MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – Four SUNY Orange students— Kayla Bruestle, Craig Lofaro, Gabriella Miyoshi and Oriana Dorfman Walls —were among those celebrated last Thursday, April 11 during the Phi Theta Kappa All-New York Academic Awards in Albany, N.Y.

Presented by PTK, the national honor society for students at two-year colleges, the awards highlight the outstanding academic achievements by SUNY and CUNY students from throughout the state.

Bruestle is a psychology major who plans to transfer to SUNY New Paltz in the Fall and eventually become a clinical psychologist. She graduated from Pine Bush High School and is originally from Queens. Focused on her education, Bruestle has been on the high honor roll and found the Serenity Room in the Wellness Center to be a helpful student resource.

Newburgh resident and graduate, Lofaro, is a recipient of a SUNY Orange Foundation scholarship and slated to graduate this May with an A.S. degree in accounting. He hopes to obtain his CPA license and is actively deciding whether Stetson University in Florida or SUNY New Paltz is the best fit to complete his bachelor's degree.

On the heels of presenting her Honors Program capstone research project in Albany, Miyoshi of Maybrook, is a Valley Central graduate looking forward to graduating from SUNY Orange this May. A Presidential Scholarship recipient, member of the Honors Program and Future Teachers Association and Senate Secretary, she is in the JRTEP B-6 program for Early Childhood Education and History. She plans on attending SUNY New Paltz in the Fall to finish her bachelor's. After that, Miyoshi intends to complete a master's in Special Education and hopes to become a reading specialist.

With a scheduled graduation for December of this year, Dorfman Walls is a full-time student majoring in human services while working full-time as a campus safety officer/supervisor at a residential treatment facility for at-risk youth. A newlywed and mother to a three-year-old son, she plans on continuing her education to advocate for those affected by the foster care system and work with agencies actively fighting for national prison reform.

About Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society is the international honor society of students seeking associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, or other college credentials. It has more than 3.5 million members in nearly 1,300 chapters in 10 nations.