Meet the Class of 2021 President’s Award winners

Seniors Goanio Chavarria, Dylan Erdelyi and Morgan Cerbone are this year’s President’s Award winners. The annual President's Award is given to three graduating seniors who have demonstrated exemplary academic and extracurricular achievements as well as service to Rider.

The highly competitive selection process for the awards was led by Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Cindy Threatt and supported by faculty and staff who comprised the search committee.

“All of this year’s President’s Award recipients are incredibly deserving of this honor,” Threatt says. “Goanio, Dylan and Morgan have all demonstrated outstanding leadership that has greatly impacted the experiences of their fellow students. Their contributions to the Rider community are valued and will have lasting effects.” 

Chavarria was lauded for his devotion to cultivating community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a member of the National Association of Campus Activities and has served as the president of the Student Entertainment Council (SEC) and as the traditions chair. He has led the planning of Rider’s biggest campus events, including the 2019 fall concert, the I Love College Dance Party and Rider Rock Fest. During the spring of 2020, Chavarria seamlessly shifted SEC’s programming to a virtual format, continuing to provide highly attended, innovative programming for students. 

“Winning the President’s Award is something I never would have imagined coming into college,” he says. “I was at a loss for words when I got the news. I just always wanted to make my family proud because I am representing all of us as a first-generation college student. Rider let me be myself, and I think that is what a President’s Award winner should be — impacting those around you by just being who you are."

He has held a number of leadership roles during his time at Rider. He was a two-time orientation leader, a freshman peer mentor, a member of the Westminster Campus Transition Student Affairs Working Group, a member of the Conover Hall Residence Hall Association and worked as a Rider Pub bartender. A brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Chavarria served as the chapter’s rush chair and on the philanthropy committee. He is also the recipient of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Balanced Man Scholarship and the Anne Brossman Sweigart Endowed Scholarship. 

A double major in sports management and management and leadership, Chavarria hopes to gain a management position in the entertainment industry and become an entrepreneur. 

Erdelyi was recognized for his steadfast leadership during his time at Rider, most recently serving as the Student Government Association (SGA) president. Under his leadership, the SGA advocated for students' needs through an extraordinarily challenging year and was represented on countless task forces and committees. He previously served as SGA executive vice president, vice president for university affairs and senator, a tour guide for Admissions and an ambassador for the Baccalaureate Honors Program. He also volunteered for the EASEL Animal Rescue League, fostering dogs in the Mercer County community and assisting with many cat adoptions.

“After four wonderful years at the University, receiving the President’s Award is the most exciting honor to wrap up my collegiate experience,” Erdelyi says. “Rider has changed so much while I’ve been a student here, and I am so proud of the progress we have made as an institution and the role that Student Government has played in making that happen. I could not have gotten to this place without the collaboration of the incredible students, staff, and faculty at Rider.”

Erdelyi maintained a 3.93 GPA as a musical theatre major with a minor in psychology. With a devotion to the arts, he was a mentor in the Fine & Performing Arts Mentor Program, a director for The Broncway student organization, and an assistant director for the Rider Summer Musical Theater Institute. He was awarded an Undergraduate Research Scholarship Award and the outstanding director of a 10-minute play award from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. 

Upon graduation, Erdelyi hopes to work with community based arts organizations in recovering following the pandemic and expanding arts access.

Cerbone was applauded for her tireless work and leadership during Westminster Choir College’s transition to the Lawrenceville campus. She is the first Westminster Choir College student to hold an executive board position in Rider’s Student Government Association as the vice president of student affairs. In this role, she played an integral role in ensuring students’ voices and opinions were heard and valued. 

“My goal has always been to create the best student experience in my power, and I'd like to believe I've been successful in that,” she says. “With each leadership position I held, I became more and more motivated to do work for our student body.”

She has held a number of additional leadership roles, including two-terms as an orientation leader, and positions in Sigma Alpha Iota, the Outreach Choir, Westminster Players, show choir, and Noted A Capella. She is also a member of the Jubilee Singers and Williamson Voices, all while maintaining a 3.63 GPA. 

A music education major, Cerbone hopes to earn a master’s in child psychology and become a guidance counselor.