Rutgers University,Newark, Graduates Inducted Into Prestigious National, International Academic Societies, Receive Commencement Honors

(Newark, N.J., Aug. 10, 2009) –The 2,700 members of the Class of 2009 included 162 students who achieved membership in some of the oldest and most prestigious national academic societies:  Phi Beta Kappa , Alpha Phi Sigma, Phi Alpha Alpha, Alpha Sigma Lambda, and Sigma Theta Tau.  Some also received additional academic honors. Many of these students are from your publication’s circulation areas.  (Please see end of press release for an explanation of these societies.) Here are the names of the honored students, by county and hometown.

ATLANTIC

Mays Landing:  Crystal Ovalles was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma, and Samantha A. Welsh was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

BERGEN

Bergenfield: Mudduser Malik was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma.

Cliffside Park: Larry N. Montoya was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Dumont:  Stephanie Lee I. Ikalina was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and also received an EOF Academic Achievement Award.

Elmwood Park: Samad A. Beeler was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda and also received the Charles I. Biederman Award for Philosophy and the Norman C. Miller Award.

Fair Lawn: Erin Florczynski was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, graduated from the Honors College, and received Charles Pine Award and Greitzer Award.

Little Ferry: Mauro D. Gaguseo was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Lyndhurst: Mary Anne E. Maino-Socienski and Raymond K. Rydushowski were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Maywood: Jo Ann Lugue Villegas was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau.

North Arlington:  Amirose O. Sunga and Natalie Ataide Rocha were inducted into Sigma Theta Tau.  Sunga graduated cum laude, and Rocha graduated magna cum laude.

North Bergen: Rosalia Osegueda was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma. Denise Elnajjar

was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Paramus: Hiep Thi Pham-Tran was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

Ridgefield Park:  Ursula Gener and Steffanie N. Lascari were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Gener also won the Joel Girgus Memorial Award in psychology.

Wyckoff: Maria S. Rios was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

BURLINGTON

Beverly:  Shirlene Scott was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Burlington: Resha Soni was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated from the Honors College.

Randolph: Melissa Ellen Fiscus was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

CAMDEN

Blackwood: Tanesha R. Brown was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Somerdale: Claudia L. Forte was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Sicklerville: Shanna E. Stajakkovich was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and received the Beth Niemi Award for Excellence in Women’s Studies.

Windsor:  Noelis Soto was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

ESSEX

Belleville: Nadia Raquel Naranjo was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, received the Excellence in Field Practice award in social work, and graduated magna cum laude and from the Honors College.

Bloomfield: Jennifer Michelle Lopes was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated magna cum laude.

Cedar Grove: Steven A. Gentle was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

East Orange: Crystal B. Jones was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Irvington: Mancerea D. Harris and Shewly Miah were inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.  Al-Muccadi A Gravesande was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and received the Dean James Plummer Award.

Livingston: Alopi Patel was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  Marylou Centeno  Cornago and Olivia Anna Hayes were inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and also graduated cum laude.

Maplewood: Rebekah Elizabeth Gale was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, graduated summa cum laude and from the Honors College, and received the Ella V. Stonsby Award.

Montclair: Nkomo K. Brooks and Irina Kantorovich were inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Newark: Henrietta A. Equinoxe was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda.  Sara Ferreira and Zaquina Zackery were inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma.  Monica Valentin, LaToya D. Mauldin, Wendy Orellana, Cristina C. Ribau, and Daniela M. De Sa were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  Valentin also is an Honors College graduate and received the Inge Gambe Scholarship.  DeSa also received the Outstanding Student in Portuguese Award. Beatrice Akinyi Ochieng was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated magna cum laude.  Arlene De La Rosa, Joyce L. Lanier, Robert P. Marasco, Margarita Muniz, Nayna N. Patel and Kenneth Louis were inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Nutley: Diana Victoria Hutyk was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Orange: Jessica Janet Ardon was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude. Simone V. Pugsley was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

South Orange: Marianna S. Giraudo was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

West Caldwell: Nancy A. Hamstra was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

West Orange:  Abibat O. Hall was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.  Lauren J. Facas-Sullivan was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

GLOUCESTER

Lawrenceville:  Harold A Beard was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

HUDSON

Bayonne: Soveira Hernandez, Joanne Malek, Ehab K Elmalak and Christopher Guerra were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Hernandez also received the EOF Academic Excellence Award.  

Harrison: Monika K. Dabrowski was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Hoboken: Joel Freiser was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Jersey City:  Maria Christina Camiring Bernardo, Sonu Poonawla, Linda Moindi, Lill Baez and Selena Sackroolar were inducted into Sigma Theta Tau.  Bernardo also received the Dean’s Award  and graduated summa cum laude. Poonawla also graduated cum laude and from the Honors College. Corina F. De Lucia, Eliza Grodski, Gilbert B. Lizaso Jr. and Peter Bishara were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. De Lucia also received the EOF Academic Excellence Award, and Bishara received the Psychology Honors award. Bryan Arana was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma and received the EOF Academic Achievement Award.

 Kearny:  Rosemary W. Kuria was inducted in Phi Alpha Alpha and Edna G. Davie was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

West New York: Amneris Fraguela was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda.  Julio Caesar Rodriguez was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

MERCER

Lawrenceville:  Harold S. Lee was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Trenton: Gregory Dawson Jr. was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma. 

MIDDLESEX

Avenel: Virginia Cheng was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

Dayton: Kate Elizabeth Marowitz was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

East Brunswick:  Tamar Senecal Thurm was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

Highland Park:  Amit Sharma was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Iselin: Aliya Mansoor was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Kendall Park: Jin Hee Ang was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated summa cum laude.

North Brunswick: Megan M. Davey was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Old Bridge:  Mellissa L. Longo and Teresa M. Rafferty were inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Parlin:  Daniel Shehata was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Woodbridge: Stephanie Aviles was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.

MONMOUTH

Avon By The Sea:  Jill D. Wichenheisser was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Freehold Township: Lazaro Cardenas was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Katherine Wing-Yee Lau was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

Monmouth Beach: Leigh Kathryn Adams was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, graduated magna cum laude and as a member of the Honors College.

Neptune:  Mark A. Matson was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, graduated cum laude and received the Outstanding Senior Award.

MORRIS

Bayonne:  Shery Malaty was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.

Budd Lake: Tameka Samantha Villa was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, graduated magna cum laude and as a member of the Honors College.

Lake Hopatcong:  George Green was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Long Valley: Caitlin Jean Welsh was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau.

Madison: Julie-Ann Latona was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, and graduated summa cum laude and as a member of the Honors College.

Monroe: Gennaro N. Marzocco was inducted into both Alpha Sigma Lambda and Phi Beta Kappa. Michael Antoniades was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Morristown: Michael J. Loughman was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Parsippany:  Stacy-Anne K Morris was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Succasunna:  Jaclyn Stephanie Kaczersk was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, graduated cum laude and as a member of the Honors College.

OCEAN

Bayville: John J. Grembowiec was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Brick: Raul Padilla was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated summa cum laude.

 Point Pleasant: Megan L. Elliott was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

PASSAIC

Clifton: Meaghan Bauer, Victoria Lee and Daniel P. Feghhi were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Lee also received the Lourdes Casal Memorial Award in psychology, and Feghhi also received the John Keosian Award. Sara Elizabeth Woodruff was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

Passaic:  Guadalupe Paramo and Mohini P. Tailor were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Paterson: Susan J. Sanguinetti was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude. Helianna Taveras was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

SOMERSET

Bernardsville:  Eric P. Stiles was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Hillsborough:  Eric Daniel Rigie was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha. Rafay M. Siddiqui was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Somerset:  Mona Y. Abdelnaby was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and received the Benjamin Weissman Writing Award. Adrian J. Cameron and Zahara N. Wadud-Pinkett were inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.  Dean Curtis and Trevor Curtis were inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma.

SUSSEX

Hopatcong:  Nadine K. Chunka was inducted into both Phi Beta Kappa and

Alpha Sigma Lambda.

UNION

Elizabeth: Estephany Diaz, Liliana Gomez and Lauren Victoria Maseda were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.  Maseda also received the Psychology Honors award and graduated from the Honors College. Jess Santiago was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma.  Joana Silvia Malaco was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated cum laude.

Garwood: Carl C. Papandrea was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Hillside: Wilson Curtis was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda.  Marissa Tomas Guerrero was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated magna cum laude.

Linden:  Cathy R. Dorset and Barbara P. Hughes were inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.

Plainfield: Jodice Cherene Stewart was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, graduated magna cum laude and as a member of the Honors College, and received the EOF Scholars Award.

Roselle Park: Nickolas Genovese was inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma.

Union:  Sandra Jeanneth Natareno was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau and graduated magna cum laude and as a member of the Honors College. Issa A. Abbasi was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.  Katlin J. Moleen and Georgia Stavrakis were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Stavrakis also graduated summa cum laude.

Westfield:  Sara Guerin was inducted into Phi Alpha Alpha.  Martin Paul was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and graduated as a member of the Honors College.

* Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary to foster and recognizes excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.  Rutgers University, Newark, has graduated Phi Beta Kappa honorees since 1948.

Alpha Sigma Lambda recognizes the scholarly achievements of adult students who manage adult responsibilities.  The oldest and largest honors-based society for full- and part--time students, it was founded in 1945 at Northwestern University.  

Alpha Phi Sigma was established in 1941 at Washington State University for majors in what was then called “police administration,” and is now known as criminal justice.  

Pi Alpha Alpha is the premier organization for acknowledging student excellence in the field of public affairs and administration.  This national honor society was founded at Princeton University.   

Sigma Theta Tau is an international organization that recognizes students who exhibit exemplary achievement in the field of nursing.  Founded in 1922 , this society celebrates baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and leadership.