Nikita Gyawali, Sara Hwang, Daniela Liberato and Dimitri Papavasiliou.
PARAMUS, N.J. – Four Bergen Community College honor students have earned scholarships through the 2017 Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program. Selected from among 1,800 members of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year institutions, Nikita Gyawali, Sara Hwang, Daniela Liberato and Dimitri Papavasiliou accepted their awards at the organization’s annual convention April 6-8 in Nashville, Tennessee. Papavasiliou received one of 50 Silver Scholar awards, which provides a $1,250 scholarship; Gyawali, Hwang and Liberato each earned Bronze Scholar honors and $1,000.
“The selection of four Bergen Community College students to the 2017 Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team represents a great source of pride for the institution,” Bergen President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D., said. “Not only have these students made a commitment to completion through their academic performance, but contributed to our campus community through their dedication to service.”
Gyawali, of Wood-Ridge, has dedicated much of her extracurricular work to service – including organizing student volunteering at a local farm and a Veterans Day recognition event. She also remains active in STEM projects at the institution and plans to enroll in a pre-med program at a four-year university after her May graduation.
Hwang, of Fort Lee, became the first Bergen student to serve on the Phi Theta Kappa international officer team last year. Among her initiatives as division I vice president, she worked with peers to increase access to Phi Theta Kappa membership and developed new social media strategies. Hwang will graduate in May and plans to transfer to pursue a career in pharmacology.
Liberato, of Lyndhurst, has remained active in numerous student organizations at Bergen – including the STEM Student Union, the Student Government Association and the Latin American Student Association. Outside of the College, she also spearheaded a fundraising program for children in Peru, delivering food, toys and other items. She will study architecture after her graduation from Bergen.
Papavasiliou, of Teaneck, graduated from Bergen in December. Among his varied experiences, he has lived abroad and plans to maintain dual citizenship in the U.S. and Greece. In Bergen County, Papavasiliou has served as a volunteer on local ambulance corps and will soon earn an EMT license. After his graduation from a four-year institution where he will study archeology, he hopes to establish EMS infrastructure and programs in countries that currently lack it.
The Coca-Cola Community College Academic Team program, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation provides more than $200,000 in scholarships each year. An independent panel of judges considers academic achievement, leadership, and engagement in college and community service in the selection process.
Nationwide, approximately 91 percent of Phi Theta Kappa members earn an associate degree or transfer to a four-year institution, compared to the national rate of 38 percent. The organization provides its three million student members with $37 million in transfer scholarships each year. More than 1,300 chapters exist throughout the world. Bergen’s Alpha Epsilon Phi chapter notched a spot in the organization’s global top 30 chapter rankings last year.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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