Emerson College: Alison Puzio of West Windsor was inducted into the school’s Gold Key Honor Society. A senior, she is majoring in studio TV production.
University of Rhode Island: Marcus Allen of Plainsboro was honored at the school’s annual Black Scholars Awards celebration with the Saint Clair Drake Award for Outstanding Scholarly Research. A senior, he is majoring in mechanical engineering and was a research assistant in URI’s mechanical engineering department. A member of the National Society of Black Engineers, Allen volunteered as a peer tutor through outreach activities to motivate pre-college students.
Jawuan Wynn of Plainsboro was inducted into Rhode Island’s Onyx Senior Honor Society.
Rutgers University: Three 2012 graduates from High School North received awards for being in the top 10 percent of the sophomore class. Aditya Parikh, who has a 4.0 GPA, is also in the top two percent of his class. Sarah Neiheiser is a political science and German major in the School of Arts and Sciences. Lauren McGinley is a music education major in the Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Saint Joseph’s University: Megan Spencer is on the dean’s list. She is majoring in interdisciplinary health services.
Westminster Choir College: Jordan Carroll of West Windsor performed at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center on Saturday, April 26, as a member of Westminster Williamson Voices. He is a music education major.
The 40-voice ensemble performed the New York premiere of James Whitbourn’s “Annelies,” the first major choral setting of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” A recording of the work was nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance.
Sarah Michal and Jason Rand, both of Plainsboro, are members of Westminster Symphonic Choir and will perform the New York City premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Requiem with the choir and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert on Monday, May 5, at Carnegie Hall in New York.
The concert will also be broadcast live on WQXR-FM and online at www.wqxr.org. The choir has recorded and performed with major orchestras for the past 79 years and has sung more than 350 performances with the New York Philharmonic alone.
Widener University: Nicole Crossey of Plainsboro, a junior majoring in political science and international relations, recently traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for the 2014 Student Lobby Day. Crossey and fellow students from Widener met with Pennsylvania legislators to discuss increased financial support for middle income students, the culmination of a semester long project, titled College Students Concerned about College Costs.
They hosted events on campus to discuss student debt and created postcards arguing for middle income student debt relief, which they encouraged their peers to sign. They sorted these postcards according to district and personally delivered them to the appropriate state legislators while in Harrisburg.
In their Harrisburg meetings, the Widener students asked the elected officials to support various efforts to reduce middle income student debt, including the Middle Income Student Debt Reduction Act, which creates a new grant system to provide $36 million to middle income students, and Governor Tom Corbett’s similar proposal for a $25 million Ready to Succeed grant program to help students from families that earn up to $111,000. After taking a drop-in meeting with a small group of students, State Rep. Mario Scavello, R-176, agreed to co-sponsor the Middle Income Student Debt Reduction Act.
