Two Students Receive 2022 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

April 27, 2022

Two members of the Hudson Valley Community College student body were named recipients of the 2022 State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, one of the highest student honors awarded by the SUNY system.

The recipients are David Mejias, an Individual Studies student from Watervliet; and Casey Leveillee, a Dental Hygiene student from Delanson.

The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence acknowledges students for outstanding academic and community service achievements. Those honored each year have demonstrated excellence in academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service or the arts.

David Mejias
David Mejias

The father of two, Mejias said his children serve as a strong motivation for him to excel in his studies. Mejias has been an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) peer leader and is currently the treasurer for Student Senate at the college and a member of the Faculty Student Association board of directors.

Mejias received the 2020 Norman R. McConney, Jr. Award for EOP Student Excellence, an honor that recognizes the most outstanding and promising students in EOP throughout SUNY. He was recently accepted to Columbia University School of General Studies and plans to transfer in the fall with aspirations of continuing his education at law school.

Casey Leveillee
Casey Leveillee

Leveillee is a second-year student in the Dental Hygiene program. She returned to college in 2020 to pursue a career as a dental hygienist and while on campus, she has served as a peer tutor and teaching assistant for the Dental Hygiene program as well as president of the college’s chapter of the Student American Dental Hygiene Association.

She is an active member of the community and, in an earlier career as a nutritionist, was instrumental in developing a partnership between the Albany Medical Center's Woman Infants and Children (WIC) program and Capital Roots' Virtual Veggie Mobile, an online farmers market. The effort significantly increased the amount of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables available to families in Albany. Leveillee was the recipient of the Dr. Gerard A. Ripp Scholarship, which recognizes a freshman Dental Hygiene student who demonstrates outstanding leadership, scholastic performance and potential. Also, during her freshman year, she was the subject of a video about students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recipients from all 64 SUNY institutions were recognized at a ceremony in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, April 26.

“David and Casey epitomize the combination of leadership and academic achievement that are the hallmarks of SUNY Student Chancellor’s Award recipients,” said President Roger Ramsammy. “They certainly are deserving of this honor and, on behalf of the college community, I am so proud to congratulate and share in their recognition.”

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