Hampton Bays Suffolk Community College Students Awarded SUNY Chancellor Award for Student Excellence

Two Suffolk County Community College students from Hampton Bays have been awarded the State University of New York’s highest honor, the Chancellor Award for Student Excellence. The students, Reynaldo Dallas and Katarzyna Fialek-Yevtushenko, are both members of the class of 2020, and are both immigrants.

“Of the more than 415,000 students in the SUNY system, only 213 received the award statewide. We are extremely proud to have 10 of these exceptional students at Suffolk, and we celebrate their extraordinary achievements,” said Suffolk County Community College Interim President Louis Petrizzo.

Mr. Dallas is a hotel and resort management major. He graduated from Suffolk with a 3.9 GPA and is now working on pursuing his bachelor’s degree in at Pace University, majoring in hotel and tourism management.

Four years ago, Mr. Dallas moved to Hampton Bays from Jamaica.

He served as president of the Hotel and Tourism Management Club and credits it for helping him to grow his skills, especially public speaking.

“Being president gave me confidence to handle different situations,” he said.

Mr. Dallas also had a housekeeping internship at the Hyatt Place in Riverhead, which have him hands-on experience and networking opportunities. During his internship, he was able to see what the whole industry has to offer, since he had previously had experience working at a hotel front desk.

“I believe dedication and commitment got me here,” he said. “Once you know exactly what you want, it’s easier to achieve.”

Ms. Fialek-Yevtushenko is 26 years old and an accounting major. She graduated from Suffolk with a 4.0 GPA.

Five years ago, she moved to Hampton Bays from Poland. After moving, she wanted an education from an American college.

She was majoring in accounting and was very interested in mathematics and technology. Because of her interests, she decided to take an extra course for herself. In this extra math class, Ms. Fialek-Yevtushenko made a friend, and together they founded the STEM club.

Ms. Fialek-Yevtushenko said the club has taken trips to Brookhaven National Lab, where they toured the lab and learned about internship opportunities. They also went to the Mathematics Museum in New York City and attended a Harry Potter restaurant potion class.

She hopes the STEM club will remain on campus after her graduation.

Fialek-Yevtushenko is also in the Business Owner Society because of her high GPA and her accounting major.