This year 18 seniors were awarded the esteemed Who’s Who award at Cabrini University. This award is granted to graduating seniors who have shown excellence in areas of academics, leadership and service and reflect Cabrini’s mission and core values.
In order to receive this award, a senior must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and have a recommendation from a faculty or staff member from Cabrini.
The recipients of the award will be honored and celebrated for their outstanding work over the last four years during the virtual Commencement ceremony on May 17, 2020.
This year’s 18 recipients are: Grace Adams, Danielle Basile, Juan Castro-Caro, Katherine Fiore, Lyndsey Guarino, Camilia Katkocin, Elaina Loveland, Sydney Lynch, Francesca Maslin, Daisy Rodriguez, Isabella Romani, Selena Scialfa, Emma Tribbett, Natalie Wharton, Chardanay White, Diana Whittaker, Maddy Wojton and Rachel Wood.
Grace Adams
“My name is Grace Adams and during my time at Cabrini I was able to become involved with and accomplish a lot. As a student here, I earned a place on the President’s List every semester and am set to graduate with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.0. I was also inducted into five honor societies during my time here. Additionally, I am set to graduate from our Honors Program with distinction. I have also held many leadership positions with Campus Ministry: I have been a Liturgical Ministries Leader for three years, a Peer Minister for two years, and a participant in Campus Ministry programming since my freshman year. During my junior year, I was named as the department’s Leader of the Year. I was also a Resident Assistant for three years. Additionally, I was a member of the Social Work Club for three years and its secretary this past year. I was also chosen to receive the Departmental Medal for academic achievement within my major. I was absolutely honored to receive this award! Being a student at Cabrini has provided me with a plethora of opportunities for personal and professional growth and receiving recognition for what I have been fortunate enough to accomplish is the type of encouragement and validation that will aid me in all that I hope to accomplish going forward.”
Danielle Basile
“Throughout my years at Cabrini I have gone through different activities to find the ones that were right for me. I have been an active member of Campus Ministry throughout my four years here and have gotten the opportunity to lead two SEARCH retreats, as well as attend a service trip to New Orleans. I have also been involved with Cabrini’s chapter of CRS. In addition, I was also a member of the Cabrini Dance Team my junior year and was inducted into two different honor societies while in college. I have also been a part of the Honors Program.”
Juan Castro-Caro
“My name is Juan Fernando Castro-Caro. I am from Bogota, Colombia, [and] I came to the USA almost five years ago. When I came to this country I did not know how I was going to get used to a new way of life and a new school system. It took time to get used to my new life, [and] it took a lot of change in myself to adjust to the change. As soon as I got enrolled in Cabrini University in my freshman year, I applied to be in a learning community, the Cabrini Cruisers. The first classes I took at Cabrini made me see the big picture of what college was about and I started getting excited about the challenges and opportunities that I could take on. I enjoyed every single class because all of them taught me something new I didn’t know.” Over the course of his four years at Cabrini, Castro-Caro became a very active member on campus and became involved in several clubs and activities on campus as well as soccer intramurals since it is his favorite sport. In addition to activities, Castro-Caro became a member of the Honors Program in his sophomore year and was inducted into the Phi Sigma Tau (Philosophy Honors Society). He also worked at Peer Tutoring Center as a Spanish tutor and worked as a Student Fellow in an LC he was a part of during his freshman year. Castro-Caro was also a member of the Cabrini cross country team where he became a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) by his coach. During his junior year, he became a student worker in the ITR Department and held an internship at USLI in the IT-Developer team. “As time goes by I look forward to keeping challenging myself taking all the opportunities Cabrini offers me and giving back by helping my community and guiding new Cabrini students in the path of success. I want any student to know that college can change your life but if you go to Cabrini you will not only learn, but you will definitely work on getting better every day, discover yourself and open your heart to people.”
Katherine Fiore
“My name is Katie Fiore and I am a mathematics major with a business management minor. I am an honors program student, a Sigma Zeta member, and a Omicron Delta Kappa member. I have worked in the Math Resource Center as a tutor for almost four years and have been the president of the math club for three years. This year I was also a classroom coach and a center for student success coach which have both been really rewarding experiences. I am honored to receive such an important award. I am very grateful for the recognition I have received for all of my hard work throughout college. I want to thank those who helped me along the way as well as congratulate my fellow recipients!”
Lyndsey Guarino
“I am a criminology major with political science and accounting minors. I love watching tv and movies, hanging out with my friends and traveling! I currently have a 3.97 GPA and I am in a number of honors societies, including Alpha Phi Sigma (criminal justice), Phi Alpha Sigma (political science), and Delta Epsilon Sigma (scholastic). I have been a writing center tutor for two years. I have also been on the Presidents list for seven semesters and am a member of the honors program!” Guarino was also a Resident Assistant for two years, the officer of the Criminology and Sociology club for three years and is the current president of the club. She is also the vice president and co-founder of the new Chromatix a cappella group, as well as the vice president of Alpha Phi Sigma and a classroom coach. She has also been actively involved in helping the community by working as a volunteer on the planning committee for Philadelphia’s annual ‘Walk to End Alzheimer’s’ event. Guarino has also done service by helping stuff care packages for St. John’s with the crim club and has been a peer note taker for the DRC while also doing volunteer work with ‘Joy of Sox.'”
Camilia Katkocin
“My name is Camilia Katkocin and I am a senior graduating in May and heading to law school in the Fall. I was very involved my entire four years at Cabrini. One of my most important accomplishments is my time as a Resident Assistant. I was in SGA and served on the Academic Honesty Committee and the Academic Planning Board. I also work in the Alumni and Institutional Advancement Office. I am active in Campus Ministry as a music minister, leading the choir in mass every Sunday. I am an Advanced Peer Tutor and have made President’s list almost every semester. I am a member of five honors societies and the Honors Program since my freshman year. I have also been a student ambassador since my freshman year. I am so grateful for all of the unforgettable academic, leadership, and service experiences and opportunities that Cabrini has offered to me. Throughout my four years, I have been actively involved in as many clubs, honors societies and student organizations as possible. I will always remember everything that Cabrini has done for me and everything I have offered in return.”
Elaina Loveland
“My name is Elaina Loveland and I am a senior at Cabrini. I am 22 [years old] and from Southern New Jersey. My professor, Dr. Martin, nominated me for the Who’s Who award.” During her time on campus Loveland has been an active member of Student Government, the president of Cabrini’s Friends of Exceptional Children, manager of Cabrini men’s lacrosse team, as well as an Academic Honesty Board Member. Loveland has been a Dean’s list recipient five times (Spring and Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2019 and Spring 2020) and has been awarded the Ruth Richardson Memorial Scholarship, Class of 1966 Scholarship and Dean’s Scholarship for her exceptional academic performance.
Sydney Lynch
“I have had so many amazing experiences at Cabrini that have helped me grow as an emerging professional, an advocate, an athlete and a friend. I will be graduating with a degree in digital communication and social media. For the past four years I have been a member of the women’s tennis team and have served as captain since my sophomore year. I am also involved in the athletic department and a representative of the team on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. I have spent my time at Cabrini as a student ambassador in the Undergraduate Admissions Office and classroom coach for multiple communication courses. I served as the Writing Managing Editor for Cabrini’s student-run news organization, the Loquitur, and was inducted into the Society for Collegiate Journalists. Over the years, I have been inducted into multiple honor societies including; Alpha Lambda Delta, Delta Epsilon Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa and Chi Alpha Sigma. This year, I was elected the Project Manager of the Honors Convergence website, ‘EduEquityForAll.com.’ I am so thankful for my time at Cabrini and incredibly honored to receive the Who’s Who award.”
Francesca Maslin
Francesca Maslin is a writing major who has enjoyed her time being a Cabrini Cavalier for the last four years. Over the course of her four years, Maslin has been involved in several leadership positions across campus. During her time at Cabrini, Maslin worked as a Student Fellow for the Cruisers LC where was also a classroom coach for two English courses and an ECG 100 course. She also served as an Orientation Leader, a Lead Orientation leader, a SEARCH leader and worked as a peer tutor for the Writing Center and served as one of the Commuter Engagement interns for SEaL. Maslin was awarded the Emerging Leader of the Year award for the Center of Student Engagement & Leadership, the first ever Cabrini Cantor award for exemplifying the spirit of leadership in spirit and song, as well as the Phillip M. Cook Aspiring Playwright award. She has also been inducted into four honor societies for leadership, service, English and philosophy. In her junior year, Maslin wrote the school’s fight song. In her senior year, Maslin served as an Orientation Coordinator, SEARCH Team Lead, the Vice President of Marketing for CAP Board, editor for the Woodcrest Literary Magazine, and Classroom Coach for BIO 177, a Student Fellow for the Writers Ink LC, and Musical Director for the Chromatix a cappella group. She also was crowned as Miss Cabrini in 2019. Maslin feels very honored to receive this award and is extremely grateful to those who have supported and believed in her. She believes this award serves as a reminder to continue achieving her goals and dedicating her efforts to helping others and learning more about herself.
Daisy Rodriguez
“I am a double major in political science and criminology with a minor in black studies. I came to the United States at the age of 8 and I am the oldest of six. I am [the] co-founder of the Food Recovery Network, president of Black Student Union and vice president of Internal Operations for CAPBoard. I was the Leadership Intern in Seal and currently service as the Civic Engagement Intern at the Wolfington Center. Since freshman year I have been very passionate about food insecurity and have done research on it. Due to this research I was invited to speak at the University Against World Hunger Conference in 2019 and advocate for college hunger at Governor Tom Wolf’s Hunger Summit. I also created and founded the Cav’s Swipe Out Hunger Program at Cabrini where students can donate their meal swipes to other students suffering from food insecurity. I have also been involved with voter turnout through the Wolfington Center which includes registering students and educating them on the election process. I am very honored to be receiving this award and to recognize how important it is to not just get your education but to also get involved in the Cabrini community and fight for social justice.”
Isabella Romani
“My name is Isabella Romani, and I am from Harding, Pennsylvania. I am graduating from Cabrini with a major in biology and pre-dentistry and a minor chemistry. I have been a member of the Honors Program at Cabrini for the past four years and I will be graduating with honors in addition to completing my honors thesis. I am a member of seven honor societies on campus: Alpha Lambda Delta First Year Honor Society, Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society, Sigma Zeta National Science & Mathematics Honor Society, Delta Epsilon Sigma National Scholastic Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, Phi Sigma Tau International Philosophy Honor Society, and Gamma Sigma Epsilon National Chemistry Honor Society. I have achieved President’s List status throughout my semesters at Cabrini and was awarded the Anna C. Kruse Scholarship for my excellence in biology. I have completed undergraduate research on bacteriophages during my time at Cabrini, presenting this work at eight different local and national conferences. I have been able to publish my research on genome annotation in Genbank I have also worked as a peer tutor for chemistry and biology for the past three years in addition to classroom coaching and serving as a teaching assistant for four different classes: Virus Discovery, Bioinformatics, Cell & Molecular Biology, and Introduction to Biology. I also serve as a peer mentor for the Science Scholars for Social Justice Program.” Romani has also been a part of the cheerleading team for the past four years and served as a captain for two of those years. She was also appointed by her coach to be a representative for her team for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past three years. Romani has also been involved in the Science Club throughout her four years at Cabrini and served as the club president this past year. She also served as the Rotaract Club treasurer for two years. After graduation, Romani will be attending the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry to pursue her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree this coming fall.
Selena Scialfa
“My name is Selena Scialfa and I am a Senior at Cabrini University. I am studying early childhood and special education. Cabrini has afforded me the opportunity to grow and learn in so many different ways and I have accomplished so much over the four years that I have been here. I have been accepted to several honor societies including the Education Honors Society and Leadership Honors Society. I was also a leader on campus spending my summers as an Orientation Leader and Lead Orientation Leader, being on CAP Board all four years and becoming President in my senior year, sitting on the exec board as vice president of Pennsylvania State Education Association and showing my Cabrini Pride as a student ambassador on campus! I am proud of my advocacy in raising awareness about so many kinds of disabilities through the DRC and working tirelessly for DAPI, the DRC honors society. I have learned that Cabrini’s mission of Education of the Heart is a mission I want to extend through my teaching career in the future. I want to also continue to give back to my community through Special Olympics and Project Unified, an organization near and dear to me. Through teaching and service, I know I will still be following the Cabrini Mission and honor Mother Cabrini. When I stepped on campus, I knew that this would be my home for these four years. Now I know that Cabrini will always be my home away from home. I am so honored to be recognized for all my hard work by receiving this award.”
Emma Tribbett
“My name is Emma Tribbett and I am an early childhood and special education major. Throughout my four years at Cabrini I have attained Dean’s and President’s List, have been inducted into four honor societies and was named secretary of Kappa Delta Pi and President of Alpha Psi Omega. I worked in the School of Education office as an office assistant since my freshman year and served as a student fellow for the Spectacle LLC. I have worked in the Cabrini Theatre as an actor in eight productions, as well as the One Act Play Festivals and the Senior Capstone, ‘The Laramie Project.’ When not acting on the stage, I could be found helping Director, Kait Glenn, with crafting the Playbill, creating posters and props and helping run the social media pages. Some of my favorite experiences while attending Cabrini have been participating in the Urban Education Seminar, passing the inaugural baton to the late Shirley Dixon for the opening of the Center for Urban Education, Equity and Improvement and student teaching at Leedom Elementary. Following graduation from Cabrini, I plan on working as a special education teacher and pursuing my Masters in A.B.A. & autism education and continuing my graphic design work for the Cabrini Theatre. I am incredibly humbled to receive this award for the recognition of my dedication to Cabrini’s core values. Cabrini has served as the utmost foundation for the beginning of my lifelong passion for teaching and aspires me to ‘live with purpose.’ I am honored to be recognized for my accomplishments alongside my hardworking classmates.”
Natalie Wharton
“My name is Natalie Wharton. I’m a psychology major and theatre minor. I’ve been a member of the Honors Program since freshman year. It was through this program that I was accepted into the ‘Inside-Out’ Prison Exchange Program. This course allowed me to learn in a jail alongside classmates who were incarcerated. It was also freshman year that I was cast in my first of eight Cabrini Theatre productions. By the end of my sophomore year, I was inducted into the Alpha Psi Omega Honors Society in theatre and was the first-place winner of Cabrini’s Phillip M. Cook Scriptwriting Competition for my original one-act comedy. During my time at Cabrini, I’ve volunteered as both an Orientation Leader and a Lead Orientation Leader. These positions allowed me to dedicate over 200 hours of service to helping new students make Cabrini their home. I’ve also held several other leadership positions on campus, serving as both secretary and vice president of Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society. This past year I co-founded and served as president of Cabrini’s Chromatix a cappella group, which now has roughly 16 members. While remaining involved on campus, I’ve managed to hold my place in the Honors Program and have placed great value on my academics. I am immensely thankful to have made the most of my college experience in all aspects and for the ability to contribute to the community that I call home.”
Diana Whittaker
“Over the past four years I have grown in more ways than I thought I ever could. I found things that I loved to do and how strong I truly was. Teaching is my passion and Cabrini has helped prepare me to feel confident and excited to become an educator. My professors have given me continuous support throughout my journey and encouraged me to do my very best. They believed in me and I will forever be grateful for their kindness. I am so honored and humbled to receive this award. I have been a part of Cabrini Friends of Exceptional Children, PSEA, Photography, and the RoterACT club for the last four years. Being the vice president of the Drawing Club gave me the chance to help organize events and programs. Helping co-find and be the Social Media Coordinator for the Poetry Club has been my favorite position I have held. The Poetry Club has been a place where I have met the most amazingly talented and most genuine people. In this club I was given space to be myself. I became comfortable with sharing my writing and being open with others. Going to mass every Sunday and being a part of Campus Ministry was a part of college that made me very happy. The community was a blessing to me. To be a part of three honors societies, a member in a variety of clubs, have the chance to be a tutor and serve as an active participant in community service, Cabrini has allowed me to take advantage of every opportunity.”
Rachel Wood
“My name is Rachel Wood. I am a transfer student with a business management major and human resource management minor. I am a member of the Cabrini women’s soccer team and Campus Ministry. I was an ambassador for Cabrini Undergraduate Admissions. I am a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. I have helped out in many volunteer activities throughout my years through Cabrini’s events and Campus Ministry events and have made Cabrini my home away from home. I love Cabrini and am so thankful for my experience.”
