Pharmacy students, faculty and staff honored at annual fall award ceremony

On Friday night, the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences held its annual P2/P3 award ceremony to recognize students, faculty and staff who have received honors related to their hard work and dedication to the school.

Dean and Distinguished SUNY Professor Kanneboyina Nagaraju started off the night by thanking everyone in attendance for being the reason why the School of Pharmacy has continued to see success and growth in recent years.

"Tonight, we will honor the students who excelled during the past school year to bring attention to their accomplishments and to thank them for being such a wonderful reflection of the Pharmacy School," Nagaraju said. "We've seen so much growth within our school over the past few years, and it's all thanks to the dedication of our faculty, staff and, of course, our students."

Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Jude DeLuca then announced the Dean's Honor Roll. The students who receive this award earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher for the 2023-24 school year. Their names are listed on the School of Pharmacy website, and they also received a certificate of achievement after the ceremony.

"This ceremony celebrates the academic excellence of our students, highlighting their dedication and commitment to the profession, which begins right here at the SOPPS."

DeLuca also presented the Top 10% of Class Merit Award. "As the name suggests, these students are academically in the top 10% of their cohort," DeLuca said. "We all know how rigorous our curriculum is, so this is a very impressive achievement."

Class of 2027

• Ryan Baudille
• Ellinore Hazan
• Madison Kisak
• Kyle Weekes

Class of 2026

• Anthony Bedrin
• Kristin Bush
• Cynthia Gallo
• Maggie Lai
• Ioana Sandru

Second-year pharmacy students Kyle Weekes and Ryan Baudille pose together after receiving the Top 10% of Class Merit and Academic Excellence awards during the ceremony. Image Credit: Scott Sasina.

DeLuca then presented the Award for Academic Excellence. "This award recognizes the students with the highest GPA in their cohort," she said. "Achieving this award shows the dedication and commitment on the part of these students."

Class of 2027

• Ryan Baudille
• Ellinore Hazan
• Kyle Weekes

Class of 2026

• Maggie Lai

James "JJ" Brice, director of student affairs, then took the stage to present the SOPPS Merit Awards.

"All of the awards I'll be presenting tonight went through a rigorous approval process," Brice said. "First the students had to be nominated by a peer, themselves, a faculty or staff member. Then the nominations went to the Committee on Awards and Progression to vote for the recipients. I can confidently say that all of these students are more than deserving of the awards."

Class of 2027 SOPPS Bearcat Award

• Ellinore Hazan
• Nathan Jiang

Class of 2026 SOPPS Bearcat Award

• Karissa Kindlon-Ballas
• Brian Chan
  

Second-year pharmacy students Isabelle Beyersdorfer (left), Taylor Fedi (middle) and Sofia Ruggiero (right) pose with their SOPPS Dean's Honor Roll certificates. Image Credit: Scott Sasina.

The next award was the SOPPS Professionalism Award, which is given to students who have already displayed an impressive level of professionalism. Brice added they are extremely proud to send these students out into the community as they represent the pharmacy school.

Class of 2026 SOPPS Professionalism Award

• Erin Wong
• Karissa Kindlon-Ballas
  

The SOPPS Leaders in Pharmacy Award was given out next. "This award is prestigious because recipients are students that we know will be leading the future of pharmacy," Brice said. "They embody the responsibility, determination, compassion and intelligence that will take the industry to the next level."

Class of 2027 SOPPS Leaders in Pharmacy Award

• Felix Aung
  

Class of 2026 SOPPS Leaders in Pharmacy Award

• Heeral Naik
• Cynthia Gallo
• Mariya Khan
  

The last merit award of the evening was the SOPPS Top Tutors Award. Only the top students in each cohort are invited to become SOPPS tutors and, even among that impressive group, these students stand out as leaders.

"They have all been tutoring since their P2 year, acting as large group and individual tutors," Brice said. "Dozens of students show up every week to attend their sessions, and they are the most requested and praised for their efforts."

Class of 2026 Top Tutors Award

• Heeral Naik
• Brian Chan

Nagaraju took a moment to acknowledge student ambassadors, SOPPS tutors and everyone who has acted as a Big Sib in the Big Sib/Lil Sib program, which pairs mentors with incoming students. He then presented awards honoring the school's faculty and staff.

Skills Education Associate for Pharmacy Practice Andrea Snyder with Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor Kanneboyina Nagaraju after the class of 2026 selected Snyder as the Staff Member of the Year. Image Credit: Scott Sasina.

"One of the things that makes our school so special is the excellent work of our faculty and staff in service of the students," he said. "Our SOPPS student dean asked for students to vote on the best faculty and staff according to students last May for the 2023-24 school year."

• Class of 2026 selection for best teacher from the Pharmacy Practice Department: Sarah Spinler
• Class of 2026 selection for best teacher from the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department: Aaron Beedle and Tracy Brooks
• Class of 2026 selection for best staff member of the Year: Andrea Snyder
• Class of 2027 selection for best teacher from the Pharmacy Practice Department: Sarah Lynch
  
• Class of 2027 selection for best teacher from the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department: Aaron Beedle and Yuan Fang
• Class of 2027 selection for best staff member of the Year: Amanda Padwa

Nagaraju concluded by offering a big thank you to everyone who came to the ceremony to show support for the students and their accomplishments.

"We all know how our students' success would be impossible without a strong community of family, friends and peers," he said. "So thank you!"