Local students make SUNY Purchase dean's list

SUNY Purchase released their Fall 2024 dean’s list last month with more than 1,300 names. Of the bunch, 33 were from the Bronx and nine were from the 10463 and 10471 zip codes.

Students who have earned this academic honor have maintained a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and taken a minimum of 12 credits. For BA and BS programs, a semester GPA of 3.50 is required. For BFA and MusB programs, a semester GPA of 3.75 is required.

Anthony Cruz, 20, is a sophomore at Purchase and pursuing his bachelor’s in mathematics and computer science. He grew up in Hunts Point, attended high school at a boarding school in Massachusetts and has been living in Riverdale for a few years.

Cruz liked the experience of being away from home, but not too far away, especially given his newborn baby brother who was welcomed into the world on Labor Day. When deciding what college to go to, Purchase seemed like the perfect fit.

“I liked living in dorms and having my independence, but at the same time I didn’t want to go somewhere far away,” Cruz told The Press. “I wanted to maintain more of a connection with my family.” 

From Riverdale, Purchase is about a 30-minute drive and the college is famously known for its conservatories dedicated to music, dancing and the theater arts.

Famous alumns include Zoë Kravitz, Wesley Snipes and Staley Tucci to name a few.  Not many think of STEM academics when researching the school.

“I wanted that balance between enrolling in something technologically rigorous while being around artists, dancers and filmmakers,” Cruz told The Press.

He gave a special shout-out to his mentor and advisor, Knarik Tunyan. 

Ahna Putilas, 22, is a life-long Riverdalian who attended P.S. 81 as a child and graduated from Purchase last fall. She echoed Cruz’s sentiments.

“I went to LaGuardia High School and I majored in the vissual arts there, so I was drawnto the artistic community at Purcahse,” Pultinas said.

She transferred from Stonybrook University in 2022. The Long Island school can sometimes be a three-hour drive, depending on traffic.

“I wanted a SUNY education that was close by,” Pultinas added.

Since transferring, she has been on the dean’s list every semester while at Purchase and double majored in sociology and global studies. She now works as a preschool teacher at the Riverdale Neighborhood House and implements lessons on climate change.

“Kids are able to explore curiosity and imagination just by being outside,” Pultinas said excitedly. “A lot of the curriculum is developed around learning how to be outside; how to be about the environemnt around you.”

With her thesis focusing on nature education, Pultinas favorite part of her tenure at Purchase was studying abroad in Oslow, Norway, where she learned about in corporating eco-friendly intitiaves to architecture, like solar panels and harnessing wind energy.

“It was really a life-changing experience,” she said. “The professors that were there were really amazing in helping me and my classmates experience this new place through this specific lens that lended itself towards my research.”

Other students in the Kingsbridge/Riverdale area who made the dean’s list include Akilo Kelly of studying Philosophy, Marcella Pena studying playwriting and screenwriting, Kateleen Martinez studying arts management, Erin Arroyo and Dalya Pinero both studying psychology, Wren Woodward-Aviles studying theatre and performance and Willow Giegerich with a double major in mathematics & computer science, along with playwriting and screenwriting.

"I am so proud of what they have accomplished as students, scholars and valuable members of the community," Milagros Peña said, SUNY Purchase president.