These extraordinary students are chosen for their academic achievements and campus and community involvement.
September 27 to September 29 marked Adelphi’s eighth annual Spirit Weekend. This year, the popular event was preceded by the launch of The Momentum Campaign: Extraordinary Impact on September 26. Students, faculty and staff kicked off the campaign with a block-party-style celebration where trees were planted and gold pinwheels were personalized to be displayed near the Swirbul Library.
Then enthusiastic current Panthers, alumni, and friends and family came together for Spirit Weekend. Among the many activities was the naming of the Prestigious Panthers and Spirit Court.
In 2018, Adelphi introduced a more gender-inclusive Prestigious Panthers and Spirit Court to replace the traditional Homecoming King and Queen and Homecoming Court. As is the case every year, those given these titles represent the best of Adelphi, both on an academic level and in terms of their involvement with the community, all adding up to their total Panther pride.
Kelsey D’Andrea, assistant director for the Center for Student and Community Engagement, said, “Our Prestigious Panthers and Spirit are exceptional students who exemplify the spirit of Adelphi through their dedication, leadership and involvement in various activities within our campus community. Their hard work and passion for Adelphi truly shines through their academic achievements and extracurricular activities.”
Meet the Prestigious Panthers
Monish Churaman is a finance major involved with many campus organizations. His roles include alumni relations chair for Pi Lambda Phi and vice president of finance of Delta Sigma Pi. He’s also received numerous scholarships and awards, including Adelphi’s Presidential Scholarship, the 2024 President’s Student Leadership Award, the Ann & Irving A. Berk Scholarship Award, and the 2023 Emerging Leader Award. Outside of Adelphi, Churaman interned as a commercial banking summer fellow at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and worked as a global markets summer analyst at Société Générale this past summer.
“While my time on campus has been comparably short compared to other seniors, I feel that my impact has been felt on campus,” he said. “I put my best foot forward every day to make the school as proud as it can be.” – Monish Churaman
Erica Gibson is majoring in psychology and minoring in ethics, law, and justice, and criminal justice, and is in the Emerging Scholars Program for psychology. She is currently the president of Gamma Beta Phi Society, the service coordinator for the National Society of Leadership and Success, coordinator for Adelphi’s Panther Pantry and executive vice president of external affairs for the Student Government Association. Gibson also acted as a First-Year Community Action Program leader, developed leadership skills as part of LeaderShape in the summer of 2022 and has over 250 certified hours of volunteer work to her name.
“Adelphi has shaped everything that I am. I’ve made the most out of this experience. There were people at Adelphi who believed in me, showed up for me, supported me … and I’m here because of them. I am the culmination of everything that everyone has put into me.” – Erica Gibson
Joe Sawma is majoring in biology and minoring in marketing. He’s the secretary for the Levermore Global Scholars Student Leadership Council, has lent his efforts to the Equitable Adelphi Action Team and has been active in the Student Government Association as a senator, parliamentarian and two-time president. His awards and accolades include 2021–2022 Outstanding First-Year Student, the 2022–2023 Sue Levering Social Justice Award and a fellowship at Lion’s Eye Bank for Long Island at Northwell Health through Adelphi’s Jaggar Community Fellows Program.
“To me, being a Panther has a lot of meanings. It means being someone who embodies the brown and gold, supporting the values of the campus … My advice to future Panthers would be to get involved on campus. Try anything and everything out and try to commit to finding one thing that you really enjoy to get more deeply involved in.” – Joe Sawma
Meet the Spirit Court
The Prestigious Panthers were joined by the impressive students selected for the Spirit Court.
- Dean Bair
- Nino Burjanadze
- Emily Ledesma
- Toni Ann Rubbo
- Dalia Savy
- Devhara Weeratunge
- Karen Zhang