Fourteen seniors from Stony Brook University were among 193 students recognized with the 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the State University of New York’s highest student accolade. Celebrating academic and extracurricular achievements, these awards were presented at a ceremony on April 29 in Albany, New York.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. expressed his regards in a statement to the honorees: “To this year’s awardees, I extend my heartfelt congratulations. Today, we honor you with the highest recognition given to a SUNY student, acknowledging your dedication and your excellence. We are proud of all that you have achieved here at SUNY. We are rooting for your future success.”
Derek Peterson, a Stony Brook University graduate and CEO of Soter Technologies, spoke at the event, emphasizing resilience and innovation: “Congratulations to the CASE awardees. This award is only the beginning of more to come. Continue to shine bright and be the difference maker.”
The awardees include diverse individuals, each nominated by their campuses and selected by a SUNY-wide committee. Among them are veterans, parents, policy advocates, and various student leaders.
Rachel Alexandre, for instance, is a Globalization and International Relations and Political Science major recognised for her work at the United Nations and other organizations. Cailey Bobadilla, an Applied Mathematics and Statistics major, is noted for her research and mentoring roles.
Other notable awardees include Laci Burton, an English major exploring writing and rhetoric at a national level, and Anushri Kulkarni, a Biomedical Engineering major conducting research in microfluidics. Each student embodies leadership and commitment within and beyond their academic pursuits.
The SUNY Board of Trustees extended their commendations: “Each year we look forward to celebrating CASE awardees and thanking these inspirational role models from across our SUNY colleges and universities. On behalf of the SUNY community, we are grateful for your leadership on campus, and we offer our best wishes for what comes next.”
A photo gallery featuring the award-winning students with Chancellor King and Usama Shaikh, Stony Brook's assistant chief diversity officer, is available for viewing.