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Fifteen UB students have been named recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor SUNY bestows upon its students.

The award, created in 1997, is given annually to recognize high-achieving SUNY students who also excel in such areas as academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, diversity, equity, inclusion and justice or the arts.

Each year, selection committees from each SUNY campus consider nominees, who are then recommended to the chancellor’s office.

This year’s winners were invited to attend an awards ceremony on April 29 in Albany.

Here are UB’s recipients of the 2025 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence:

Maymuna Akter
Maymuna Akter of Buffalo graduates with a BS in biomedical sciences and a minor in nutrition. An Honors College scholar, Akter is a first-generation Bangladeshi American and the first in her family to attend college. She excelled academically while managing part-time jobs and actively contributing to her campus community. Her accomplishments include founding the UNICEF Unite Club, serving as a teaching assistant and conducting research in multiple labs. She participated in the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) Summer Research Internship and was selected to present at the statewide CSTEP conference. A certified EMT, she is committed to breaking barriers through education.

Ricardo Castillo
Ricardo Castillo of Farmingdale graduates with a BA in law and criminology. An Honors College scholar and Pride of New York scholarship recipient, Castillo was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in April 2024. He is editor-in-chief of The Spectrum, UB’s student newspaper, and a resident assistant for Campus Living. He earned an Outstanding Oral Advocacy Award as a Discover Law scholar in 2023, co-founded a pre-law club, spearheaded fraternity community service initiatives and served as a teaching assistant.

Emily Dickey
Emily Dickey of Lancaster graduates with a BS in political science and a minor in communication. She completed internships with Sen. Charles Schumer’s Buffalo office and Rep. Joseph Morelle’s Washington, D.C., office, supporting effective communication between elected officials and constituents. She worked as a volunteer and intern coordinator and office manager for the Erie County Democratic Committee. Dickey is an advocate for Type 1 diabetics, working with lawmakers to improve health care access.

Ava Fetzner
Ava Fetzner of Erie, Pennsylvania, graduates with a BS in environmental engineering. An Honors College scholar and Western New York Prosperity fellow, she worked as the Zero Waste student assistant for UB Sustainability. Fetzner led a project for Engineers for a Sustainable World, served as a teaching assistant for first-year engineering courses and was an Empire State Service Corps student at The Tool Library. She conducted research at UB and as an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates fellow at Washington State University. She also won the Pitch for a Purpose competition and was a finalist in the Panasci Technology Entrepreneurship Competition with UB CoLab.

Tyler Herman
Tyler Herman of Hamburg graduates with a BA in political science, economics and theater. An Honors College scholar, he has been active in the Student Association, most recently serving as student affairs director. He conducted research across all three of his academic disciplines and worked as a stage manager in the theater department. Herman interned with a government relations firm in Washington, D.C., and with Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Buffalo office. He also works in UB’s admissions office and serves the local community as a youth hockey official.

Noor Ismail
Noor Ismail of Pittsford graduates with a BS in biological sciences and business administration, with a concentration in international business. An Honors College scholar and Phi Beta Kappa member, she has held several leadership roles, including executive director of public relations and chief communications officer for the SUNY Student Assembly. She also is president of the UB Supply Chains and Operations Management Club and a member of the senior associate board for the New York Birth Control Access Project. Ismail is a student-athlete tutor, teaching assistant for evolutionary biology, research assistant in the School of Public Health and Health Professions and a College of Arts and Sciences ambassador.

Joan Liu
Joan Liu of Queens graduates with a BS in biochemistry. An Honors College presidential scholar, she led research on novel drugs and tumor-suppressor genes in pancreatic cancer at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center for more than three years. As president of the Hong Kong Student Association, she expanded membership significantly and organized the club’s first Chinese New Year banquet. Inspired by that experience, she became International Council coordinator for the Student Association directing International Fiesta, SA’s largest cultural dance event.

Fatima Makama
Fatima Makama of Niagara Falls graduates with a BS in public health and minors in English and biological sciences. A John Lewis Young Leaders fellow at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, she is a research assistant in the Maternal and Child Health Research Program. She served as vice president of Islamic Relief, a public health ambassador and a researcher in the Honors College Think Tank. Makama volunteers as a rape crisis advocate and clinic volunteer, and serves on the associate board for the New York Birth Control Access Project.

Ella Markham
Ella Markham of Syracuse graduates with a BS in biomedical engineering. A member of Tau Beta Pi, a presidential scholar and an Honors College scholar, she received the Academic Excellence Award in general chemistry. Markham conducted engineering education research and served as a student leader for two first-year engineering courses. She mentors local high school girls through the Women in Science and Engineering STEM Outreach Program and serves as a peer mentor in the Honors College. She co-founded UB’s Spikeball Club and studied abroad in Romania and New Zealand. She also interned at a Buffalo hospital.

Laibah Mir
Laibah Mir of Buffalo graduates with a BA in philosophy, politics and economics. An Honors College scholar, she was selected as UB’s second Key into Public Service Scholar by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She published a policy proposal through the Honors College Think Tank and is conducting graduate-level research in critical race theory for an educational journal. Mir is president of the Muslim Students Association and interns for the Women’s Peace Network, a global nonprofit that documents political and gender-based violence in Myanmar.

Fiona Serrano
Fiona Serrano of Shirley graduates with a BA in history, English and global gender and sexuality studies. A University Honors College and Ronald E. McNair scholar, she serves as ambassador for both the history department and the Honors College, and as president of the Undergraduate History Association. She also serves on the Academic Integrity and Academic Grievance committees. Serrano conducted several archival research projects and received multiple awards, including a national prize from Phi Alpha Theta.

Hewad Shaheed
Hewad Shaheed of Rochester graduates with a BS in biomedical sciences. An Honors College scholar and Phi Beta Kappa inductee, he has served as a teaching assistant, medical assistant, STEM tutor and volunteer for asylum seekers and refugees. He is vice president of the Muslim Students Association, founder and president of the Organization of Afghan and Persian Students, and a member of the executive board of Islamic Relief. His research includes studies on disparities in cancer care at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, diagnostic tests for Sjogren’s syndrome and children’s eating behaviors.

Akshay Tiwari
Akshay Tiwari of Tonawanda graduates with a BS in biomedical sciences. A Pride of New York and Honors College scholar, he co-founded UB’s Hindu Students Council, serving as event coordinator and vice president. He also served as vice president of the Association of Pre-Medical Students. Tiwari conducted research in two labs, contributing to studies on maternal smoking cessation and neural regeneration in multiple sclerosis. He was a teaching assistant for biology courses and served as a science ambassador, teaching STEM to underrepresented high school students in Buffalo.

Alika Turton
Alika Turton of Jamaica, Queens, graduates with a BA in political science, with a concentration in American politics and public affairs and minors in communication and strategic media messaging. A first-generation college student in the Educational Opportunity Program, she is the student representative on the UB Council. She collaborated with student government leaders to award more than $240,000 to student clubs. Turton has served as a SUNY Student Assembly advocate, UB UNICEF Unite creative director and UB EOP student ambassador, and has represented UB at multiple leadership conferences.

Connie Yap
Connie Yap of Clarence graduates with a BS in biomedical sciences and a BA in health and human services, with a concentration in child and family studies. A presidential scholar in the Honors College, she conducts inorganic chemistry research with SUNY Distinguished Professor Janet Morrow, synthesizing potential MRI contrast agents. Yap is a teaching assistant for evolutionary biology and an Honors College ambassador. She co-directs Vision Possible Buffalo and volunteers at Oishei Children’s Hospital and with adaptive skating at Spirited Athletes Bold at Heart. She plans to attend medical school and become a pediatrician.