2022 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recipients feted

Two stellar SUNY Fredonia seniors – Jules K.A. Hoepting and Anders Lewis – were honored with the 2022 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence at a ceremony on April 26 in Saratoga Springs.

A system-wide award, it acknowledges students for outstanding achievements that have demonstrated the integration of SUNY excellence within many aspects of their lives in areas such as academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, or the arts. It is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by the university.

"Now more than ever, it is time to celebrate the accomplishments of our students who have helped one another get through this global pandemic and focus on getting the most out of their college education, and this year’s CASE winners are at the top of the class," said SUNY Interim Chancellor Deborah F. Stanley. "It is my great honor to celebrate the fortitude, leadership, and achievements of this year’s winners, and I applaud their hard work and desire to do more for their campuses and fellow students. I, for one, can’t wait to see what they do next."

Ms. Hoepting is a senior Communication – Public Relations major, graduating Summa Cum Laude, with minors in Writing and Rhetoric, and Environmental Studies. She has served this year as Managing Editor of The Leader student newspaper, and was the author of a story in 2021 on the village of Fredonia’s plan for logging around its reservoir. She was the recipient of the 2020 Terry Mosher Writing the Natural World Award for her essay, “Water Like Man.” For a Public Relations capstone project, she took photographs, wrote articles, edited and designed a newsletter for a local non-profit, Greystone Nature Preserve. Her photography was featured in the 2022 Fredonia Showcase at the Cathy and Jesse Marion Art Gallery on campus.

Hoepting is a member of Lambda Pi Eta national communication honors society, and held an internship during Fall 2021 in SUNY Fredonia’s Office of Marketing and Communication. She has also served as a campus Tour Guide and event planner for the Office of Admissions, a member of the Sustainability Committee and a President’s Ambassador.

Mr. Lewis is a senior majoring in Music Education, graduating Summa Cum Laude with his bachelor’s degree, and was named each semester to the Dean’s List. He is enrolled in the university’s master’s degree multi-award program in Music Education (Mus.B. and M.M.), to be completed in 2023. A bass player, Mr. Lewis has demonstrated strong academic performance, leadership and community service, and has served as College Symphony Orchestra Librarian since 2021. He was selected for and completed the Honors Program at SUNY Fredonia.

Lewis is currently student teaching in Lancaster, N.Y., at Frontier High School and has been a substitute teacher in January 2019 and 2020 in the Clarkstown Central School District. He contributes to the SUNY Fredonia community through leadership roles including vice president of the American String Teachers Association’s Fredonia chapter, president of the Fredonia Bass Society and a mentor in the student orchestra. He has also participated as an intern at the Freedom Summer Program in New York City, assisting campers who were exploring concepts of identity and social justice through art and dance.