Morrisville State College students Cheyenne Beach, of Waterville, and Erin Marchefka, of Herkimer, have been honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.
The prestigious award is based on outstanding academic and career achievement, as well as service and leadership.
“This award is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to stand-out SUNY students whose achievements reflect their own impressive hard work as well as the support of their families and friends, and SUNY’s world-class faculty and staff,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. “The students we honor with this year’s award have excelled academically, become role models on campus, and established themselves as leaders in the community.”
Beach, a natural resources conservation student, has been an active member of the Morrisville Conservation Tri Society for three years, serving terms as president, treasurer, and organizing many community service activities and events, as well as coordinating trips in the NRC field.
A work-study student and a teaching assistant for the Natural Resources Conservation Department, she also served on the Campus Tree Board.
As a special class project, she worked on the Rogers Environmental Education Center Canada goose control project for three years; as a crew member, crew supervisor, and project coordinator. She also completed career-oriented internships with Headwaters Youth Conservation Corps, Canadarago Lake Improvement Association, and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
After she graduates from MSC in May, Beach will be working as a biological technician at the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota, where she will be monitoring the Piping Plover, an endangered bird.
In addition to her dedication in the field, she received numerous accolades in the classroom, including a Presidential Scholarship to attend MSC. A member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, she is a two-time recipient of the Jeffrey Beach Scholarship for having the highest GPA in the NRC program, and also received the Floyd L. Beebe Memorial Award for academic and campus achievement. Beach is also completing a bachelor’s degree in renewable resources.
A 2012 graduate of Waterville High School, she is the daughter of Melissa Carey, of West Winfield.
Marchefka, a dietetic technician-food service administration student, has excelled academically, being named to the Dean’s and President’s Lists. A non-traditional student, she juggles a full course load, a family, and work as a diet office clerk at Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare in New Hartford. A portion of her career in the dietetic technician field has focused on reaching out to the community to help those facing adversity. She participated in numerous campus events including National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week activities.
Marchefka attended the Mohawk Regional Dietetic Association meeting, hosted at MSC, where she was a student speaker. She is a student member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
A 2000 graduate of Albemarle High School, in Va., Marchefka and her daughter, Leana, live in Herkimer.