Chelsey Pitcher
  • Business Administration (Bachelor of Science)
  • Class of 2016
  • Baldwinsville, N.Y.

SUNY Potsdam Student Chelsey Pitcher Honored with 2016 Chancellor's Award

2016 Apr 7

Chelsey Pitcher was among three outstanding SUNY Potsdam students who were recently honored with the 2016 Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher presented the awards to students from across the SUNY system in a ceremony held in Albany.

The SUNY Potsdam recipients included Thomas Giffune, Michael Oyelola and Chelsey Pitcher.

Thomas Giffune is a senior from Verona, N.Y., and is triple-majoring in biology, chemistry and physics, with a minor in mathematics. He has done research in all three of his major fields of study, and has had numerous papers published in multiple scientific journals. After graduation, Giffune will be working at the Naval Surface Warfare Division of the Department of Defense in Virginia, where he hopes to also pursue a Ph.D. in either chemistry or physics.

Michael Oyelola is a senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., majoring in speech communication and sociology. An extraordinarily involved student, he has served as an orientation leader, admissions ambassador and resident assistant, as well as having been a board member for Emerging Leaders and the president of the Black Student Alliance. Oyelola was award the SUNY Association of Council Members and College Trustees Award for Excellence and Student Initiative Scholarship in Fall 2015, becoming the first SUNY Potsdam student to achieve the honor.

Chelsey Pitcher is a senior business administration major from Baldwinsville, N.Y. She has been a strong student leader since her first days on campus, while maintaining a high grade point average and earning memberships in numerous honor societies, including Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. Pitcher has been particularly engaged in the Emerging Leaders program and in her role as an admissions ambassador, proving herself to be truly committed to SUNY Potsdam and student success.

The Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence was created in 1997 to honor students who excel academically and show involvement in leadership roles, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement.

Each year, campus presidents establish a selection committee, which reviews exemplary students. Nominees are then forwarded to the Chancellor's Office and are subject to a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award. Each recipient receives a framed certificate and medallion, which is traditionally worn at Commencement.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's remarkable students, visit http://www.potsdam.edu.