April 09, 2015
Cheyney University student wins 15th annual Ali-Zaidi Award
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – Travonya Kenly, a senior at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania from Allentown, has been named the 2015 winner of the Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award for Academic Excellence. She received $1,000 along with a commemorative medallion for her achievement.
Kenly will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental biology/ecology.
She has a 3.91 grade point average at Cheyney, and also earned a 3.43 GPA while enrolled
in the Duke University Marine Lab during the spring of 2014.
The Ali-Zaidi Award is presented annually to a graduating senior at one of the 14
universities that comprise Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. It recognizes
outstanding academic achievement and participation in extra- and co-curricular activities.
This is the 15th year for the award, which was established in 2001 by Syed R. Ali-Zaidi,
a founding member of the State System’s Board of Governors.
Candidates for the award are recommended by their university president at the conclusion
of a campus application and selection process. Selection criteria comprise academic
scholarship, including prizes, honors and membership in honorary societies; participation
in extra/co-curricular activities; and a two-page essay by the nominee addressing
how the university has prepared him or her for the next career step.
Kenly has completed a variety of professional experiences while completing work on
her degree, including summer internships with the Institute of Marine and Environmental
Technology in Baltimore, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and
Miami University of Ohio. She also participated in a three-week study abroad program
at Oxford Universities in England.
At Cheyney University, Kenly has served as both a residential hall adviser and peer
mentor. Her other activities have included serving as both president and vice president
of Cheyney University’s Honors Council and treasurer of the Cheyney University Gospel
Choir. She was a student ambassador, a member of the Students of All Nations Club,
a community service leader and a member of the volleyball team for three years. She
received the President’s Award for Excellence and full scholarships to both Cheyney
University and the Duke University Marine Lab, among other awards and honors.
Kenly also participated in numerous conferences, symposiums and scholastic competitions,
including the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Conference twice, the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Symposium for Chemistry and the National Honda Campus All-Star
Competition in Los Angeles.
In addition to being recognized by the Board of Governors, Kenly also received congratulatory
citations from the state House of Representatives and state Senate, signed by Rep.
Michael Schlossberg and Sen. Patrick Browne, her hometown legislators.
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with about 110,000 degree-seeking students and thousands
more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively,
the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and
certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System
university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg,
Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery
Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate
branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield
(Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including
the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.