Student Affairs Announces 2014 Senior Class Marshals

The Division of Student Affairs has announced the 2014 Senior Class Marshals. Current juniors Stephen Rathbun and Leo Wong are the 2014 Senior Class Marshals and will carry the class of 2014 banner to open Syracuse University’s 160th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 11, 2014, continuing a longstanding tradition of representing their class on this special occasion. Junior Sonia Lopez, a double major in psychology and sociology within The College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected an alternate Senior Class Marshal.

Rathbun and Wong will have the unique opportunity to participate in the following experiences as part of this honor:

• meeting with senior-level University administrators to share and offer feedback on the SU experience;
• engaging in exclusive networking opportunities with alumni;
• representing the 2014 class at special University-wide events; and
• helping to select the 2014 Commencement speaker.

“This year’s applicant pool demonstrated both the breadth and the depth of the Class of 2014, which is a stellar group of students,” says Sylvia Langford, associate vice president for Student Affairs and chair of the selection committee. “The committee’s task was not only rewarding and inspiring, but also challenging. It is an honor to serve on this selection committee.”

Senior Class Marshals are among the most prestigious honors at SU. They are distinguished individuals who have excelled during their time on campus and who exemplify the spirit of the senior class. The criteria used to determine qualified nominees include scholarship, academic honors, student organization involvement, campus service and community service. An essay and a copy of an official SU transcript are also required.

Rathbun, a member of the Renee Crown University Honors Program, is from North Syracuse. A Chancellor’s Scholar and New York State Scholar, Rathbun studies sport management within David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. He is the founder and president of the Syracuse University Running Club, a founding father of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, the former vice president of business for Z89 Radio-WJPZ and a resident advisor. He served as race director for the Northeast Regionals of the National Intercollegiate Running Club and as volunteer coordinator for the Alliance Bank Golf Classic. Rathbun is dedicated to giving back to the community and volunteers at the Syracuse Samaritan Center, where he is a dining server.

“A community can exist anywhere for a Syracuse student, and through the implementation of Scholarship in Action these ideas have become not just a thought of, ‘How can I better my community?’ but a way of life; a change in our course of action,” says Rathbun.

Wong, a native of Los Angeles, Calif., is studying advertising in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He is a recipient of the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity Award, a Phi Delta Theta New York Epsilon Alumni Scholar, a WellsLink Scholar and the recipient of a NewHouse Agency Most Valuable Person award. As for his involvement on campus, Wong is a founding father and previous social chair of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, and a former First-Year Players cast member, where he continues to be involved through the public relations and stage management committees. He is a founding member of Otto Tunes A Cappella, the director of research for the 2012 Honda Civic Coupe Competition, a Newhouse Ambassador and a Newhouse Peer Advisor. Wong is also a resident advisor and active member of University 100.

“Syracuse University truly fosters the idea that there are no physical or intellectual boundaries to discovery,” says Wong.

For more information on Senior Class Marshals, contact Langford at stlangfo@syr.edu.