Rebecca Gorovoy is a Neuroscience and Psychology double major. Throughout college, she has been actively involved with the Macaulay Scholars Council and served as the Vice President of Community Service for the past academic year. She has also been a research assistant at the Growing Minds Lab at Queens College for the past three years, and has assisted with research on working memory and naturalistic memory. Professionally, she has worked as an afterschool/summer camp counselor at a nonprofit program for many years, interned at the ed tech company Mindsage, and worked as a college bridge coach for CUNY’s College Bridge For All program. In Fall 2021, she will begin the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Queens College in order to become an elementary general and special education teacher.

Olivia Frasca is a Political Science major with minors in Economics and Business. She has supported constituents extensively in the public sector as a Correspondence Liaison at the NYC Mayor’s Office and Legislative Intern for NYS Assemblyman Michael Cusick. With student advocacy close to her heart, she also served as Politics Editor for The Banner newspaper and as Deputy Commissioner for Academic & Curricular Affairs on CSI’s Student Government.

Olivia’s passions for service and volunteerism are boundless; she organized fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and led the largest government outreach initiative for the American Red Cross Greater New York Region. As a natural relationship-builder and problem-solver, Olivia strives to pursue a career where she can empower others to make a difference in their communities, just like she has at Macaulay.

Kimberly Wyllie is a Psychology and Political Science double major with a minor in Honors in the Humanities. During her time at Queens College, she became a NYPIRG intern, where she committed to advocating for students and social justice. Kim also interned for the CUNY Census. She strived to get students and their families to complete the census, stressing the importance of bringing funding to their communities. During Spring 2019, Kim obtained the Kenan Scholarship, a Macaulay Honors scholarship dedicated to community service. As a Kenan scholar, she volunteered in Ecuador, spending time tutoring in English and reading to kids. Kim took on the role of president of the Political Science Club during her junior and senior years, hosting educational events and panels. Within her senior year, she also joined the student senate. Upon completion of her credits, Kim applied for early graduation. During, what would have been her final spring semester, Kim spent her time studying for the LSAT and applying to law schools. She now looks forward to attending Northeastern Law School.

Gianna Simonelli is graduating from Macaulay’s CSI campus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Communications, and minors in Marketing and Finance. Throughout her college career, she has maintained Dean’s List, two remote employment positions, and eight internship opportunities with various government agencies, non-profit organizations, and for-profit entities in New York City and beyond. Her education and professional experience in the Business and Communications sectors are highlighted by her creative abilities, well-rounded work ethic, and passion to contribute to socially-responsible programs, which were all fostered during her time at the Macaulay Honors College. In the future, she plans to travel, pursue her professional career, and go on to obtain a Master’s Degree.

Caitlin Balagula is a Psychology major as well as a Political Science, English, and Film minor at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. Soon after graduation, she will serve as a Congressional Intern for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.

Midway through college, Caitlin learned that she is most passionate about cultivating healthy, just, sustainable, and humane food and agriculture policy. She began her journey in the field as a Policy Fellow for Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. She then moved on to be a Policy Fellow for Slow Food USA. Most recently, she was a Legislative Intern for New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. Prior to her policy journey, she spent nearly two years at Talkspace, a mental telehealth company. She also served as a Student Researcher at New York University Rusk Rehabilitation’s Motor Recovery Research Lab and at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Program for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Studies.

Riya Kaushal is majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Biology, Chemistry, Cities and Social Medicine, and Honors in Math and Natural Sciences. She is a Co-Research Coordinator at the Stress in Pregnancy Study where she started in Summer 2017 as a research assistant. Riya earned the Thomas E. Frumkes Award for Excellence in Psychological Research.

Riya has been an AmeriCorps Jumpstart volunteer for two years, providing support to preschools in underserved NYC communities. She has been volunteering at Cohen Children’s Medical Center since 2016. During her first semester of college, she joined the SAHDI club, spreading awareness about respiratory diseases in Sri Lanka. She became president of the Hindu Student’s Association club in 2017. Riya was a summer Research and Policy Intern for Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), where she worked with government officials to decriminalize marijuana. She studied abroad in South Africa during Winter 2019. After graduation, Riya will be applying to medical schools while continuing her research and community service activities.

Natalia Sandor is a Business Management major with a minor in English Writing. Currently, she is the owner of Sand Bars Handcrafted, an ice cream sandwich company she founded in 2017. She also was the founder and president of the Sustainable Student Organization and sat on CSI’s Sustainability Committee. In 2018, she was selected to go on the Macaulay Service Trip to Puerto Rico to help with post Hurricane Maria recovery.

As a student, Natalia held internships at: Omnibuild Construction doing risk management, Warby Parker running a technical team, The Department of Economic Development working on a project team and at The Office for the Associate Vice Chancellor at CUNY running social media for the Women in Technology initiative (WiTNY). She also participated in the WiTNY summer guild at Microsoft and was a dedicated member and captain of the women’s soccer team at CSI. More recently, she participated in RLab at ShoP Architects where she built out an augmented reality application. After graduation, Natalia plans to run her business while working on a second start up.

Abirami Rajeev is a Mathematics major and Human Rights and Peace Studies minor. Currently, she works as a math tutor and a technology assistant at Lehman College. She is the Co-Director of the Feminist Society as well as an avid participant in Habitat for Humanity. She has received honors such as the Kenan Fellowship, Induction to the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society, the Meyers Scholarship, and a Presidential Scholar.

Over her four years, she has worked as a Grassroots Canvasser, as a volunteer in Puerto Rico to aid with the hurricane relief efforts, and as a teacher in Thailand for children in danger of being trafficked. Through all these experiences, she discovered her passion for data science and humanitarian work. She plans to work for the Peace Corps and then continue her studies of mathematics, computer science, and human rights.

Ryan Seerattan is a Neuroscience-Biology major with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. Currently, he works in the Choi Research Laboratory at Queens College as a Research Assistant. His work focuses on the design and synthesis of small molecule inhibitors that target an enzyme implicated in cancer. Ryan is also a peer mentor in the HSI-STEM program at Queens College, where he assists students in the subject of Physics.

In December 2017, he became a New York State certified Emergency Medical Technician-Basic and has since began volunteering at the Wantagh-Levittown Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He has also volunteered as an Emergency Department Ambassador at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset since February 2018. Ryan was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society in May 2019. In January 2020, he went to Florence, Italy on a Macaulay-funded study abroad program to study nutrition. Following graduation, Ryan plans to apply to medical school while continuing his research and volunteer work.