Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

D Y S O N Y E A R I N R E V I E W 2 0 2 2 – 2 0 2 3 26 Alumni Young New Yorkers on the Rise Dylan Tragni '15, Political Science, and Nicholas Novak '15, Political Science, were named to City & State New York's NYC 40 Under 40 for 2022. Tragni, vice president at leading government relations firm Bolton-St. John's, currently advocates for clients in city government, a er spending a decade working for Assemblymember Nathalia Fernandez, rising to roles as her chief of staff and senior strategist. Novak has worked for the New York State Trial Lawyers Association for eight years. In his current role as development manager, he organizes fundraising events and handles outreach to elected officials, with an aim of ensuring that workers have access to a robust criminal justice system. The Social Entrepreneur Dena Mekawi '15, MS Publishing, was named an Arab America Foundation 40 Under 40 awardee for her work in advocating for representation of the Arab community and other underrepresented communities in media and adve ising. A "social entrepreneur," Mekawi engages brands and adve isers with communications strategies that incorporate social impact into their business models through her company Style & Resilience (also known as Mekawi Impact). Mekawi has also advised several United Nations agencies and was selected to moderate and develop peace strategies for the International Day of Peace in 2016. Students STEM Students Shine Eight students from behavioral neuroscience, biology, chemistry, and forensic science—accompanied by Associate Professor of Biology Daniel Strahs, PhD, and Assistant Professor of Biology Wei Fang, PhD—a ended the 2023 Eastern Colleges Science Conference at Sacred Hea University. Noor Aayla '23, Behavioral Neuroscience, received the Chemistry Poster Presentation Award for her work with Strahs, titled "A Method to Analyze Electrostatic Interactions Between Ethacridine and Topoisomerase IA in E. coli." Denia Diaz '23, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Anastasiia Kirdiianova '26, Behavioral Neuroscience, who both conducted research with Associate Professor of Biology Jeanmaire Molina, PhD, received the Ecology Poster Presentation Award for their poster, "A Symbiotic Trifecta: The World's Largest Parasitic Flowers, Their Host Plant, and the Microbes That Live Within." Chemistry Students Honored by American Chemical Society Ethan Grimes '23, Biochemistry (NYC), Sara Hubbi '23, Biochemistry (PLV), Angelina Italiano '23, Chemistry (PLV), and Valerie Malachin '23, Chemistry (NYC) received New York Section Awards Ce ificates of Excellence from the American Chemical Society (ACS) at the Middle Atlantic Region Meeting this spring, selected as pa of a group of 50 college students from the region recognized for their academic excellence in chemistry. Additionally, the New York City chapter of the Pace Chemistry Club was honored as a commendable student organization by the ACS and received a Green Chemistry Award, which recognizes student chapters that have completed at least three "green" chemistry initiatives in an academic year. Turning Real-Life Research into Meaningful Advocacy In pa nership with the Westchester Children's Association (WCA), Sydney Moraitis '22, MPA, and Associate Professor and former Director of MPA Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran, PhD, spearheaded "Digital Access Survey: Perceptions of Parents in the K–12 Schools of Westchester County, New York," which surveyed families on their digital access, skills, and knowledge. Moraitis and WCA then presented the findings of the survey at a press conference on Pace's Westchester campus in October. Dyson Students Honored at Commencement The Dyson Class of 2023 was nothing sho of impressive, and several Dyson students were recognized at commencement with University-level honors. Marisa Medici '22, Communication and Media Studies and Political Science (NYC), and Tinuade McClish '23, Psychology (PLV), were honored with the Trustee Award, presented to "students whose positive contributions to University life and academic accomplishments exemplify the highest level of achievement a ainable for an undergraduate." Medici, who graduated with a 3.98 GPA, was an active volunteer in voting engagement with the Center for Community Action and Research and interned for Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. McClish served as an excelsior scholar mentor, a writing consultant in the Learning Commons, a resident assistant, and vice president of communications of the Student Government Association while maintaining a 3.83 GPA. Tasfia Rahim '23, Economics and Political Science, was awarded the 2023 Community Service Award for New York City. As student projects coordinator for CCAR, Rahim worked on initiatives relating to student voter engagement, immigration justice advocacy, and Social Justice Week programming. Rahim was also co-founder of Fare Trade, a student-run initiative to combat food insecurity on campus. Additionally, Cameron Maruszewksi '23, A and Psychology (NYC), served as the valedictorian speaker at the University-wide main ceremony at commencement, and Jeremiah Williams '23, Political Science (NYC), served as the student speaker for the Dyson ceremony. SETTER STORIES News & Notes

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