Thursday, Apr 25, 2024
Students recognized for exemplary leadership, inclusive excellence and Engaged Learning
by Diane Cornell
Seniors Rachel Schwenk, Zachary Fernandez, Naa’san Carr and Maya Ortiz are the recipients of this year’s top three awards for graduating students. The President’s Award, President’s Inclusive Excellence Award and the Rider University Senior Engaged Learning Award were presented to the awardees at a luncheon held in their honor on April 26.
“The accomplishments of these four hardworking and talented students have distinguished them among their peers and their honors are well deserved,” says Rider President Gregory G. Dell'Omo, Ph.D. “These individuals truly embody Rider’s commitment to excellence. Given the extent of their accomplishments, I have no doubt that they will continue to excel in their future endeavors. Each is an inspiration to other students, and collectively, they have contributed so much to our campus community.”
President’s Award
The President’s Award recognizes graduating seniors who demonstrate exemplary leadership skills, academic achievement, service to the University and extracurricular involvement. This year’s President’s Award recipients are Rachel Schwenk and Zachary Fernandez.
Schwenk is a marketing major with a minor in business analytics. A member of the track and field team, Schwenk serves as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a member of Morgan’s Message, an organization that works to support and strengthen student-athlete mental health.
“My journey at Rider began during the pandemic,” notes Schwenk, “but I found solace in my teammates, classmates and professors. It is so rewarding to look back on myself as a freshman and see how far I’ve come. I’m beyond thankful for every opportunity and challenge that I’ve been presented and for those who have cheered me on along the way. Rider University will forever be a place that I call home.”
Schwenk assists freshmen business majors as a senior mentor for the Business Living and Learning Community, is a member of the Norm Brodsky College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and participated in the American Marketing Association Case Study competition. Her service reached beyond campus through her work with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County and the Hopewell Valley Mobile Food Pantry. During her time at Rider she earned a 3.98 GPA.
Fernandez has been engaged in a wide variety of organizations across the University as a finance and marketing major. An Andrew J. Rider Scholar with a 3.98 GPA, Fernandez fostered students’ professional development as president of the executive skill-building organization, DAARSTOC, and vice president of professional activities for Delta Sigma Pi. He represents students on the Norm Brodsky College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and as a member of HISPA’s Latinos in College program. His interests have extended to managing the social media accounts of the Rider Ultimate Frisbee Team and the Aikido Club.
“Rider has provided me with the tools, opportunities and support to grow academically, professionally, and personally,” says Fernandez. “I am immensely grateful for the transformative experiences and connections that Rider has afforded me during my time on campus.”
During his tenure on campus, Fernandez has served the wider Rider community as a Relay for Life team member, Bronc for a Day Ambassador, Admissions Tour Guide and Residential Community Assistant. In 2021, he was honored with Sigma Phi Epsilon’s Leader Recognition award and the Residence Life Positivity Award in 2023.
President’s Inclusive Excellence Award
This year’s President’s Inclusive Excellence Award recipient is Naa’san Carr. The award honors an undergraduate student who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion on campus and in the surrounding community.
A political science major with a political communication minor, Carr has held a variety of leadership positions at Rider, serving as Student Government Association president, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) college chapter president, treasurer of Black Men Unified and public relations chair for the Black Student Union, Haitian Student Association and Rider African Student Association. He is recognized as an advocate for women’s rights and an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Rider University has opened up many doors of opportunities for me to thrive,” says Carr. “My Rider resume is full of serving underrepresented and marginalized communities through leadership roles in identity-based clubs. Receiving this award is a testament to bold faith and getting into good trouble for the elevation of the people."
During his time at Rider, Carr has served on the Chief Diversity Officer Advisory Council and Rider Resource Pantry Advisory Committee. He is the host of the 107.7 The Bronc radio program, Black Love ~ Inspiring Black Culture.
He is also a member of Milestone Scholars, Political Science Club, Rider Latinas Unidas, Unashamed Gospel Voices, and the Abled and Disabled Advocates Persisting Together (ADAPT).
Rider University Senior Engaged Learning Award
Maya Ortiz is this year’s recipient of the Engaged Learning Award. The award celebrates a graduating senior who has earned Engaged Learning points across three or more categories, and demonstrated connections between academic knowledge and the application of that knowledge in the world beyond the classroom.
Ortiz is a sociology major with a minor in business. A Presidential Scholar with a 3.98 GPA, she participated in five of the six categories that comprise the Engaged Learning Program, accumulating points in internships, co-ops, field experience; civic and community engagement; arts, media, and creativity; guided research and scholarship; and study abroad and cultural exploration.
“Each of these has afforded different learning opportunities and have worked together to shape my life and identity as both a student and a person,” says Ortiz. “The engaged learning points I have earned have strengthened my sociological imagination, opening my eyes to the possibilities afforded to me by my position in society. I am incredibly grateful for the Engaged Learning Program, as I was able to take advantage of so many wonderful opportunities.”
In the classroom, Ortiz created and ran a business with three of her classmates, reviewed five Broadway plays, and wrote an honors capstone thesis on queer womxn’s constructions of femininity. She completed the Leadership Development Program and volunteered to create safe spaces for marginalized communities at the Bergen County LGBTQ+ Alliance. Ortiz has been on the Dean’s List throughout her four years at Rider and plans to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago in the fall to begin a doctoral program in sociology.