Matthew Coonan Receives Academic Achievement Award

2016 May 31

Matthew Coonan of Yaphank, NY, was one of 54 outstanding SUNY Oneonta students selected to receive a 2016 Academic Achievement Award this spring. Each academic department or program selected one to three outstanding seniors to receive the award.

Coonan received the Elementary Education and Reading Department award.

To be considered for the award, a student must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 in his or her major and must demonstrate exceptional academic improvement over four semesters, as well as excellence in research; leadership and involvement in department, campus and community activities; and/or participation in academic and/or professional situation outside the college.

For the past seven years, Coonan has worked at Brookhaven Country Day Camp, where his passion for childhood education first developed. At SUNY Oneonta, Coonan served as president and vice president of the Poetry Slam Association on campus. In that role, he helped organize and run many poetry slam events and workshops. He also competed in nationally recognized poetry slam competitions where he and many other aspiring writers shared poems that addressed issues such as social injustice and toxic family relationships, while also fostering love, diversity, and the opportunity to heal as a community. He completed a minor in Africana & Latino Studies to further develop a multicultural education while addressing issues of social injustice through art and protest.