Record Number of Students Graduate with University Honors

Thirty-six students – a record number – graduated with University Honors in 2011-12.

These students completed 18 credits of honors coursework and a senior project or thesis.

They also earned many other university recognitions, such as the Ribicoff Prize (Kevin Sliwoski), the Martin Scholarship (Kevin Sliwoski), the John G. Lee Medal (Brittany Wallace), the Senior Regents Award (Anthony Papa), and a Fulbright Scholarship (Stanislav Shpanin).

Several of these high-achieving students are ready to begin their careers with United Technologies (Margarita Oliverez), the national organization of the Phi Mu Sorority (Rachel Horowitz), and the U.S. Air Force (Peter Saul – Officer Training).

Many others have been accepted for graduate study:

Casey Aubin: Hartford Seminary, M.A. – Islamic Studies
Anthony Benaquista: Ross University - Medicine
Jessica Fallis: University of Vermont, M.A. - Literature
Lisa Karwowski: University of Hartford, M.S. - Accounting
Rebecca Leonard: Loyola (MD), MBA
Aaron Lesky: Penn State, M.S. - Acoustics
Anthony Papa: Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), M.S. - Architecture
Steven Schultz: Drexel University Law School
Melissa Simone: University of Hartford, Psy.D.
Kevin Sliwoski: University of Oxford (England), M.A. – Musicology
Stephen Sorak: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), M.S. - Architecture

Here is the complete list of students who graduated with University Honors in 2011-12.


College of Arts and Sciences

Casey Aubin, History (Dec. 2011)

Anthony Benaquista, Biology

Ryan Bradley, English CW

Shawn Cano, Politics & Government

Andrew Chalmers, Economics

Victoria Cherenzia, Art History/RPW

Michael Davis, Cinema

Jessica Fallis, English

Rachel Horowitz, Psychology

Betsy Kadapuram, Biology/Pre Med

Rob Lipski, Biology

Sara London, Cinema

Amber Ritter, Politics & Government

Steven Schultz, Politics & Government

Melissa Simone, Psychology/English CW

Brittany Wallace, Politics & Government

Catherine Whitney, English


Barney School of Business

Jeremy Boyle, Management

Malissa D’Souza, Accounting

Lisa Karwowski, Economics/Finance & Accounting

Rebecca Leonard, Marketing

Jessica Moreta, Finance & Accounting (Dec. 2011)

Margarita Oliverez, Accounting

Jonita Weeks, Accounting


College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture

Aaron Lesky, Mechanical Engineering with Acoustics

Anthony Papa, Architecture

Peter Saul, Architecture

Stephen Sorak IV, Architecture


College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions

Jayne Bortunova, Early Childhood Education


The Hartt School

Kevin Sliwoski, Music


Hartford Art School

Ethan Bodnar, Visual Communication Design

Mirra Goldfrad, Printmaking

Amanda Keating, Printmaking

Nicole Lee, Visual Communication Design

Marissa Madonna, Illustration

Stanislav Shpanin, Painting