Elmira College

Elmira College celebrated the graduation of 202 students during its 165th Commencement on Sunday, June 4. The Class of 2023 included 75 honor graduates receiving summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude honors.

On Sunday, June 4, 172 members of the Elmira College Promising Class of 2023 and 30 graduate students walked across the stage on Carnegie Lawn to receive their degrees and set forth to find their place in the world.

The Professional Nurses of the Twin Tiers Award is presented annually to a graduating Elmira College senior who demonstrates leadership ability and lives in Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben or Tompkins counties or intends to practice in the area.

The Rho Gamma Scholarship Prize is given annually to a Rho Gamma member who is a graduating senior nursing student who demonstrates scholarship and excellence in nursing.

The Mildred Whittlesey McGraw Attainment Award recognizes an Elmira College junior who has made the greatest contribution in academic achievement, general activities, and citizenship, and who has demonstrated most thoroughly the aims of the College. The award was endowed by Harold McGraw, Sr., former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in honor of his mother. This year, Sarah Wagner '24 was one of two students that received the award.

Each year, Elmira College awards upperclassmen students with the Iris Leadership Award. This year, Allisandra Scalessa '25 was one of the two students who received the award.

Each year the Elmira College Nurse Education Faculty Recognition for Excellence in Nursing is presented to an outstanding graduating senior nursing student that represents the profession of nursing. He or she has actively participated in the Nurse Education Program, such as, serving as a student representative with the standing committees, ad hoc committee, and/or active involvement in the Nursing Club of Elmira College.

The Mildred Whittlesey McGraw Attainment Award recognizes an Elmira College junior who has made the greatest contribution in academic achievement, general activities, and citizenship, and who has demonstrated most thoroughly the aims of the College. The award was endowed by Harold McGraw, Sr., former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in honor of his mother. This year, Kaitlyn Belmont '24 was one of two students that received the award.

Each year Elmira College awards upperclassmen students with the Iris Leadership Award. This year, Lindsey Smith '24 was one of the two students who received the award.

The Mary Lou Parrella Prize is given by Lina Parrella in memory of her niece, a member of the Class of 1965, to a gifted Elmira College first-year student or sophomore in the field of fine arts. This year the prize has been awarded to Hollis Berry '25.

Rianna Passino '23 is this year's recipient of the Margaret Locke Community Service Prize. The award is given annually to an Elmira College student who has demonstrated a spirit of service to the campus and wider communities, provides a model of community involvement, and makes a difference in the lives of others through service.

The International Student Prize is awarded to a full-time international student who has completed at least one year of full-time study at Elmira College and who excels in academic and student life.

The Hypatia Mathematics Prize is awarded to a female junior who exhibits enthusiasm for mathematics and the desire to share that passion with others through education or other career endeavors. The goal of the prize is to recognize more women for their interest and competency in this important field of study.

The Helen Bosworth Beers '24 Prize is presented to a junior or senior who in daily living supports religious principles, is a good student, and an outstanding citizen in the College.

The Helen Hitchcock Bjorvand Drawing Prize was endowed in recognition of an extraordinary member of the art faculty, and is presented annually to the full-time Elmira College student submitting the best portfolio of drawings.

The First-Year Writing Prize is awarded to a first-year student who has taken both courses in the Academic Writing Program sequence and has demonstrated mastery of the writing, critical thinking, and oral communications skills studied in those courses.

Each year, the Dr. Ryland Hugh Hewitt, Jr. Award is given to an Elmira College student who has excelled in the field of speech-language pathology or audiology. The award was given by Warren and Louise Hewitt Aldrich '49 in memory of Louise's brother, Dr. Ryland Hugh Hewitt, Jr.

The Elmira College CRC Basic Chemistry Prize is presented to an outstanding first-year student studying chemistry, based on performance in both the lecture and lab classes.

The Daniel J. Lipson Prize is presented to an Elmira College sophomore or junior who excels in performing arts.

The Corning Section American Chemical Society Award is presented each year to an outstanding freshman student studying chemistry. This year, Emma Guthrie '26 received the award.

The Cantrill-van den Blink Scholarship is given to two rising nursing seniors interested in working in the Arnot Health System following their graduation from Elmira College. Students are expected to work for Arnot Health for a minimum of two consecutive years.

The Class of 2000 Prize is given annually to two deserving first-year students going into the sophomore class who exemplify the standards and spirit of Elmira College.

Each year, the Elmira College Board of Trustees Prize is presented by the Trustees to students whose college experience demonstrates continual growth and development academically, socially, or in service to the College community.

Destiny FitzGerald '23 received the John C. Johnson award at the Regional Northeast District 3 TriBeta Research Conference, held at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY, on Saturday, April 1.

Fifteen students were inducted into the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society during a ceremony on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

The Center for Mark Twain Studies (CMTS) announced this year's winners of the "Portraying Mark Twain" art competition. In its seventh year, the annual competition is open to all Elmira College (EC) students, regardless of academic major. Four final images were selected from 54 submissions that included representations of Mark Twain, his literature, or aspects of his life in Elmira and at Quarry Farm.

Elmira College released its Dean's List for Academic Achievement for the Winter 2023 Term. The Dean's List recognizes full-time undergraduate students who were registered for at least 12 computable credit hours and who earned a term grade point average of 3.6 or higher.

The Elmira College Chapter of Sigma Beta Delta, the International Society for Business, Management, and Administration, inducted 14 students during a recent ceremony.

The Rho Gamma Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society (Sigma) held its annual induction on March 31, 2023. The induction included six Elmira College nursing students and two nursing leaders from the community.

The Elmira College Rho Mu Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education recently inducted 19 members from Education and Speech and Language Disabilities majors into the honor society.