Northeast College Celebrates Student Leaders and Honors Academic Excellence

Northeast College of Health Sciences held its third annual Pursuit of Academic Excellence & Leadership Ceremony on Nov. 16, honoring Phi Chi Omega Honor Society inductees, scholarship recipients, and the Student of the Year. 

Welcoming honorees and presenters to the Delavan Theater, Northeast College President Dr. Michael Mestan kicked off the event created to recognize students for their academic excellence and leadership accomplishments. "We are grateful to have so many wonderful student leaders at Northeast. Our students' dedication to academic excellence, their future professions and our Northeast Blue community is evident, and we are honored to be able to recognize their many accomplishments," said Dr. Mestan.  

Students Receive Scholarships and Honor Society Inductions

First, 64 Northeast College students were inducted into the Phi Chi Omega Honor Society. To be a member, a student must achieve a grade point average of 3.50 or better for three consecutive trimesters.

Shortly after, some of the College's latest scholarship recipients were announced. They included Michael Thomas Fucci (D.C. '21, MSACN '21) and Fawod Majidi (D.C. '22, MSHAPI '22), who both received the Mary Ann Padgett Scholarship, and Chelsea Grace Shultis (D.C. '22) who received the Dr. Arnold and Lucille Goldschmidt Scholarship. The Executive SGA President Award was presented to Cal Forster (D.C '23).

Student Leaders at Northeast

The Student of the Year award went to Chynna Chan (D.C. '21). She is a 2019 Phi Chi Omega Honor Society inductee, a peer mentor, and has served the class of November 2021 as vice president for ten trimesters.  Chynna was a student representative on the College's Advisory Committee for Campus Safety, has been a student emissary at open house events and is currently a student clerk at the Seneca Falls Health Center.

Keynote speaker Timothy Whiting (D.C. '14), Seneca Falls Health Center instructor, spoke about the importance of leaders and life-long learning. "In order to be a leader, whether that be here at the College, in your community, or in our profession, you must never stop learning," Dr. Whiting said. "I am grateful for young leaders like you to join our profession. I truly believe that the future of the profession is destined for greatness in the hands of leaders, like you." 

Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Anne Killen thanked outgoing Student Government Association (SGA) leaders, Executive President Cal Forster, Executive Vice President Samuel Weichel (D.C. '23) and Executive Secretary/Treasurer Abigail Werner (D.C. '23) for their dedication and professionalism. 

Forster announced and welcomed Northeast's new SGA leaders: Executive SGA President Fawod Majidi, Executive SGA Vice President Conner Buttry (D.C. '24) and Executive SGA Secretary/Treasurer Chelsea Shultis. The new executive board will begin their one-year term with the start of the Winter 2022 Trimester in early January.

As the Fall 2021 trimester wraps up, the Pursuit of Academic Excellence and Leadership Ceremony will be followed by the upcoming Commitment to Excellence Dedication (Dec. 1) for first-trimester students, Northeast's Transitions Ceremony (Dec. 2) and Fall 2021 Commencement (Dec. 4). The series of ceremonies recognizes important milestones of Northeast students, as well as opens the door for continued accomplishments and a prosperous future.