Four Buffalo State College students were among 187 State University of New York students honored as Chancellor Robert L. King recognized SUNY's outstanding students at ceremonies held Apr. 17 at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.

Buffalo State's award winners are:

• Julie Reszczenski, a North Tonawanda resident who will receive her master's degree in exceptional education next month;



• Paulette M. Wydro, a Cheektowaga resident who graduated last December with a bachelor of science in psychology;



• Timothy Zgliczynski, a Depew resident who will graduate next month with a bachelor of science in education;
and,


• Pooja Tivary, a New York City resident who will graduate next month with a bachelor of science in hospitality administration.

"These students are among State University's best and brightest," King said. "Their commitment not only to academic excellence, but also to serving the wider community indicates they are very likely to emerge as New York's future leaders. I am enormously proud of these students and very pleased to be able to recognize their accomplishments."

Chancellor's Award nominees are screened through a rigorous process, and have demonstrated significant contributions to their greater campus communities.

Active in her community, Reszczenski is a fifth-grade special education teacher at Gilmore Elementary School in North Tonawanda, teaching students with learning and physical disabilities in an inclusive classroom. Since 1997, she has been a volunteer with the Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped and is active in Deaf Adult Services. In response to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, she organized a food and supply drive for the American Red Cross to assist victims and volunteers in New York City. She was selected by Buffalo State's Exceptional Education Department to receive the 2002 Horace Mann Award for Outstanding Graduate Student.

Wydro, who received a National Institute of Mental Health Regional Summer Research Fellowship in experimental psychology, has remained on the dean's list for academic excellence for four consecutive semesters. A research assistant for Buffalo State's Center for China Studies, she will join a research group from the Center on a visit to China next month. She is a recipient of the SUNY Scholarship for Academic Achievement, the Buffalo State Bridge the Gap Scholarship, the Minority Empire Scholarship and the David Vernon Bullough Outstanding Senior in Psychology Award. A volunteer at the Erie County Home and Infirmary and the YWCA North Street residence, she has tutored third-grade students in reading at the Union East Elementary School and worked with emotionally or behaviorally challenged seventh- and eighth-grade students at Gateway-Longview.

Zgliczynski, who achieved a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average, is a member of Kappa Delta Pi, the National Education Honor Society. He received the 2002 Horace Mann Award for Outstanding Undergraduate in Exceptional Education, the highest award given by the department. He served as president of the statewide chapter of the Student Council for Exceptional Children, as well as president and treasurer of the Buffalo State chapter. He worked as a research assistant for Project Success - a federally funded grant program for research and training on disability issues in higher education. Active in Special Olympics, he volunteers with People Inc. and the Cheektowaga Youth Board.

Tivary, a member of the All College Honors Program, is an active member of Phi Upsilon Omicron, Mu Chapter, the National Honor Society for Nutrition and Foodscience Students and the National Honor Society for Minorities in Hospitality. An All-American Scholar, she serves as a resident assistant and a University Police student assistant coordinator. She has raised monenited World Day of Caring and victims of Sept. 11. She also organized and coordinated Buffalo State's Indian Earthquake Relief Fund Raiser last spring, raising $3,500.

In addition to today's ceremonies in Albany, at which students received a framed certificate and a medallion to be worn at commencement, Buffalo State's Chancellor's Award winners will be honored at the college's 130th commencement ceremonies, to be held on May 11.