Mary Cappotelli of LeRoy, N.Y., has been named Student of the Month for February by Residence Life. Joseph McFall, assistant professor of the Department of Psychology, nominated Mary because “she is a truly exceptional student.”
Mary, a Psychology major with a minor in Sociology, has a list of various activities on and off campus. She has been a member of the Psychology Club since her freshman year, and has been on the e-board for two years, currently serving as the club’s President. She also holds the e-board position of treasurer of Psi Chi, the psychology national honor society. Mary is an active member of Operation Smile and the Golden Key International Honour Society. Professor McFall noted, “Mary is the complete package: bright, self-motivated, hardworking, socially competent and a good time manager.” When not involved in club work, Mary is also a tutor at the Learning Center. She has also earned EDP Tutor of the Year honors.
She is also very involved in academic activities that benefit and enhance her major. She has had an internship with FRED Well, working with the Counseling Center. Mary is also working on a year-long research project in the psychology department, which has earned her the Psychology Merit Award. The research analyzes the mega-analysis of age effects on judgment and decision-making contexts. Dr. McFall noted, “Mary helped design the coding system to match the research questions, performed literature searches, created and maintained a database of articles, retrieved and coded articles, and is now in the process of reviewing the effect calculations. She is 100 percent motivated.”
When asked her favorite thing about Fredonia, Mary stated, “When I first came to Fredonia, I fell in love with the people, and this is still one of my favorite things about the campus.” She added, “I would have to say my absolute favorite thing about SUNY Fredonia is the faculty and staff in the psychology department. They are the ones that have made my four years on campus the best I could have ever asked for.”
Mary will graduate in the spring and will be attending Alfred University in the fall to begin a doctoral program in School Psychology. She says, “Fredonia will always hold a special place in my heart!”
The Student of the Month program was implemented in 2003 to recognize students who are well rounded, excel in their academics and contribute positively to the campus and community.
