Rebecca Burns of Pine City Earns Chancellor's Award at SUNY Canton

2016 Apr 7

A student who is earning both a two and four-year degree from SUNY Canton received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence during a special awards ceremony held April 5 in Albany.

Rebecca A. Burns of Pine City, who is graduating in May with her Associate Degree in Veterinary Science Technology, was among the student honored for academics and civic involvement.

"This award is our way of saying 'thank you' to stand-out SUNY students whose achievements reflect their own impressive hard work as well as the support of their families and friends, and SUNY's world-class faculty and staff," said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher.

Following a lifelong fondness of animals, Burns decided to attend college for the sole purpose of learning to be a veterinary technician.

"We've had a goat farm since I was about 10 years old," Burns said. "I've always been interested in animals."

She is a member of the SUNY Canton honors program and presented research twice during the college's Scholarly Activities Celebration. She is a member of Tau Phi Zeta honor society and the SUNY Canton Veterinary Technician Association.

Burns received President's List honors for two consecutive years. She received the Community Foundation Scholarship, Lawrence German Endowed Scholarship, Betsy B. Kaplan Memorial Endowed Scholarship, and Marie Simmons Scholarship. She is a student leader and student assistant in SUNY Canton Math and Science Tutoring Center, and works as a peer tutor through the Office of Accommodative Services. She volunteers at Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm, Pray Road Stables and the Potsdam Humane Society.

Burns will be returning to SUNY Canton next year to finish up her four-year degree in Veterinary Technology.

She is a member of the St. Therese Chapel Polyphonic Choir and Potsdam Community Chorus. Her twin sister studies music education at SUNY Potsdam.

The college produced a student spotlight video about Burns and shared it with the college community.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as ten exclusively online bachelor's degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III.

-www.canton.edu-