Commencement Profile: Nicholas W. Gray

SUNY Chancellor’s Award For Student Excellence

Nicholas Gray has earned a bachelor of arts in psychology, attaining a 3.73 GPA while participating in the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program.

He will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence during the 1:00 p.m. baccalaureate ceremony at Buffalo State’s 147th Commencement, Saturday, May 18, in the Sports Arena. 

Gray has demonstrated a strong history of intellectual development, passion for learning, academic success, athletic proficiency, and dedication to the community both on and off campus. He is extremely motivated, eager to learn, mature, and focused, while being personable and collaborative. He has built on his strong classroom achievements with outstanding involvement in research projects.

Early on in his college career, Gray was noted as a student who would excel at research. He earned an Early Undergraduate Research Opportunity (EURO) grant during his sophomore year to evaluate personality factors for a faculty member’s study on traffic. Subsequently, he received an Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship to conduct his own primary examination of personality and social factors that affect performance. This study evolved into his honors thesis project that he presented at the Eastern Psychological Association annual conference and the Buffalo State Student Research and Creativity Conference. He serves as president of the Buffalo State chapter of Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology.

Faculty members liken his depth of understanding to that of a graduate student. He is, in fact, the first undergraduate student to serve as a Psychology 101 recitation instructor in the department and has garnered considerable praise for the professional and effective way he does his job.

Outside of the classroom, Gray runs hurdles and serves as captain of the college’s track and field team. He was elected as an intercollegiate athletics budget representative in the Intercollegiate Athletics Department and is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national honor society for student-athletes. He is also a black sash instructor who works with youth and adults at the Mandarin Kung Fu martial arts center in Buffalo.