Four SUNY Oswego students have earned the 2023 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence, the highest such recognition in the state system.

These awards recognize outstanding accomplishments inside and outside the classroom for childhood education-English major Kaitlin Flint, zoology major Brooke Goodman, meteorology major Kaitlyn Jesmonth and psychology major Adriana Militello.

They were among 193 students recognized in a ceremony with SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. on April 24 in Albany. 

Flint, from Ava, is a December 2022 summa cum laude graduate. Flint had extensive involvement on campus, including roles in the SUNY Oswego Admissions Office, initially as an Admissions Representative providing tours, and then moving into multiple leadership roles. Flint also was responsible for facilitating Admissions information sessions, providing departmental tours, presenting on student panels, training student tour guides and supporting open houses. 

In addition, Flint served as secretary of Kappa Delta Phi, the International Honor Society in Education; was the nonfiction editor for The Great Lake Review, SUNY Oswego’s literary magazine; and was a member of the Reading League.

Goodman, from Goshen, graduates from the university’s Honors Program magna cum laude. Twice Goodman has earned the SUNY Oswego Student Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant for work on ornithology projects. Goodman was a senior member of the Oswego Bird Behavior Lab, assistant curator at Rice Creek Field Station, field assistant for the Amphibian Sampling Project, Grassland Bird Technician at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and vice president of the Zoological Student Association. 

Goodman has given six professional presentations on her zoology research, was a teaching assistant for two courses and led an effort to help reduce bird collisions with windows on campus.

Jesmonth, from Albany, graduates summa cum laude with minors in mathematics and computer science complementing the meteorology degree. Jesmonth is a forecaster on a National Science Foundation-funded field project on lake-effect lightning, the student forecast leader for the Lake-Effect Storm Prediction and Research Center and holds national leadership positions with American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. 

Jesmonth was secretary and president of the Meteorology Club and hosted the Great Lakes Atmospheric Science Symposium on campus. Jesmonth has completed extensive community service including lakeshore cleanups, volunteering at a nursing home, performing in the College-Community Orchestra and volunteering as an active National Weather Service trained spotter.

Militello, from Akron, is a December 2022 summa cum laude graduate with minors in forensic science and cognitive science complementing the psychology degree. Militello’s leadership on campus and in the community is extensive, including multiple leadership roles as a Counseling Outreach Peer Educator, campus representative for Plan C, peer tutor and a trained facilitator for the Body Project. 

Militello has organized events to support Active Minds, a national organization promoting mental health, and helped reestablish Oswego's chapter. She is dedicated to community service and has participated in Alternative Breaks, Stride to Save Lives, Yards for Yardley, Send Silence Packing and mentoring at an elementary school.

“There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and each of the students recognized today is an example of our extraordinary student body and their rich and diverse ‘SUNY stories,’” Chancellor King said at the ceremony. 

“Student success is at the core of everything we do, and I am honored to celebrate students from 63 SUNY campuses who are receiving this year’s Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence,” Chancellor King added. “Every student can find their community at SUNY, and I congratulate each of the CASE winners for making the most out of their college experience.”