The Minnie and Joe Engel Student Humanitarian Award recognizes a Buffalo State undergraduate student who has demonstrated personal character through altruism, volunteer service and the giving of oneself to the campus and the larger community. The Engel Humanitarian Award recognizes the full measure of a person’s worth, not just as a scholar, but as someone whose efforts on behalf of others define a quality of character that embodies core values that merit recognition.
Darran L. Booker, a senior Business Administration major with a concentration in Management and a 2.67 gpa, Darran has dedicated many hours to the Volunteer and Service Learning Center’s Alternative Break with a focus on Homelessness Awareness in Buffalo. As the CoCoordinator of the Student Leadership Team, he has lead and volunteered in other locations across the country: Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; and Baltimore, Maryland. As a Weigel Health Promotions peer educator, Darran had provided education and information on common health problems to students and staff. His work with young people makes him an ideal candidate for the Engel Humanitarian Award.
Town of Cheektowaga recognizes Robin Powers, a Buffalo State SAS student, for her tireless advocacy with the proclamation of the month of May as "Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month"
Buffalo State student Robin Powers has not let her diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) stop her from living her best life as she pursues her degree in Biochemical Psychology with a minor in Chemistry.
Robin has volunteered her time to EDS advocacy and awareness serving as a rare disease Advocate with the EDS Cares Network; as an Ambassador at Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute for rare, undiagnosed and chronic diseases; and has attended multiple medical conferences with the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
Her children’s book: Chronicles of Zazzles: Connective Tissue Issues is available in the campus bookstore and online retailers and celebrates EDS awareness.
Buffalo State College student Ken B. has been inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success for 2019. The NSLS is the nation's largest leadership honor society. Students are selected by their college for membership based on either academic standing or leadership potential. Candidacy is a nationally recognized achievement of honorable distinction. With 748 chapters, the NSLS currently has 1,111,108 members nationwide.
The NSLS is an organization that helps people discover and achieve their goals, offering life-changing lectures from the nation's leading presenters and a community where like-minded, success-oriented individuals come together and help one another succeed. The NSLS also serves as a powerful force of good in the greater community by encouraging and organizing action to better the world.
The National Society of Leadership and Success was founded with the sole purpose of creating lasting positive change. Beginning with a handful of chapters, the NSLS now reaches hundreds of thousands of students at hundreds of chapters around the world. The NSLS encourages community action, volunteerism, personal growth and strong leadership from its chapters and members.
Please help us in congratulating Ken B. on this amazing accomplishment!
Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society Comes to Buffalo State College!
The Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society was founded in 2004 to recognize high-achieving college and university students with disabilities. Undergraduate students must carry a GPA of 3.10 and a minimum of 24 credits; graduate students must carry a GPA of 3.30 and a minimum of 18 credits to meet the criteria for Delta Alpha Pi. In addition to recognizing academic achievement, Delta Alpha Pi seeks to lessen and eventually eliminate the stigma and negative stereotyping that have been associated historically with disability. The members of Delta Alpha Pi challenge society to view disability as an aspect of diversity, existing on a continuum throughout an individual’s lifespan, and encourage the implementation of universal design, so that the environment (learning, physical, attitudinal), not the individual, adjusts to provide access to all individuals.
Students who become members of Delta Alpha Pi identify themselves as honor students who have a disability. By their open acknowledgment of their disability status, they serve as role models for other students with disabilities and advance the goals of Delta Alpha Pi on their campuses and in the community.
Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society offers further information on their website including their scholarship fund!
Inaugural members of the Buffalo State College Epsilon Chi chapter*:
Dana Allen, Sue Benn, Emma Bull-Macris, Madeline Burns, Kenneth Burzynski, Natasha Clare, Hailey Clark, Jeremy Garson, Jose Gonzalez, Autumn Grabowski, Juanita Grant, Anthony Janda, Claudine Karambizi, Deanna Kohn, Samuel Krakowski, Maura Kutnyak-Smalley, Timothy Lane, Jada Lee, Cassandra Lenihan, Aliya Mathis, Stacey Playle, Robin Powers, Lauren Reczek, Claritza Reyes, Daniel Sakona, Brianna Sprole, Jillian Taylor, Jeffery Thomas, Heather Williams, and Yolanda Wyatt.
2021 members of the Buffalo State College Epsilon Chi chapter*:
Rebecca Andujar, Josephine Avarello, Jacob Bajdas, Ahmir Buckhannon, Samantha Coleman, Nevaeh Dawkins, Fatoumata Drammeh, Emily Ersing, Peter Freeman, Daniel Fronckowiak, Tanner Ghosen, Charlotte Hull, Cailynn Jaehn, Lainie Kelahan, Randolph Lieberman, Caitlyn Malilay, Dennis Mcgannon, Richard Miles, Erin Miller, Patricia O'Donnell, Elda Pichardo, Victoria Singleton, Lauren Stumpf, Madilyn Thompson, and Courtney Trautmann.
2022 members of the Buffalo State College Epsilon Chi chapter*:
Melaina Birjukow, Marissa Birrer, Brynn Brewington, Aoife Clune, Nathan Grammar, Olivia Herschell, Emily Holewka, Jeannine King, Christina Luke-Grace, Tabatha McNab, Joy Oni, Austin Shutter, Ziana Stephenson, Jillian Tung, Elizabeth Urmson, Joshua Weigel.
* this list is not all inclusive and only includes those members who chose to have their names published
