Commencement Profile: Allison R. Torsey

Baccalaureate Student Address

President’s Medal For Outstanding Undergraduate Student

SUNY Chancellor’s Award For Student Excellence

Allison Torsey has earned a bachelor of arts in physics and a bachelor of science in applied mathematics, attaining a 3.90 GPA while participating in the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program.

She will address audiences at the morning and afternoon ceremonies at Buffalo State’s 147th Commencement, Saturday, May 18, in the Sports Arena as the recipient of the President’s Medal for Outstanding Undergraduate Student. She will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence during the 1:00 p.m. baccalaureate ceremony.

Torsey is a model student who has integrated academic excellence with achievement in leadership, community service, and service to her fields of study. She started her college career at age 16 as a physics majors, then added a second major in applied mathematics when she became interested in mathematical biology. Her years at Buffalo State have been defined by her talent, maturity, independence, and tenacity.

With an impressive aptitude for complex logical reasoning, Torsey has applied her classroom knowledge to various research opportunities. She has twice presented her mathematics research at the Joint Mathematics Meeting, the world’s largest mathematics conference. She also participated in a nine-week Research Experience for Undergraduates at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at Ohio State University. She earned an Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship to create a mathematical model to study opioid abuse in Erie County. Her research in bacterial infections and opioid abuse has been beneficial to society and can assist researchers in both medicine and psychology.

In recognition of her work, she received the the Robert A. and Dorothy Stender Sweet Physics Scholarship, the David Vernon Bullough Award for academic excellence in the Physics Department, and membership in Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor society.

Torsey possesses leadership skills and demonstrates a commitment to bettering her community. As president of the Buffalo State Mathematics Club, she organized club events and trips to conferences. As president and philanthropy chair of the Beta Gamma chapter of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority, she helped raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Sharsheret, an organization that assists Jewish women battling breast cancer. She also volunteers at the Depew-Lancaster Boys & Girls Club and has worked on campus as a calculus tutor and student assistant for STEM workshops for high school students.