Senior Briana Taddio of Silver Creek has been named Student of the Month for September by the Office of Residence Life.
Ms. Taddio was nominated for this award by Megan Mackowiak, assistant director of Financial Aid, for being an instrumental part of the Financial Aid Office team for the past three years, providing superior front-end customer service to current and prospective students and parents.
A senior Criminal Justice major with a Psychology minor, Taddio has an extensive list of activities both on and off campus. In addition to being a work study in the Financial Aid Office, she is a tour guide with the Admissions Office, was a student intern in the University Police Department and has been a member of the Criminal Justice Club for the past three years. Taddio is also the lead singer with a local jazz band, Brass Machine, which performs at community events such as the Italian Festival in Jamestown. She is also a certified Beach Body coach; Taddio guides and supervises clients who would like to improve their health and helps motivate those who want to make positive changes in their lives.
“This past summer, we were down one secretary, and Briana stepped right in and took over her duties seamlessly,” said Mackowiak. “Without her, it would have been tough to keep our office operating as efficiently as we did, because summer is an extremely heavy workload and very busy with phone calls, walk-ins, mail, email and orientation.”
Mackowiak nominated Taddio to be Student of the Month because she said she shows an initiative to excel in all she does and is always willing to be a team player to benefit the office.
When asked what her favorite thing about Fredonia is, Taddio said, “Fredonia has always been my number one college to attend. There are so many great things about this campus, but for me, one of the greatest things is the community that it resides in.”
She added, “The closeness and comfort that this campus brings reminds me of my hometown, and although Silver Creek is a short 20 minutes away – so it would be an easy fix to get that little community feel – I don’t have to do that anymore because Fredonia is now a second home to me.”
Taddio’s future goals include fulfilling her dream of becoming a probation officer, which has been her ambition since her sophomore year at Fredonia when she declared her Criminal Justice major. Taddio hopes to complete an internship with the Chautauqua County Probation Department during the Spring 2015 semester before graduating in May.
The Student of the Month program began in 2003 to recognize students’ success and dedication in both the classroom and the community.
