specializes in human trafficking cases—a testament to the power of a political science education in driving meaningful change. She was presented with a commemorative plaque during the ceremony and offered heartfelt words of encouragement and guidance to students, families, and friends in attendance.
The Department of Political Science congratulates all of this year's honorees and looks forward to following their continued success.