Commencement Profile: Emily E. Cloutier

SUNY Chancellor’s Award For Student Excellence

Emily Elise Cloutier has earned a bachelor of arts in philosophy, attaining a 3.81 GPA while minoring in legal studies and psychology.

Cloutier will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence during the 1:00 ap.m. baccalaureate ceremony at Buffalo State’s 146th Commencement, Saturday, May 19, in the Sports Arena.  

Cloutier is a talented and thorough student, a dedicated and effective leader, and a committed and conscientious citizen of the campus and community. Although she has earned a long list of academic awards and scholarships, her focus is always on the value of what she is learning, how she might challenge herself further, and how she can use her knowledge to help others. She constantly seeks out opportunities to expand her education and enrich the intellectual climate of the college.

While at Buffalo State, she has authored several significant works of research. Her senior honors thesis addresses the ethical implications of an ever-greater reliance on social media for personal identity. In addition, she earned an Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship in 2016 to study the ethics of parenting. Her project explored the array of issues that arise when a parent or child suffers from mental illness. She also completed four independent studies relative to philosophy and legal research. She has consistently proved herself to be a thoughtful and careful scholar.

Cloutier has assumed several leadership roles on campus. As the founding president of the college’s Alpha Beta chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, the international honor society in philosophy, she secured donations for an annual speaker series, coordinated a food drive for the Buffalo State Food Pantry, and organized a Philosophy Department community library. She also represented the Philosophy Department on the Dean’s Student Council, providing detailed insight to the advisory group.

A cheerful, vibrant, and natural leader among peers, she has served as president of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl club, a peer tutor within the Philosophy Department, an active member of the Women in Philosophy group, and a volunteer at the Gloria J. Parks Community Center.