2025 Academic Excellence and Leadership Award

We are proud to recognize the recipients of the Academic Excellence and Leadership Award:

Alejandro Asencio is graduating with a bachelor's in Environmental studies, minor in Geology, and a certificate in Spatial Data Science. He is also a member and officer of the Greenbelt Society at Hunter College that works to build a community surrounding environmental education and stewardship. He has a deep interest in plant physiology and forest growth dynamics under our changing climate and has worked on research projects investigating the drivers of tree growth patterns on annual and sub-annual timescales.

Edwin Villalba (bio pending)

Jiada Valenza (bio pending)

Lin Wang is graduating with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and an undergraduate certificate in Spatial Data Science. His academic interests consist of remote sensing, urban heat, forest ecology, climate change, and geographic information systems (GIS). Lin is an active member of Hunter College’s Green Belt Society, where he has participated in various NYC Parks stewardship initiatives, such as street tree care, salt marsh restoration, invasive species removal, tree planting, and coastal cleanups. During his junior and senior years, Lin worked as a research assistant under Dr. Allan Frei, studying the energy and hydrological balance of green roofs. In the summer and fall of 2024, he interned at the Reinmann Lab, investigating the effects of climate change and ecological disturbances on tree growth patterns. Currently, Lin is working with Dr. Mehdi Pourpeikari Heris to develop a predictive model for surface and air temperatures, which aims to enhance our understanding of urban heat dynamics and strategies for heat mitigation. After graduation, he will continue his research with the Reinmann Lab and Dr. Heris. 

Steven Aarons (bio pending)

Stephanie Chernyavsky is a 2025 Hunter College graduate with a major in Environmental Studies (Human Dimensions) and a minor in Public Policy. Her interests lie in the intersections between environment, policy, and law. She spent a summer as an Environmental Justice Fellow for a transportation-based nonprofit organization, where she campaigned for pollution reduction measures. For her honors capstone, she worked on quantifying climate migration of agricultural workers in the Central American Northern Triangle, a topic which she aims to continue researching. Stephanie is starting her JD in Fall 2025 at Fordham University School of Law, with a generous merit scholarship. She hopes to learn about and work on topics related to environmental law.

Xavier Rubira (bio pending)

This prestigious Student Award honors students who have demonstrated both outstanding academic achievement and exceptional leadership during their time in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science. Each recipient has not only excelled in the classroom, but also contributed meaningfully to our scholarly and campus community through leadership, service, and initiative.

Congratulations to these remarkable students on their well-earned recognition!