Student Awards and Highlights

Senior of Distinction Award

2025 Jay DeMatteo / The Department of Law & Justice Studies is proud to recognize Jay DeMatteo as its 2025  Student of Distinction. Jay is an inspiration to the Rowan community and beyond, excelling academically despite facing what many would consider insurmountable challenges. After experiencing a traumatic brain injury at a young age and spending many years in the foster care system, Jay has proven to be an outstanding student. What is most admirable, however, is his unwavering commitment to others. Jay is deeply involved in mentorship and volunteering, contributing his time to youth sports organizations, the Special Olympics, social groups for individuals with autism, helping the homeless, and mentoring youth in foster care. Jay will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Law & Justice and a minor in Psychology. He is passionate about advocating for foster care system reform and plans to pursue a career working with at-risk youth. We are incredibly proud of Jay’s achievements and service to others!  

2024 Jaqueline Accardi / A first-generation college student, Jaqueline Accardi is among the highest ranked graduating seniors in the major and has made Dean’s List or President’s List every semester she has been at Rowan. She will also graduate with a Certificate of Undergraduate Studies in Community Corrections. Ms. Accardi has been very active in extracurricular activities and honor societies, including the Criminal Justice Preparation Club, Law and Justice Debate Team, Mock Trial Club, Pre-Law Society, Phi Alpha Delta, Society of Scholars, Alpha Phi Sigma, and Psych and Law Club. While at Rowan, Jacqueline interned for John Kane’s campaign for the Pennsylvania State Senate, Gloucester County Adult Probation and Child Support, South Jersey Intensive Supervision Program (ISP), and Camden Pretrial Services, and worked as a seasonal Class I Special Law Enforcement Officer in Sea Isle City. Jacqueline plans to finish the Advanced Dual Degree Program and earn her MA in Criminal Justice before becoming a probation or ISP officer, and working as an adjunct professor. 

2023 Millie Martinez Sosa / Millie is a first-generation college student majoring in Law & Justice with a minor in Political Science. Millie earned the academic honor of President’s Scholar of Excellence during her time at Rowan. In addition to her impressive academic accomplishments, Millie has served as an active member of both the Pre-Law Society and Philosophy Club and regularly volunteers at Rowan’s food pantry, The Shop. Millie aspires to serve as a role model for fellow Hispanics/Latinos and hopes to aid the Spanish-speaking community by guiding them through the intricacies of the law. Driven by this aspiration, Millie interned at Rebel Brown Law Group, LLC, and Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office. Millie plans to attend Rutgers Law School in Camden during the Fall of 2023 and hopes to become a prosecutor.

2022 Nicholas Salvucci / Nicholas Salvucci is a double major in Law & Justice and Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. Nicholas achieved academic excellence in both majors, even whi le serving a year-long deployment with the National Guard during his first year at Rowan. During this time, Nicholas was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. Upon returning to campus, Nicholas found ways to connect with other veteran students and not only became involved with, but took on leadership roles in a number of organizations including the Criminal Justice Preparation Club and Epsilon Pi Phi Honor Society. He also completed internships with the US Marshals  Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Federal Air Marshal Service. What truly distinguishes Nicholas is his service to others through his participation in community blood drives and partnering with a number of local organizations to provide assistance to veterans and people experiencing homelessness. Nicholas is currently pursuing employment opportunities as an intelligence analyst.

2021 Alexis Kriley / Our faculty have been inspired and impressed by Alexis’s academic accomplishments with her double major and minors, all while serving in many roles as a student leader, athlete and maintaining her passion and commitment for serving others during her time at Rowan. Alexis has been recognized as a Rowan Scholar-Athlete of Distinction, served as President and Treasurer of the Law and Justice Honor Society, President of the Criminal Justice Preparation Club, and as a senator for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She has also been involved with both the Philosophy and Political Science honor societies, Prof Academy, Outstanding Women Leaders Group, and volunteers often with Philabundance. She completed internships with both the Diplomatic Security Service and the Federal Air Marshal which she credits with leading her to pursue a career in federal law enforcement! Congratulations, Alexis!

2020 Cameron McIver / Cameron McIver studies Law and Justice at Rowan University with minors in Political Science and Ethics. He has achieved several academic honors, including the President’s Scholar of Excellence, Dean’s List, and Rowan Scholar- Athlete. Cameron has strived to maximize his college experience by participating in track and field as well as holding officer positions for academic clubs like Rowan Political Forum and Alpha Phi Sigma. He has also served as a Resident Assistant and an Assistant Resident Director on campus. Cameron is currently interning for local law offices and has been accepted to seven law schools with significant scholarships.

2019 Ray Philipp / The Law and Justice Department is proud to honor Raymond Philipp as our 2019 Senior of Distinction. Ray’s academic performance is a glowing representation of the interdisciplinary approach to higher education that is so deeply valued in CHSS, as evidenced by his impressive academic achievements as a L&J major, Sociology minor, and his completion of a CUGS in Psychology of Sport and Exercise, all while maintaining a position on the Rowan Football team. Ray has been a dedicated and active member of the Rowan community through his involvement with Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honor Society, and through his work with the Rowan Chapter of Students Against Cancer coordinating the Relay for Life and the Cancer Survivor Dinner. He also volunteers for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and as football coach in his hometown. He works with Virtua to create a summer camp for children of parents in cancer treatment. We wish Ray the best as he continues his education at Rowan earning a master’s in Counseling in Educational Settings and making a positive impact in the lives of today’s youth.

2018 Recipient - Ray Erasmo / The Law & Justice Department is pleased to introduce Ray Erasmo as our 2018 Senior of Distinction. In addition to his outstanding academic performance; Ray truly embodies the commitment to higher education, dedication and service to the Rowan community, and empathy and passion for helping others that are so deeply valued by this department. In addition to serving as a student leader and involved member of a number of campus organizations including the SGA, the Pre-Law Society, the Victim Awareness Club, the Transfer Student Mentor Board, the Academic Success Center, the Asian Cultural Organization, Sigma Alpha Lambda, and Lambda Alpha Epsilon, Ray is also committed to volunteerism beyond the borders of Rowan. He has volunteered in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in Philadelphia, PA as well as with the Boy Scouts of America. Most notably, this past semester along with the Victim Awareness Club, Ray coordinated a Hurricane Maria Relief Effort on campus through which over 600 donations were sent Puerto Rico. Ray is currently preparing for his LSATs which he plans to take in June. His career goals are to obtain a job in the prosecutor’s office with a commitment to youth mentoring programs and reducing juvenile involvement in the criminal justice system. We wish Ray the best of luck following graduation and have no doubt that he will continue to be a successful student and leader!

Medallion Awards

2022 - Jared LaBoy
2021 - Kyle Wojcik
2020 - Megan Dougherty
2019 - Jonny Haeder
2018 - Mark Emdur

Outstanding Seniors

2022 - Rob Mazukewicz, Craig Walsh, Dylan Dreher-Kinloch, Thomas Kenuk III, Maggie Schneider, Derek DeFrates, Yesenia Rijo-Morales
2021 - Matthew McGrath, Julia Gibbons, Mahnoor Zahid, Lindsay Twaddell
2020 - Ashley Bermudez, Brenden Bond, Meiling Chen, Sarah Kotz
2019 - Miranda Fennimore, Jacob Koopalethes, Nicholas Brago, Kendall Davis, Tyler Cavarocchi, Emily Schurr, Gyannie Gonzalez
2018 - Hilary Hernandez, Richetta Brown, Alec Trapani, Joshua Rosen, Christine Martin, Michael Oslacky, Ashley Oliva