JORDAN PATTERSON
Staff Writer
Although it may seem like putting in the maximum effort in school sometimes goes unnoticed, students do receive recognition for their hard work. On Feb. 22, the 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recipients were announced.
Fifteen Fredonia seniors were nominated but only four seniors received the honors: Tatianna Baker, Kearstin Derrenbacher and Oliva Kaltenbach, all communication disorders and sciences (CDS) majors, and Caeli Faisst, a theatre arts major.
The Chancellor’s Award typically honors students who exude leadership within each of their concentrations. These four women will formally receive their award on April 5 at an awards ceremony in Albany.
“I’m very proud of this, and I feel humble because I know there are many strong scholars at SUNY Fredonia,” said Baker. “To be one of the recipients is truly an honor.”
Since Baker was young, she had the idea that she wanted to pursue a career involved with speech pathology after seeing her brother struggle with his speech when she was younger. Baker watched her brother enter into special education and receive speech services.
“Seeing him improve over the years taught me the importance of the speech pathology field, and has inspired me to help others the way that speech pathologist helped my family,” said Baker.
After Baker graduates from Fredonia this Spring, she plans to attend graduate school in the Fall, where she will pursue her master’s degree in speech language pathology. She hopes to secure a job as a speech therapist in the field of early intervention.
Derrenbacher coincidentally stumbled upon her future career one day in middle school at none other than career day. She had a conversation with a woman who introduced her to the field and it just made perfect sense to her.
While studying here at Fredonia, she has been inspired by two professors: Dr. Anny Castilla-Earls and Dr. Katrina Fulcher-Rood of the CDS Department, who she thanks for all of her success at Fredonia.
Derrenbacher plans to attend graduate school at the University of Buffalo for her master’s degree in speech language pathology.
“I have spent countless hours working towards my goals in life and to see all of it pay off feels incredible. It is such a tremendous honor to be chosen for such a prestigious award and I truly feel blessed,” said Derrenbacher.
Kaltenbach was inspired to pursue a higher education by having numerous family members work in the education system. In high school she was able to see the positives of obtaining a college degree. Though she hasn’t decided which graduate school she will attend, Kaltenbach will also be going for her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology.
“Being a recipient of a prestigious award is such a honor. I am so grateful for the opportunity to represent the SUNY system, Fredonia, and my department,” said Kaltenbach. “Winning the Chancellor’s Award was the perfect capstone for all the handwork I’ve put into obtaining my undergraduate degree.”