Lauren Cullinan, with Dr. Ted Lee, in a photograph taken in Honduras.
Lauren Cullinan, a senior Biology major from Clarence, has been named the Honors Student of the Month for March.
Ms. Cullinan, the captain of the Fredonia women’s varsity soccer team and a member of the SUNYAC All-Decade Team in Soccer, has excelled as a student leader and scholar-athlete. She currently serves as president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and vice president and is a co-founder of Fredonia for Friends of Honduran Children.
Cullinan has been a member of the Partners in Health Engage for two years, and is a member of both the Psi Chi and Beta Beta Beta honor societies. She is also a valued member of the Fredonia Honors Program.
Department of Biology Chair Ted Lee, who is also chair of the Health Professions Advising Committee, nominated Cullinan for the award, saying Cullinan “leads by example and works very well with others.”
Dr. Lee noted that when Cullinan participated in the Honduras program in January 2020, “our hosts quickly saw what she had to offer and how well she interacted with everyone, including playing soccer with the children.” Since then, Cullinan – through Fredonia for Friends of Honduran Children – continued to support the children at the orphanage where they were staying.
“She has been a great student and I'm confident she'll have a successful career in health care,” Lee proudly said.
Director of the Honors Program Natalie Gerber added that Cullinan has, as the Leadership and Communication Honors Intern, “demonstrated tremendous leadership, stewarding the Honors E-Board process and independently undertaking multiple projects, including a successful Convocation grant proposal to bring Dr. Irina Filonova, a STEM career specialist touting the importance of empathy in the career search, to campus this month via Zoom.”
Dr. Gerber continued, “Lauren’s leadership, tech skills and general likeability have increased Honors student engagement on Instagram and have given a professional student face to Honors communications.”
Cullinan’s favorite aspect of Fredonia is “the balance between athletics and academics. I value the experience I was able to get on the field as well as in the classroom.”
When asked what she liked most about the Honors Program, Cullinan responded, “the wide variety of courses offered. The Honors Program allowed me to advance my knowledge of political science, which is something I would not have achieved without it.”
After graduating this year, Cullinan will continue working at WellNow Urgent Care as a patient care technician in order to increase her patient care experience hours, which she needs to apply for a physician assistant training program on the West Coast.
“I would like to thank Dr. Lee for nominating me for this award and also Natalie Gerber for always supporting me. I would also like to thank Fredonia Athletics and Coach (Chris) Case for giving me the opportunity to succeed at Fredonia.”
The Honors Student of the Month Program is a collaboration between the Honors Program and the Honors House, which is part of the Office of Residence Life. The award is in addition to the already existing Student of the Month program that began in 2003. Nominations of Honors students who embody the three pillars of the Honors Program (Learn. Lead. Live.) and who intentionally support the campus in honoring diversity, enhancing wellness and promoting career readiness are especially encouraged.
Recipients of the Honors Student of the Month award receive a gift card to the bookstore and a certificate and have their name engraved on a plaque to hang in the Office of Residence Life. To learn more about how to nominate an Honors student for the award, please email the program.
