This issue celebrates the Class of 2025, whose achievements epitomize our institution's mission. These students have demonstrated remarkable resilience and dedication as scholars, leaders, and global citizens. Here are some of their stories.

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

 

Photo by Julia Kropo '26.

Kiana Pathirana— Major: Psychology; Minors: Sociology, Social Work
General Excellence Award Recipient

Kiana was a track and field student-athlete, vice president of Marist’s Psi Chi chapter, the international honor society in psychology, and secretary of student athletic affairs. She served as a resident assistant and later as assistant resident director of the North End Housing Complex. Kiana interned at the U.S. Military Academy in both the Center for Enhanced Performance and the Lab of Behavioral Science and Leadership. As a Marist Center for Social Justice Research Summer Scholar, she helped draft a manuscript accepted by the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. She also presented research at CURSCA and at a conference hosted by the Eastern Psychological Association. Kiana will pursue a Doctor of Psychology in counseling psychology at Springfield College.

Kiana’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Fun-filled, spring days in the Upper West Cedar courtyard.”

 

Emily Hilliard—Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies Recipient

 As an undergraduate, Emily played water polo and was president of Marist’s Delta Chi Chapter, the national criminal justice honor society. She founded the Marist Graduate Student Association and served as a graduate assistant for Dr. Kimery Levering. Emily conducted extensive research throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies at Marist University, presenting twice at the Eastern Psychological Association. Her projects explored disciplinary practices in Dutchess County public high schools, the Ulema Council in Afghanistan, and the effects of parental incarceration on youth. Emily served on the Graduate Council as the student representative from 2023 to 2025. Additionally, she interned at KB Forensics, a private practice where she secured a full-time role post-graduation as a mental health clinician.

Emily’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Having a dance party with friends down by the river during sunset!”

Liam Thomas McGlynn—Major: Psychology; Minors: Business, Cognitive Science

Liam was involved with the Marist Poll, a member of Psi Chi, and studied abroad in Florence, Italy, for a semester. He worked in a community-engaged research lab with Dr. Mary Stone on a project in collaboration with the Hudson Valley Clubhouse, a mental health recovery center that is dedicated to supporting indiviuals stuggling with mental illness in a nonclinical setting. For his honors thesis, Liam conducted an organizational analysis of the Hudson Valley Clubhouse with Dr. Stone and Dr. Corey Fenstemacher acting as a consultant. Additionally, one of Liam’s research studies was published in the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. Liam is enrolled in the Master of Science in industrial-organizational psychology program at Baruch College.

Liam’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Days spent on the green.”

Nicaya-Isabella C. Rios—Majors: Crime and Justice Studies, Psychology; Paralegal Certificate

During Nicaya-Isabella’s time at Marist, she took full advantage of every opportunity to grow academically, professionally, and personally—from balancing rigorous coursework to serving as a resident assistant and president of the Criminal Justice Honor Society. She was also a member of Psi Chi, the Criminal Justice Club, and Marist's Pre-Law Society. She studied abroad in London, Amsterdam, and Florence. Nicaya-Isabella held several internships and conducted research on juvenile justice and eyewitness testimony, all while preparing for law school. She has committed to Albany Law School, where she will begin in the fall to further advocate for fairness in the legal system.

Nicaya-Isabella’s Favorite Marist Memory: “After studying in the library all night during finals week freshman year, I walked outside to find the most breathtaking sunrise I've ever seen, and knew in that moment I was where I was meant to be.”

Alana Tavares—Majors: Crime and Justice Studies, Political Science; Minor: Global Studies

Alana was Captain of the women’s lacrosse team, President of the Marist Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and MAAC Conference SAAC chair. She also served on the Athletic Department Strategic Plan Committee and was a member of the Dance Ensemble. For her honors thesis, Alana proposed programs to create more opportunities for student-athletes to study abroad, building on Marist’s strong study abroad programs. She interned with the Bristol County Probate and Family Court and plans to pursue a career with the Massachusetts State Police. Alana is deeply grateful for everyone she’s had the opportunity to meet and work with over the years.

Alana’s Favorite Marist Memories: “Traveling to California with the Women’s Lacrosse Team and having dinner in class with our commencement speaker, Steve Kornacki!”

Alyssa Behuniak— Majors: Psychology, Crime and Justice Studies; Minor: Cognitive Science

Alyssa was involved in Habitat for Humanity, club tennis, Psi Chi, Dance Ensemble, and the Greeks and Democracy Attachment Program in Greece. She completed a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at Yale University’s Cognitive Neuroscience of Affect, Memories, and Stress Lab. Alyssa received the Regional Research Award for her honors thesis project on congruence and memory. She interned at the Women’s Reporting Center at Project MORE and at Community Mental Health Associations as a psychosocial rehabilitation intern. Currently, Alyssa is using Marist’s new EEG equipment to research the neural signature of autobiographical memories. Post-graduation, Alyssa will attend the University of Rhode Island to pursue a PhD in clinical neuropsychology.

Alyssa’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Attending the block party freshman year, dancing with everyone, and watching the fireworks while beginning to form lifelong friendships.”

SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

Ryan Munger—Major: Computer Science (Concentration: Software Development); Minors: Cognitive Science, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Information Systems Administration
Merit Award Recipient

Ryan served as President of the Marist Game Society, Captain of the Marist ESports CounterStrike2 team, and Lead Student Network Technician. His research focused on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) security, where he developed and published an algorithm to crack MAC address randomization and implemented a machine learning-based intrusion detection system—a project that became a 2025 IBM partner initiative. His honors thesis researched modeling "perceptual priming," where exposure to information affects how we respond to similar information later. Using human participant data, he created a neural network model that processes words similarly to humans. Ryan also completed three internships at Lockheed Martin and worked as a lead network technician at Marist. Post-graduation, Ryan will work at IBM Poughkeepsie as a hardware performance engineer.

Ryan’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Movie nights in Lower West Cedar (S5 forever)!”

Gelila Getu—Major: Information Technology and Systems; Minor: Psychology

Gelila was President of the National Society of Black Engineers and was deeply involved in campus life as a teaching assistant, boxing enthusiast, tour guide, resident assistant, and volunteer at the Restoration Arena Food Pantry. She completed a fellowship researching social media addiction with Professor Chris Algozzine and interned at UnitedHealth Group as a full-stack developer in the TDP program. Grateful for a journey full of growth and resilience, Gelila is excited for what’s next.

Gelila’s Favorite Marist Memory: “The Beautiful Celebration of Monafrique yearly and seeing snow for the first time since I’m orginally from Ethiopia!”

Alexander Lizzo— Major in Computer Science (Concentration in Software Development); Minor in Spanish
Award for Academic Distinction Recipient

Amid his academic and professional endeavors, Alexander balanced his passion for coding with hands-on experiences—participating in hackathons and building a home networking lab. As part of the Marist University Cloud Computing and Analytics Center, he collaborated with faculty and consulting firm Collective Strategies to enhance an accounting middleware application for healthcare clients. He updated Scala and Java 8 code using Akka and the Play Framework, implementing new features to improve system performance. Alexander looks forward to applying his skills at Northwell Health, where he will work to improve healthcare outcomes through the power of quantified analytics. Alex would like to thank his loving wife, Tracey, and his 4-year-old daughter for supporting him through this educational journey.

Alexander’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Enjoying the incredible views of the Hudson River throughout the different seasonal changes.”

Reem Ooka—Masters in Computer Science (Software Development-Cloud Computing)
Reem earned the Summer 2024 Research Fellowship by building an AI/ML chatbot symptom checker. She then joined the Marist Institute for Public Opinion as a graduate research assistant, where she collaborated on a vector database for large language models, led the development of a hybrid audio-speech emotion recognition model, and gained hands-on experience in parallel computing and performance optimization. Beyond academics, she organized Diwali '23 and '24 celebrations with Asian Alliance, MISA, and SGA, served as a fall orientation leader for international students, and partnered with the International Student Services office on social media campaigns and campus events.

Reem’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Movie Night on the Marist Green.”
 

Dana Shadoan—Major: Mathematics; Minor: Political Science

Dana’s time at Marist was all about finding order in complexity and making meaning through connection. Dana was a Division I rowing student-athlete, a member of the Math Club, and an Academic Learning Center-certified tutor. As an undergrad, she presented her mathematical research titled "Finite Groups with m Elements of Order n" at four different conferences under the guidance of her faculty advisor, Dr. Joseph Kirtland. After graduation, Dana will work as a high school math teacher, teaching AP Calculus, and attend graduate school for mathematics.

Dana’s Favorite Marist Memory: “Touring Marist for the first time and immediately committing. I knew I was finally where I belonged.”