The Class of 2024 joined the Union community at the height of the COVID pandemic in fall of 2020, experiencing some of the most disruptive college years in modern history. While their journey has certainly been unconventional and challenging, they have persevered and thrived.
They excelled in their classes and labs, conducted and presented high-level undergraduate research, and co-authored papers.
They won national fellowships and awards and achieved numerous athletic records and honors.
Leaders and learners, artists and activists, scientists and scholars, they’ve made indelible marks on our campus and beyond it.
As the class prepares to graduate, here are a few of their many accomplishments:
By the numbers
More than 7,600 applicants vied to join the Class of 2024. The class is one of the College’s most diverse and global, with 34 percent of its members international or students of color. Their academic standing was strong coming in as first years, with 58 percent of the class ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Sixteen percent are first-generation students or the first in their immediate family to attend college.
Total graduates: 467, representing 18 countries, from Bolivia to Zimbabwe, and 28 states and the District of Columbia.
Bachelor of Arts degrees: 190
Bachelor of Science degrees: 277
The Class of 2024 will graduate June 16. Learn more about Commencement.
Awards and fellowships
Ebyan Abshir received the Frank Bailey (1885) Prize, awarded annually to the senior who has rendered the greatest service to the College in any field. It is considered the most prestigious student prize at Union.
Anton Tatus was honored with the other top prize from Union, the Josephine Daggett Prize, awarded for a student’s conduct and character. Tatus is from Ukraine and worked closely with faculty to be a fierce advocate against Russia’s war on Ukraine, giving more than a dozen talks on campus and in the community.
Ebyan Abshir and Samuel Crowley were each awarded a prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study and travel independently outside the U.S. Abshir is interested in learning how nations reconcile with the atrocities of the past and transition into an era of peace and harmony. Crowley will explore how art is used as a barometer that both defines difference and builds connection across it.
Delvin Marimo, an electrical engineering major and data analytics minor, received a Davis Projects for Peace award. He used his $10,000 grant to design and build disability-friendly restrooms in Zimbabwe at a remote school where there is no running water or electricity.
Talia Marc spent two summers at Dartmouth College conducting research on zebrafish, thanks to a Choose Development! fellowship awarded through the Society for Developmental Biology. As part of this research-intensive training program, Marc explored how certain genes in zebrafish are expressed on the right and left side of the brain to gain an understanding of the behavior it causes.
Sarah Dames was selected for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in Montenegro in Southeast Europe.
Stephen Wong was selected for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in Germany and the U.S. Teaching Assistantship Program in Austria, both opportunities to teach English abroad for an academic year in a German-speaking country.
Ashley Dell'Oso, a dual major in English and sociology, was awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious New York State Summer Writers Institute, which gives students the opportunity to study with and attend readings by an award-winning faculty. The program is an offshoot of the New York State Writers Institute created by Albany native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy.
Academics and research
Many seniors presented their work at Steinmetz Symposium, the College’s day-long celebration of undergraduate research and creativity, and many were awarded for their academic prowess at Prize Day ceremonies.
Several students presented their work at the American Chemical Society Eastern New York local section Undergraduate Research Symposium, hosted at Siena College. They include Emily Stein, Lani Waggoner and Lillian Woods.
Elizabeth-Veronica (Eva) Crowley was first author on a published journal article for her astronomy summer research on asteroid Moultona in the outer part of the asteroid belt. She combined 15 nights of observation to produce a “light curve,” or graph of brightness versus time.
Works by Sam Brosnan, Andrea Mullen, Bryan Nunez, Isabel Pacchiana, Iris Phenix and Vu Chi Tam are on view in “Correspondence,” an exhibition at Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York in lower Manhattan. It runs through June 21. Baxter St is one of New York’s oldest arts organizations.
Rachel Bryan, Maia Carty, Elizabeth-Veronica (Eva) Crowley, Sarah Dames, Adriana Lawton, Alexandra Nicolaus and Lydia Singer were part of the Union contingent of faculty and students that performed at the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. The trip was a first for Union’s dance program. The students gave four performances of “At the Intersection” in Edinburgh Central Auditorium.
The Union College Baja Team successfully competed in the Society of Automotive Engineers Baja Design Competition in Williamsport, Pa., achieving its best performance since 2009. The competition pits student-designed and built off-road racing cars against each other in various events. The team placed above much larger teams from elite engineering schools.
Athletics
Led by its 18 seniors, the men’s lacrosse team reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season and extended the program’s streak of consecutive national rankings to more than five years. Matthew Paolatto was named the USILA Faceoff Person of the Year and a first-team All-American after ranking third in the country in faceoff percentage. He was joined as an All-American by Zach Davis (second team), Peter Kip (honorable mention) and Dan Donahue (honorable mention).
Allison Malatesta was a key part of a record-setting season for the indoor and outdoor track and field teams. She earned a Liberty League title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a school-record time of 11:18.39, and also was a part of two school relay records. She teamed up with Glory Moncion Allen, Kasey McGerald and Caroline Stanton to break the program 4x400 indoor relay standard, and also ran with Alayna Gibson to help set a new record in the 4x800 outdoor relay.
Ben Tupker won the ECAC Hockey Wayne Dean Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes a student-athlete who demonstrates the highest level of integrity and sportsmanship. Tupker was a two-year captain for the Garnet Chargers and registered a career-high 19 points on nine goals and 10 assists in 34 games in 2023-24.
Tennis player Grace Nicol earned All-Liberty League honors while head coach Brian Bowman and his staff were recognized as the Liberty League Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. Nicol earned all-conference honors for the third straight season, the second singles honor of her career and her fourth All-League selection overall.
Dionis Polanco attended the 2024 NCAA Convention as part of the NCAA’s Student Immersion Program, which caters to student-athletes passionate about delving into athletic administration or pursuing coaching careers. Polanco was a four-year member of the football team and helped the squad to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2023.
