SUNY Broome is delighted to highlight one of it’s most recent Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence honoree – Bryanna Wayman. For over two decades, the SUNY system has awarded it’s top honor to students representing each of the sixty-four SUNY campuses. Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recipients are selected based on their academic achievements, campus involvement, leadership, and extracurricular pursuits. It is the highest honor within SUNY Broome and the SUNY system as a whole. 

Bryanna Wayman grew up in Vestal, NY and graduated from Vestal Senior High School with high honors. Her original plan was to attend Binghamton University, but when she was waitlisted until the spring semester, she redirected her plans to include SUNY Broome. 

“I thought that I would just spend a semester at SUNY Broome and then transfer to Binghamton University, but my plans changed when I became involved with SUNY Broome’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa,” she said. 

Wayman excelled academically at SUNY Broome and was invited to join Phi Theta Kappa at the conclusion of her first semester. Phi Theta Kappa is an invitation-only, international, academic honor society for students with a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. To earn the full distinction of a Phi Theta Kappa scholar, students must complete an associate degree. Due to this stipulation, Wayman elected to stay at SUNY Broome and complete her degree in Business Administration. Bryanna fully immersed herself within Phi Theta Kappa and became an active member hosting common hour events, participating in the Women’s Discussion Group, and eventually serving as President of the society. 

Phi Theta Kappa students are heavily encouraged to apply for scholarships, grants, and student awards to help supplement the costs of tuition and fees.  Under the mentorship of Faculty Advisor, Professor Irene Byrnes, Wayman focused her efforts on applying for scholarships and opportunities for student distinctions, including applying for the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

The application process for the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence is lengthy and potentially daunting. Wayman had to craft essays, delineante her leadership and volunteer experiences, showcase her work history as the Assistant Manager of the Shoe Carnival, and provide a full overview of her academic history in order to be considered for nomination. 

“The best thing that I learned from this experience is to keep a running log of all of my work and accomplishments. I now have a detailed sheet full of my awards, special papers and projects that I worked on, and a log of my hours spent on extracurricular activities. I think all students should do this! It’s a great way to keep track of everything that you accomplish and is handy to have when you’re applying for scholarships to help offset the cost of college. My brother is coming to SUNY Broome this fall and I am helping him now with the process of applying for scholarships through the BCC Foundation,” Wayman said. 

Wayman loves that she has been able to stay in the area throughout her college career. “I lived at home in Vestal while going to SUNY Broome and I plan to live at home when I attend Binghamton University’s School of Management this fall. We have such great colleges and opportunities right here in Broome County,” she said. 
Bryanna Wayman plans to pursue the 4+1 program at Binghamton University to complete her bachelor’s degree and MBA back to back. When asked about her future professional plans, Wayman was not opposed to remaining in the area. “I was part of the team that implemented the Visions Federal Credit Union branch at Vestal Senior High School. Who knows? Maybe I will go back to Visions after finishing my MBA and go full circle.”

Learn more about  SUNY Broome’s Business Administration AS program.

Tags: , ,