Dec 06, 2023
PHOTO: Anna Snyder and Lucas Ishman (holding certificates) were honored at the annual NYSAHPERD conference. In the front row, from left, are students Madelyn Hager, Abigail Below, Snyder and Ishman; Dr. Paula Scraba, associate professor of physical education; and student Joshua Brill. In back, from left, are students Julian Morales, Madison Manetta, Marlee Solomon and Elyse Graham.
Two St. Bonaventure University seniors received the prestigious Jay B. Nash Outstanding Major Award at the 85th Annual Conference of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (NYSAHPERD).
Presented the award during the conference’s Amazing People Awards Ceremony were Lucas Ishman, a sport studies major from Honeoye Falls, New York, and Anna Snyder, a physical education major from Camillus, New York. The award is presented to outstanding undergraduate students who demonstrate scholarship, leadership, service and professionalism.
Ishman is the first sport studies major at St. Bonaventure to receive the award, and Snyder is only the third SBU physical education major to capture the honor in the past 20 years. They were among 17 students from across the state to receive the Nash Award this year.
Ishman and Snyder were part of a contingent of St. Bonaventure students, faculty and staff who attended and presented at the conference, held in November at Turning Stone Convention Center in Verona, New York. The NYSAHPERD is the governing professional organization for the physical education and sport studies programs at St. Bonaventure.
One group of students joined Dr. Paula Scraba, associate professor of physical education, in modeling St. Bonaventure’s signature Kinder Kinetics program. The interactive session provided participants with skills to implement their own preschool physical education program for children with and without disabilities.
This session was led by Madelyn Hager, a student in St. Bonaventure’s master’s program in occupational therapy, with assistance from senior physical education majors Anna Snyder, Marlee Solomon, Joshua Brill and Abigail Below; senior sport studies majors Lucas Ishman, Elyse Graham, Julian Morales; and junior sport studies major Madison Manetta. All students are members of the university’s Physical Activity Club and the Special Olympics College Club.
In another presentation, students joined SBU’s Dr. Daekyun Oh, assistant professor of physical education, in demonstrating traditional Korean games intended to teach K-12 students diversity and cultural awareness. Oh was assisted by senior physical education major Marlee Soloman, Dr., Won Seok Chey from Adelphi University, and Oh’s daughter, Vivi, a fourth-grader at Allegany-Limestone Central School.
Also at the conference, Frank Morales, director of St. Bonaventure’s Military Aligned Student Program, coached SBU students to a third-place finish in the conference’s Dot Ball 360 tournament. Upon their return to the university following the conference, members of the university’s Physical Activities Club demonstrated the popular new game in a presentation on campus.
“I am grateful for the support of various individuals and programs at St. Bonaventure for making it possible for our students to attend this conference each year in order to further their professional development,” Scraba said. She singled out the Student Government Association, the School of Education, the Military Aligned Student Program, Student Affairs, and graduate assistant Alison McIntosh, who produced visuals for presentations.
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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).