Two SUNY Orange students earn top statewide academic honor

Maurice Davoren of Otisville, a Chapel Field High School graduate who leads SUNY Orange’s Student Senate, and Devshi Saxena, an honors student in Middletown, were among 205 students from all 64 SUNY campuses honored with the 2026 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. The ceremony was held April 27 at the Albany Capital Center, where Chancellor John B. King Jr. recognized students whose records combined academics, leadership, service, research and campus involvement.

For SUNY, the award is its highest honor for students and dates to 1997. This year’s class was larger than 2025’s, when 193 students from 63 campuses were recognized, showing how selective and systemwide the distinction remains. SUNY says the award is meant for students who have shown excellence across many parts of their lives, not just in the classroom.

Davoren’s recognition reflects a path rooted in civic leadership as much as scholarship. As student senate president, he serves in SUNY Orange’s representative student government, which handles activity-fee allocations and club charters, giving the role real influence over campus life. He also earned the James Ottaway Jr. Honors Scholarship and the James Bonacic Scholarship for political science, signs of both academic promise and a clear interest in public affairs. His involvement in Albany advocacy work adds another layer to that profile, connecting his campus leadership to the policy arena beyond Middletown.

Saxena’s record points to a different kind of achievement, built around research, peer leadership and honors work. She joined the SUNY Orange Honors Program in fall 2025, maintains a 3.96 GPA and is expected to graduate with an associate of arts degree with honors distinction. She co-founded and serves as president of the Honors Social Club, and she works as Lead Peer Mentor for first-year honors students, a role tied to helping newcomers build relationships and navigate the program.

Her honors capstone research examines stereotypes in the Bollywood film industry, giving her academic work a cultural and analytical edge. Elaine Torda, a SUNY Orange honors official, said Saxena “exemplifies the highest ideals of the award through intellectual curiosity, leadership and commitment to academic excellence and community engagement.” SUNY Orange says its Honors Program is designed around interdisciplinary inquiry, transformational experiences, cultural awareness and community responsibility.

The recognition also highlights SUNY Orange’s place in Orange County’s education pipeline. The college says its programs are built to prepare students either to transfer to a four-year institution or to enter the workforce directly, and it awards more than 300 scholarships each academic year. For a county where local schools and employers watch closely for signs of talent, Davoren and Saxena show how a community college can produce students with both classroom strength and public impact.