WellsLink Hosts 13th Annual Transitions Ceremony

The Office of Multicultural Affairs will host its 13th annual WellsLink Transitions Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. Campus community members are invited to attend the ceremony to honor the WellsLink Scholars from the previous year who have successfully transitioned through the WellsLink Leadership Program and into their second year at Syracuse University. WellsLink is a nationally recognized academic excellence and leadership program for first-year students of color at Syracuse University.

“The Office of Multicultural Affairs is very proud to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of our WellsLink Scholars,” says Huey Hsiao, associate director in the Office of Multicultural Affairs and leader for the program.  “We have set high expectations for our WellsLink Scholars to follow in the footsteps of past WellsLink cohorts that have gone on to excel in the classroom and become leaders on campus and beyond.”

The ceremony is co-sponsored by the School of Education, and will feature a keynote from Terrell L. Strayhorn. A book signing and reception will follow the ceremony.

Strayhorn is professor and director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise (CHEE) at The Ohio State University. A renowned student success scholar, highly acclaimed public speaker and award-winning writer, Strayhorn is author of 10 books, over 60 book chapters more than 150 journal articles and conference papers and many other scholarly publications. He has presented more than 300 keynotes and invited lectures across the globe. Strayhorn maintains an active and highly visible research agenda focusing on major policy issues in education: student access and achievement; issues of race, equity and diversity; impact of college on students; and student learning and development. His book “College Students’ Sense of Belonging: A Key to Educational Success” has won a book award and sold record copies nationally.

Strayhorn received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia (UVA), a master’s degree in educational policy from the Curry School of Education at UVA and a doctorate in higher education from Virginia Tech. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and a native of Virginia Beach. Known for using the hashtag #DoGoodWork on social media, Strayhorn was named one of the country’s top diversity scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education in 2011, one of Business First’s “Top 40 under 40” and one of the “Top 20 to Know in Education.” Strayhorn also became the youngest full professor in Ohio State’s history in 2014. Prior to Ohio State, Strayhorn was special assistant to the provost at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and research associate at the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C.

The WellsLink Leadership Program Class of 2019

Miguel A. Aguilera (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Jesse Armendariz (College of Arts and Sciences)

Lucia Baez (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

Kayin A. Bankole’ (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Khemiah D. Burke (College of Arts and Sciences)

Avery A. Callahan (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Cierra Chandler (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Chaohe Chen (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Wendy Chen (School of Information Studies/Whitman School of Management)

Rong Chen (Whitman School of Management)

Austin T. Chin (College of Arts and Sciences)

Deja A. Clay (College of Arts and Sciences)

Marina Cortes (College of Arts and Sciences)

Abigail J. Covington (College of Arts and Sciences)

Maya Darko-Asante (College of Arts and Sciences)

Kofi Dinizulu (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Dwayne T. Ellmore (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

Nahnsan Guseh (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)

Loren N. Gutierrez (College of Visual and Performing Arts)

Erin T. Hamilton (College of Arts and Sciences)

Joshua M. Hastings (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Malaika Howard (College of Arts and Sciences)

Keri L. Huang (Whitman School of Management)

Whitney O. Ize-Iyamu (Whitman School of Management)

Han Gyul Kwon (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Danny Lan (School of Information Studies/Whitman School of Management)

Marcus J. Lane Jr (College of Arts and Sciences)

Hongju Lee (College of Arts and Sciences)

Crystal N. Letona (College of Visual and Performing Arts)

Sohwi Lim (College of Visual and Performing Arts)

Robert L. Maldonado (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

Nuhami T. Mandefro (College of Arts and Sciences)

Jennefer A. Montaleza (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Skyler Murry (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

Anna D. Nguyen (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)

Zixin Nian (Whitman School of Management)

Georgie Olmeda (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

Jada O’Neal (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Isis S. Orejuela (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)

Camerin S. Ortiz (College of Arts and Sciences)

Vanessa Ortiz (College of Visual and Performing Arts)

Willy Joseph A. Paguyo (College of Arts and Sciences)

Jamila S. Perkins (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Derek A. Polanco (Whitman School of Management)

Vanessa D. Ramlal (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)

Aaron Ruiz (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Jezrel Sabaduquia (School of Information Studies)

Ritozeh A. Saingbe (College of Arts and Sciences)

Hein San (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Samantha M. Sanchez (College of Arts and Sciences)

Alexia J. Santiago (College of Arts and Sciences)

Shanyah V. Saunders (School of Information Studies)

Kelsey Scott (College of Arts and Sciences)

Nathan P. Shearn (College of Arts and Sciences)

Alexandria A. Silvas (College of Arts and Sciences)

Olivia M. Smith (College of Arts and Sciences)

Shelby D.  Smith (School of Information Studies)

Xin Tang (School of Information Studies)

Summer S. Thompson (College of Visual and Performing Arts)

Cassandra Torres (College of Arts and Sciences)

Zadia E. Wallace (College of Arts and Sciences)

David Wang (Whitman School of Management)

Ormando O. Watson (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

Taylor M. Whitelow (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)

Casey Woodall (College of Arts and Sciences)

Yue Yun Zhu (College of Arts and Sciences)

For more information about WellsLink, contact Hsiao at huhsiao@syr.edu