Remarkable Scholars [Volume II]: Spring 2007

The following list of Scholar awards, accomplishments, and activities reflects the mission of the Honors Program and the stature of the remarkable students who participate in it.  It is a partial list, with apologies to those Scholars whose names and merits have been overlooked.  This list is an affirmation of Scholars’ abilities, their motivation, their commitment to serving the college and outside community, and the diversity of their interests.

AWARDS, HONORS, AND SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS       

Academic excellence recognized at the June 2007 Commencement

Valedictorian – Matthew Furleiter

Salutatorian – Yunna Gleyzer

Undergraduate Honors theses:

These Scholars successfully completed a two-semester undergraduate honors thesis project and have graduated/will graduate with honors in the discipline in which the thesis was written

Miriam Raisner: Chaste Women in Rome: Weaving a Pattern for Cultural Recognition.   [Humanities] Miriam was the recipient of the Kanner Prize for outstanding undergraduate thesis at Baruch and was recognized by the Macaulay Honors College for the outstanding thesis written on all seven participating campuses.

Hamid Rashidzada: Cross-Border Merger and Acquisitions: a New Form of Growth for Developing Economies [Finance]

Rabail Razi: Rabbit Temporomandibular Joint Articulation, the Meniscus, and Maticatory Muscle Arrangement [Biology]

Zvia Shwirtz: Universal Judaism: The Philosophies of Saadia Gaon, Hermann Cohen, and David Novak [Philosophy]

Baruch College Awards Ceremony

The following Scholars were recognized at the May 24^th Awards Reception for outstanding academic performance or service to the college

Michael Guttmann – Prof. Stanley Frankel Memorial Award – major in management for outstanding work in the area of business ethics

Olga Kerzhner – Nathaniel Greenberg Memorial Award for accountancy major with best scholastic average in accountancy

Yan Kuznetsov – Morton Wollman Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Finance; Beta Gamma Sigma Alumni Medallion

Nicole Lydakis - Aaron Levenstein Labor Relations Award for student of labor relations in Management who has shown most promise in this field

Matthew Furleiter – Lewis Stroock Award for highest GPA in a business discipline; Morton Wollman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Law

Marina Goldenberg – Outstanding accountancy major who plans to enter fifth year of study to prepare for CPA exam; Prof. Julius Rosenthal Memorial Award in Hebrew Literature for student who excels in the study of Hebrew

Monifa Brooks – Morton Wollman Award for outstanding achievement in Economics; Beta Gamma Sigma Alumni Award

Marina Loshak – Joel Zweibel Pre-Law Honors Award for Zicklin major with minimum GPA of 3.5, who is active in community service and plans to attend law school; Arnold Picker Award for Excellence in Psychology; Psi Chi Award in Memory of Professor Bernard Locke for student with the highest average in Psychology

Sneha Vazirani – Excellence Award for excellence in Economics

Miriam Raisner – Kanner Prize for outstanding undergraduate thesis; Alfred Iacuzzi Award for outstanding performance in Italian

Melanie Rios – Arnold Picker Excellence Award for excellence in English or Journalism

Justin Palmer – Arnold Picker Excellence Award for excellence in History

Bushra Ahmad – Arnold Picker Award for Excellence in Mathematics

Zvia Shwirtz – Arnold Picker Award for Excellence in Philosophy

Ryan Meltzer – John Bauer Award for leadership, unselfish devotion to the service of others, compassion, candor, courage, and strength of conviction

Dahlia Masri – Joyce Brown Class of 1991 Award for student who distinguishes him/herself by providing help and support to fellow students

Sharon Forde - Robert Stevens Memorial Award for student who displayed a high level of scholarship, who has successfully sought to bring students together; Golden Key Community Service Scholarship and Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Association Scholarship

Prijo Thomas was awarded a 2007 Colin Powell Summer Fellowship in International Diplomacy.  This summer, he will intern with the State Department in Washington, D.C.

Vadim Partin – Baruch College Ethics Bowl – first place

John Pham Winner of Abraham Briloff Prize in Ethics

Macaulay Honors College: Chancellor’s Awards Ceremony

The following Macaulay Scholars who are enrolled at Baruch were recognized by the

Chancellor at a special reception for outstanding juniors

            Leadership and Community Service Awards:

                        Alexandros Hatzakis

Nicole Lee

Maria Scognamiglio

            Scholarship Awards: Cumulative GPA of 3.9 or higher

                        Kaveeta Desai                    

Anna Furman

                        Juliya Golubovich

Aleksey Kreydin

                        Jonathan Kahan

Danielle Lemberg

Chong Li

Marina Loshak

Andrew Mahabir

Sonal Mehta

Michael Merkhasine

Sean Mizrach

John Pham

Maria Popova

Dorin Rosenshine

Erika Russi

Darya Shcherbanyuk

Sameer Shah

Regina Zaychik

Honor Societies:

            Golden Key International Honor Society

Inductees – Spring 2007

Rofa Abayon                       Maya Kagan                         Yuliya Pyatigorskaya

Samin Abedi                        Yelena Kalontarov             Rafal Rak

Harrison Adler                     Amrinder Kang                   Lennie Ramsaroep

Michael Adzhiashvili         Maqsood Khan                   Adeel Rashid

Matthew Aglialoro              June Khin                             Vriti Saraf

Keiko Akashi                       Rachel Klapper                   Gulsah Senol

Dana Anderson                  Joanna Komar                    Yakov Shafir

Aleksandra Baszynska    Henry Kong                         Eugene Shapsyuk

Rachel Berkowitz               Karl Konnoth                       Allison Simonovsky

Jenell Boodhoo                  Nastasiya Korolkova         Channi Singh

Ayla Brayer                          Aleksandr Kosoglyadov  Jennifer Singh       

Jacqueline Chancer          Connie Lee                          Yana Stavitsky

Becky Chen                         Christopher Lee                 Richard Tam

Kenny Chen                        Michelle Lee                         Ekaterina Valevich

Felix Chen                            David Lerner                        Wendy Wan

Eamonn Colman                Terresa Ling                        Emily Wang

Caroline Defay                    Evelyn Liristis                     Alyssa Wick

Indroneel Dhar                    Artur Lotz                             Monica Wong

Tamara Fazylova                Yelena Lyakhovich            Stephen Wong

Salvatore Flagiello             Simon Mairzadeh               Kai Wu

Manu Heywot-Kumasi      Ning Mao                              Wenli Yang

Kari Hsiang                          Constantinos Michailidis Jenny Ye

Leonard Hu                          Pablo Montes                      Alla Zayenchik

Ronak Jain                           Gary Ng                                 Vicky Zhai

Rattanamol Johal               Chaeun Park                       Shimin Zhang

Jonathan Jordan                Victoria Poon                      Diane Zhao

Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society

Inductees 2006 - 2007

Samin Abedi                        Indroneel Dhar                    Tai Yuen Lee

Harrison Adler                     Slav Dobrow                        Artur Lotz

Michail Adzhiashvili           Edouard Dufresne             Pablo Montes

Leigh Ahearn                       Dmitry Dukhan                   Gary Ng

Maxim Bakaleynik              Yevgeniy Dynkin                Michelle Portocarrero

Steven Bariban                   Hugh Fang                           Antonina Priolo

Olga Barskaya                    Yvonne Fung                       Olga Ryabaya

Rachel Berkowitz               Levi Gabovich                     Irina Shlafman

Zoie Blackwood                  Robert Gerner                     Allison Simonovsky

Natalia Brzostowska         Alexander Gizersky           Justine Stasik

Francois Cedoit                  Veronika Ilyuk                     Richard Tam

Caleb Chao                          Atara Jacobs                       George Wang

Becky Chen                         Shruti Karnawat                 Justin Wong

Xiao Chen                            Stephen Karras                  Simon Wong

Franklin Cho                        Ilya Kerzhnerenko             Stephen Wong

Cladiu Cornetti                    Karl Konnoth                      Alla Zayenchik

Bernard Cruz                      Sunny Krishnani                Vicky Zhai

Tarun Dani                           Kateryna Kuntsevich        Diane Zhao

Pratik Desai                         Betty Lam

Beta Gamma Sigma

Monifa Brooks                    Jonathan Kahan                 Nalat Phanit

Sharon Forde                      Holly McNulty                      Sameer Shah

Kenneth Ho                         Joanna Orzechowska       Susan Zheng

            Psi Chi Honor Society in Psychology

Marina Loshak

Sigma Iota Epsilon Honor Society in Management

Sharon Forde

Michael Gutmann

Additional accomplishments

The Baruch College chapter of AIESEC, led by President Constantinos Michailidis, is the 2007 recipient of four separate AIESEC awards, including the Leading Edge Award, the highest award that an AIESEC chapter can receive.  AIESEC is an international student-run group which provides internships abroad.

The Baruch College Chapter of Model UN, under President Nino Makharadze received Honorable Mention at this year’s MUN Conference.  The delegation included Evandro Migoti, Yelena Kalontarov, Carolyn Kingston, and June Khin.

Marina Zavelevich and Swati Lashkery were part of the winning team at the American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition Regional Finals.  They will be competing in the national finals this June.

Professor Ted Henken, who teaches IDC 3001H for the Macaulay Honors College, was awarded the Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Professor Carol Berkin, who regularly teaching honors sections of American History, was just designated Presidential Professor.  She is one of only three members of the faculty recognized by the President for outstanding scholarship, teaching, and service.

STUDY/WORK ABROAD

The following Scholars spent a semester studying abroad this past academic year:

Fall 2006

            Kareen Aboujawde – Lyon, France

            Jonathan Kahan – Oxford, England

            Erika Russi – Lyon, France

            Elena Shneider – London, England

            Gregory Waldvogel – Lyon, France

Spring 2007

            Evan Bernstein – Copenhagen, Denmark

            Kaitlyn Conlan – Copenhagen, Denmark

            Kaveeta Desai – Oxford, England

            Danielle Lemberg – Vienna, Austria

            Inga Lyubomyrskaya – Rome, Italy

            Erika Martinez –Beijing, China

            Enrico Martinez – Beijing, China

            Mary O’Regan – Copenhagen, Denmark

            Laura Vardanian – Oxford, England

The following students are spending the summer interning abroad under the aegis of AIESEC:

Harrison Adler, Olga Barskaya, Pratik Desai, Kari Hsiang, and Simon Mairzadeh are in China, teaching English to various aged children through adults.

Zoie Blackwood is in Jaipur India, working for in the Department of Research and Development at Hedcon. 

SCHOLAR WRITERS AND PERFORMING ARTISTS

The Ticker

Jennifer Chancer – Arts Editor

Stacey Korolkova  - Art Director

Jana Kasperkevic – Features Editor

Dov Gibor – Copy editor

Dollars &Sense

Jacqueline Chancer – contributing writer

Rachel Klapper – contributing writer

Encounters

            Jacqueline Chancer – Fiction Editor and writer

Maria Dorfman – Business Manager

Dov Gibor – Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Susana Gomez – Fiction Editor

Jana Kasperkevic – Poetry Editor

Andrew Lawler – Poetry Editor

Writers – Dorin Rosenshine, Jacqueline Chancer, Jana Kasperkevic

Hakasher: The Connection

             Editor in Chief - Dorin Rosenshine

Contributing writers: Marina Goldenberg, Rachel Klapper, Michael Gutmann, Dahlia Masri, Jack Srour, Jack Tebele, Alona Vorobyov   

            Contributing photographers – Boris Berdichevskiy, Jana Kasperkevic, Swati

            Lashkery

Sidney Harman Student Writing Contest

Jacqueline Chancer – Third Prize

Abrham Briloff Ethics Essay Contest

            John Pham – 1^st Place

The Vagina Monologues

This play, which has previously been produced off-Broadway and around the world, brings attention to the problem of violence against women

            Carolyn Defay - actress

            Marina Zavelevich – actress

Yelena Lyakhovich – was honored as an alumna of the Inter-School Orchestra at a concert at Lincoln Center

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

            Special recognition:

Greg Waldvogel – CUNY Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Justin Wong – Rookie of the Year – Swim Team

The Athletes

Keiko Akashi – Swim Team

Jennifer Tsai – Swim Team

Alona Vorobyov – Tennis

Maya Kagan – Volleyball

Han Chae – Baseball [pitcher]

David Lerner – Cross-country

Erika Russi – Cross-country

Justin Wong – Swim Team

SERVICE: These Scholars provided special service to the college community

Nicole Lee – Search Committee, Dean of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

 Danielle Lemberg  – College Committee on Academic Integrity

Diana Peters – Co-Chair Baruch College Women’s History Month and featured speaker at this year’s Bernard Baruch Dinner

Maria Scognamiglio – co-chair of Relay for Life [American Cancer Society fundraising event] – Coordinating committee included scholars Alyssa Wick, Monifa Brooks, Diana Peters, John Pham, and Sean Mizrach.

Honors Program Ambassadors:  The following students served as guides to prospective students and assisted the Honors Program at a number of campus events: Aleksandra Baszynska, Roseliny Genao, Yunna Gleyzer, Marina Goldenberg, Anna Koltunyuk, Joanna Komar, Kateryna Kuntsevich, Nicole Lee, Ted Lim, Erika Martinez, Crisann Shair, and Rattanamol Johal.

STUDENT LEADERS: 

Scholarships and Grants: 

John Pham and Zoie Blackwood: NextGen Leaders Grant from American Humanics – competed with students on 40 campuses – goal is to diversity leadership positions in the non-profit sector.  Zoie will be working for ACCION, NY and John for the 23^rd Street Association.  American Humanics prepares students for careers in human service agencies.

Shruti Karnawat – KPMG Future Diversity Leaders Program – only 50 students are chosen annually for this 3-year program

Global Student Certificate Program:  The following Scholars successfully completed this interdisciplinary co-curricular program designed to increase the practical intercultural business, communication, and leadership skills of undergraduate students aspiring to become leaders in their fields:

            Keiko Akashi

            Zoie Blackwood

            Inna Kitaychik

            Rattan Johal

            Alina Novikova

The following Scholars assumed leadership roles in a variety of clubs and organizations during the past academic year:

Golden Key International Honor Society

            Officers 2006-2007:

            Ryan Meltzer, President – regional Student Leader Award from GK

            Nicole Lee – Executive VP – elected President for the next academic year

Carolyn Kingston – Secretary

            Stacey Korolkova – VP Marketing

            Vriti Saraf - VP Publications

Keiko Akashi – Program Director

            Dana Anderson – Webmaster

            Maria Scognamiglio – Coordinator Relay for Life

            Maria Giraldo – Coordinator NY Cares and MADD

            Diana Govshiyevich – Coordinator Shadow Days

            Terresa Ling – Coordinator of Walks

Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society

Officers 2006-2007:

President – Crisann Shair

President elect – Roseliny Genao

Executive VP – Sonal Mehta

Secretary – Michelle Li

Treasurer – Kenneth Ho

Public Relations – Roseliny Genao

Webmaster – Felix Chen

Also active on campus:

Rattanamol Johal – organized a panel discussion for the campus regarding the crisis in Darfur

Inga Khaimova – Treasurer of Hillel

Danielle Lemberg – Founder and President of Baruch College Debate Team

Andrew Mahabir – VP Baruch Chapter of National Asian American Society of Accountants

Nino Makharadze – President, Model UN

Michael Merkhasine – Recruitment Coordinator – AIESEC

Constantinos Michailidis - President AIESEC.  Additional officers include June Khin, Karl Konnoth, Leo Mikinberg, Inna Kitaychik, and Alex Kiselyuk

Diana Peters – founder and president of the Speech and Debate Society;

John Pham – President – Public Affair Society

Channi Singh – President of United Sikh Association

Lennie Ramsaroep, Eddie Dufresne, and Franklin Cho, members of Baruch Portfolio Management Club, were invited by CEO Warren Buffett to attend the annual shareholders’ meeting of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Ralph Terzi was elected President of Generation Angel, a branch of the Sephardic Angel Fund in Brooklyn

Zoie Blackwood, David Lerner, Terresa Ling, Prijo Thomas, Darwin Recentes, and Laura Vardanian served as student leaders in this past year’s Scholars sections of Freshman Seminars

INTERNSHIPS: This is a partial list of internships secured by Scholars during the past academic year for summer 2007

Keiko Akashi and Manu Heywot-Kumasi – World of Children

Jacqueline Chancer – Time Inc. and ArtNews

Angela Curmi – United Nations, Student Journalism Program

Roger Gelfand – Analyst internship at Bryant Park Capital, a boutique investment bank

Rosaliny Genao – Merrill Lynch Global Banking Group

Jana Kasperkevic – The Washington Center

Karl Konnoth: Internship with Corporate Cash Management Sales Team at Deutsche Bank

Aleksey Kreydin – Bear Sterns

Yan Kuznetsov – Intern, United Nations Global Forum

Elsie Layana- Secured an internship at Morgan Stanley Human Resources Summer

Nicole Lee – Summer internship at USA Today; in the spring, she interned at a Broadway PR firm, Jeffrey Richards and Associates

Terresa Ling – Inroads summer internship at KPMG; she was selected to participate in Monster’s Diversity Leadership Program

Dahlia Masri – The Museum of Jewish Heritage. Dahlia educated visitors about the Holocaust.

Sean Mizrach – Bear Stearns

John Pham – 23^rd Street Association

Maria Popova – PricewaterhouseCoopers - Assurance Intern

Erika Russi – Pricewatershouse Coopers - Client Service Tax Practice

Jennifer Santamaria – Limited Brands [Inroads]

Channi Singh: Internship with Financial Security Assurance in the Mortgage Backed Securities Division Analyst Program

Justin Wong – 2006-2007 Hess Corporation in the Commodities Department

Regina Zaychik – Knowledge Delivery Systems

OUR 2007 GRADUATES

The following is a partial list of employment secured by or graduate/professional school acceptances received by graduating Scholars

Bushra Ahmad – Buck Consultants – Actuarial Associate

Eshanno Byam – Lehman Brothers – Operations Analyst

Saad Dar – PricewaterhouseCoopers – Audit Associate

Leeza Dukorskaya – Deloitte Touche – Lead Tax Services Staff; Baruch College MS in Taxation

Abraham Falack – Cookies Department Store – President of Cookies.com

Matthew Furleiter – Ernst and Young – Staff Accountant; Baruch College MS in Accountancy

Dov Gibor – Staples – Business Machines Specialist

Yunna Gleyzer – Merrill Lynch & Co – Global Markets Analyst

Marina Goldenberg – Baruch College MS in Taxation

Donato Guardavaccaro – Hays and Company – Junior Accountant

Michael Gutmann – NYU Medical Center Staffing Assistant

Maritza Hernandez – CUNY Research Foundation – Research Assistant; Baruch College MS in Accountancy

Marta Kargol – St. John’s University – MS in Education & NY Teaching Fellow

Carolyn Kingston – London School of Economics – Masters in Developmental Studies

Edmond Kiregian – Bear Stearns – Prime Brokerage Analyst