Each year the Chancellor of the State University of New York recognizes exceptional students from all sixty five SUNY colleges and universities. The following RCC students are the 2013 recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. Melissa Dimataris of Congers graduated Tappan Zee High School in 2009. Dreaming of Broadway, she enrolled in the Performing Arts program . In Spring ’10, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “I had to stop going to work and school, and avoid crowds.” She went into remission within the first two months, but continued the grueling treatment for over two years. She found new hope when she was invited to sing the national anthem at Madison Square Garden in 2011 before a New York Rangers hockey game. “I was no longer performing for my own pleasure, but I wanted to inspire others not to give up on their dream. Navid Safaie of Suffern, AS Liberal Arts and Sciences: Mathematics and Science , was pleased to discover t...