Staten Island, NY – Steve Ciocci (Royersford, PA / Spring-Ford), a uniquely caring community leader, Dean's List member and starter on the Seahawk football team, has been selected as a winner of a 2012 Civic Engagement Recognition Day Award as a result of his extraordinary work in the Wagner College and Staten Island community.
On Thursday, April 19, Wagner College will host its sixth Civic Engagement Recognition Day Award ceremony, which recognizes and honors exceptional individuals, departments and community partners who exemplify a sense of caring and responsibility for others that connects citizens and works to address community problems. The awards are presented in the following categories: student, faculty, staff, academic department and community partner.
A mainstay on the offensive line where he started all 11 games last season at right tackle, the 6-4, 290-pound Ciocci, a two-time member of the Northeast Conference Academic Honor Roll, will enroll in Wagner's MBA program while maintaining his status on the football team as a fifth-year senior. Ciocci carries a 3.45 GPA with a major in business administration and a concentration in management and has an eye towards pursuing a career in coaching.
"The Civic Engagement Recognition Award recognizes exceptional individuals who understand that they can enrich our communities through caring, leadership and service,” said Cass Freedland, Wagner College Director for Leadership and Service. “Steven positively touches the lives of local residents, and inspires the Wagner College community to reach farther and work harder to cross cultural and economic divides. The breadth of his good work is extraordinary.”
During his time on Grymes Hill, Ciocci has devoted himself to raising the profile of numerous local and national organizations within the Wagner College campus. In addition, he has mobilized many students to participate in such events as the Relay for Life, Operation Christmas Child, visiting children in the Pediatrics Ward at Staten Island University Hospital and finding donors for the National Marrow Donor Program.
“I am honored to win this award and what makes it even more special is the fact that many of my teammates helped me by putting in a lot of their time so I also see this as a reflection of them,” said Ciocci. “It's an especially nice honor because I know there are a lot of students on the Wagner campus who have made an impact as well.”
The keynote speaker for the Civic Engagement Recognition Awards ceremony will be Gonzalo Mercado, Executive director of El Centro del Inmigrante. The event will be held in the Manzulli board room in Foundation Hall from 4:15 pm to 6 p.m. Additionally, Staten Island Community Days steering committee members will present Founder's Day Awards to two exception Staten Island community leaders: Rev. Terry Troia, Project Hospitality; and Mona Zaloom, Building Bridges.
This year's other Civic Engagement Recognition Day Award winners are:
Faculty Award: Dr. Margarita Sanchez, Associate Professor of Spanish — Dr. Sanchez inspires both Wagner students and community members with her energetic and passionate advocacy for immigrant families in Port Richmond. Her leadership has lead to vibrant educational programming at El Centro, with whom she now serves as a member of the Board.
Staff Award: Sabrina Slater, Director, Co-curricular Programs — Sabrina inspires those around through her weekly service at the Christian Pentecostal Church Food Pantry and through her work in Sierra Leone aboard Mercy Ships, a global charity that operates hospital ships in developing nations.
Department Award: The Physician Assistant Program - PA students are deeply involved with the Port Richmond High School Medical Technology Program, and have had a major impact on the high school student's awareness of future career goals in the field of medicine.
Community partner award: El Centro del Inmigrante — This important community partner provides basic, education, organizing and cultural services to the community. El Centro's services include a food pantry, clothing distribution and access to benefits. The organization strives to increase the literacy levels of the community from Spanish literacy classes to ESOL to GED in Spanish. Furthermore it aims to empower workers, both day laborers and domestic workers, through health and safety at the workplace trainings.
A sixth award to be presented this year is The Project Pericles Senior Award for “socially responsible and participatory citizenship,” which will be given to Melanie Valencia, Chemistry major with minors in Biology and Environmental Studies. Melanie's extensive resume includes significant work in the area of social justice with Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, Wagner College's Diversity Action Council, the Civic Engagement Certificate Program, the Co-Curricular Competency in Global Stewardship and El Centro del Immigrante.
As her philanthropic donor organization, Melanie has selected the Ongata Rongai Christian Women Works of Charity, a non-profit organization run by of women from different Christian denominations that has been making a difference in the lives of orphaned children and families affected by the HIV/AIDS virus living in the Kware slums of Ongata Rongai, Kenya.
