LCCC Awards Students of the Year at Commencement Ceremony

Each year, the Student of the Year award is granted to one traditional student and one Early College student who have exemplified academic excellence, hard work and a passion for learning. Students are nominated by instructors, and the winners are chosen by the LCCC Faculty Association. For 2024, Margaret Rodriguez Sanchez was named Student of the Year, and Diana Moussa was named Early College Student of the Year.

Margaret Rodriguez Sanchez – A.S. in Psychology

Margaret Rodriguez Sanchez started college like many others: not knowing what she wanted to do with her life. Needing a change in career, she returned to school with hopes of finding a field of study that called to her. It was in her Abnormal Psychology course that something clicked. “Abnormal psychology is more modern in its research,” she says. “I really want to get hands-on with people who may be [struggling] with mental illness.”

Her newfound verve for learning all she could about her field eventually led her to applying to the one-year Honors Scholars program. The one-year program offers students an intensive and enriching academic experience. Rodriguez Sanchez found the living and learning events and activities required by the program to be especially beneficial. “The one-year program helped with equitable access to Honors,” she says, “because some people, like me, might come into college not knowing what they’re capable of.”

Rodriguez Sanchez learned just how capable she was when she participated in the Bucknell University Community College Scholars Program in 2023. The program allowed her to push her academic boundaries while learning new skills and connecting with fellow scholars. As a successful program scholar and high-achieving student, she was selected to receive the Bucknell Community College Scholars Scholarship, which provides tuition funding to complete a bachelor’s degree at Bucknell.

“LCCC has really helped me develop from someone who didn’t ever want to go back to school,” Rodriguez Sanchez says. “They helped me gain direction when I was completely lost.” In looking toward the future, she strives to make the most out of her time at Bucknell and utilize what she’s learned to help those in need.

To future generations of LCCC students, Rodriguez Sanchez says, “Don’t settle for what you think you can only do because there is so much more you might not even know you can do.”

Diana Moussa – A.A. in Business Administration

When Diana Moussa’s Allen High School guidance counselor told her about the Early College program at LCCC, she recognized it as an opportunity too good to pass up. “I got to figure out how things worked early,” she says. “Otherwise, I would’ve been stepping out of high school not really knowing where I’m headed.” With aspirations to become a marketing director, she utilized her time in the program to earn an A.A. in Business Administration.

Moussa’s business classes had a great impact on her career trajectory. “I had a Macroeconomics class with Professor Selvakumari Rajaram,” she says. “She presented the class materials straightforward, and I don’t feel as scared venturing into the business world now.” The knowledgeable and personable faculty at LCCC helped her realize that business and marketing was a vast industry that she could easily see herself innovating.

While Moussa plans to continue her education at Penn State’s Lehigh Valley campus in the fall, there are many skills she learned at LCCC that will benefit her moving forward. Above concepts like time-management and prioritization skills, she values her newfound ability to communicate with a diverse array of peers and colleagues, something that she says allows her confidence in venturing into a variety of positions.

Though her coursework was instrumental in her college experience, Moussa also holds dear the memories she made along the way. From hosting an Early College picnic to hanging out in the Design Den, she made the most of her community college education. “A lot of people have been really helpful along the way,” she says, “and have shown me that college can be fun.”

Moussa wants incoming students to know that it’s okay to not box oneself into one field of study. “You’re probably going to change your major at least twice,” she says, “but LCCC is going to help you make those big decisions.”