2025 Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence Presented to SUNY Potsdam Students Casey Asaro ’25 & Eve Borrelli ’25
SUNY Potsdam senior Casey Asaro ’25 has been named a recipient of the 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.
Two outstanding SUNY Potsdam seniors were recently among those honored with the 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. Chancellor John B. King, Jr., recognized the recipients in a ceremony in Albany on April 29. The SUNY Potsdam recipients included Casey Asaro ’25 and Eve Borrelli ’25.
Casey Asaro ’25 of Waterford, N.Y., is a double-major in music performance and psychology. An accomplished performer on the trumpet, he believes that music has a unique ability to bring people together in a common goal and wants to emphasize the power of unity in his future career. At Crane, he has had many opportunities to perform with different groups in a variety of settings, including being a member of the Crane Latin Ensemble since his freshman year. After graduation, Asaro will begin graduate school at the University at Albany to complete his Master of Social Work degree. He plans to work as a clinical social worker, meeting one-on-one with clients and advocating for mental health programs and resources to better support his community. Asaro found his passion for clinical mental health counseling and community engagement through his internship at the SUNY Potsdam Counseling Center as a peer counselor. In the time he spent there, he learned basic skills in clinical support and intervention and had the opportunity to prepare a training presentation that has been shared with students and staff to increase awareness of St. Lawrence County public transportation programs and bus schedules to support the student population.
“Within my studies in both music and psychology I have had the pleasure of learning from both my professors and peers and will take these lessons on to my future career. I plan to use what I have learned about collaboration and community at Crane and SUNY Potsdam to make a difference in the field of mental health,” Asaro said.
Originally from Pittsford, N.Y., Eve Borrelli ’25 is set to graduate with her Bachelor of Arts degree in art history, with minors in history and museum studies. Throughout her time at SUNY Potsdam, she has been active with the Student Government Association Executive Board, serving as the comptroller, treasurer and ultimately being elected president. Borrelli has worked hard to promote civic engagement on campus, including through her work with the Empire State Service Corps, where she partnered with the League of Women Voters to educate first-time voters and show students the power that their voice has. She is a member of the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society, and the recipient of numerous scholarships and academic awards. She plans to go on to earn a degree in urban planning and historic preservation, working to make Revolutionary War homes livable again. 
“Throughout my education at SUNY Potsdam, I learned the skills needed to acquire resources for community projects, and the importance of preservation and the role it has on creating a sense of identity and belonging within communities. These courses allowed me to realize how interconnected history, culture, and urban development are. Holding the same importance, my role in student government helped me along my path as well,” Borelli said. “In the same way that effective leadership requires listening to people, effective planning requires listening to the past to create spaces that acknowledge past, present and future communities. My leadership experience has also allowed me to realize how much I value initiative and community work in both my education and career. I learned the importance of collaboration, flexibility, and most importantly, listening—skills that I believe are essential for planning and preservation.”
The Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence was created in 1997 to honor students who excel academically and show involvement in leadership roles, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement. Each year, campus presidents establish a selection committee, which reviews exemplary students. Nominees are then forwarded to the Chancellor's Office and are subject to a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award.
Each recipient receives a framed certificate and medallion, which is traditionally worn at Commencement. SUNY Potsdam will honor the two Chancellor’s Award recipients and the other graduates of the Class of 2025 in ceremonies on Saturday, May 17. For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/commencement.
About SUNY Potsdam:
Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges—and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.
PHOTO: SUNY Potsdam senior Eve Borelli ’25 has been named a recipient of the 2025 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.