CCNY Class of 2025 Valedictorian Eilyn Zuniga Marquez and Salutatorian Andrew Williams.
Eilyn Zuniga Marquez, a Salvadoran immigrant who graduated summa cum laude in January with dual BA and MA degrees in psychology from the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, is The City College of New York’s Class of 2025 Valedictorian. Andrew Williams, who also completed his coursework for a BS in psychology summa cum laude in the Colin Powell School’s Macaulay Honors Program, is the Salutatorian.
CCNY’s 172nd Commencement is scheduled for Friday, May 30.
About Eilyn Zuniga Marquez
The Bronx resident arrived in the U.S. as a teenager in 2018 with knowledge of English grammar but unable to speak the language fluently. She took ESL classes during the two years that she attended Liberty High School Academy for Newcomers before enrolling at CCNY. In addition to the unprecedented experience of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marquez would face other challenges at CCNY, including culture shock and financial stress.
But she credits the SEEK program and Colin Powell School Office of Student Success for seeing her through. Hailed as a stellar student, she made the Dean’s List every semester and received the SEEK Sophomore of the Year Award for her first-year academic performance, in addition to her active involvement (both in-person and virtually) in campus and community activities. Marquez also received the Debra Kennedy Sterling Silver Award, and the Outstanding SEEK Graduate of the Year Award.
She plans on using her BA/MA in psychology, which meets the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports’ educational requirement for certification as a substance use counselor, to, among other things, help ameliorate mental health issues in the community. She’s interned with RevCore Recovery Center, conducting counseling sessions with patients diagnosed with substance use disorder.
Marquez’ career goal is to eventually obtain a Ph.D. in clinical psychology but, more immediately, she’s accepted a Civil Service Pathways Fellowship from the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services. The two-year full-time paid program for CUNY graduates is designed to create a pipeline from college to a career in civil service.
She’s assigned to the Department of Homeless Services, working on special initiatives in city shelters and learning from actual project managers.
About Andrew Williams
Born in Queens of Jamaican immigrant parents, Williams’s CCNY tenure was littered with honors. His accolades included:
- A four-year full-tuition merit scholarship to the Macaulay Honors College;
- The Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship;
- The City College Academy for Professional Preparation (CCAPP) Scholarship:
- The Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) Scholarship; and
- The Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship.
The latter award enabled Williams to spend three months in summer 2024 as a research intern at The Kids Research Institute Australia, in Perth, Australia. There, he performed experiments with the Brain Tumor research group.
In addition, Williams has worked as a research assistant in CUNY Distinguished Professor Ruth E. Stark’s NMR spectroscopy lab at CCNY’s Center for Discovery and Innovation; as a biology and organic chemistry tutor in CCAPP; an Emergency Department volunteer at
New York-Presbyterian Columbia, Manhattan; and as a Scribe Technician at CITYMD, Jackson Heights in Queens. On campus, he’s served as a Colin Powell School Student Advisory member.
The Queens resident plans on continuing his tutorship in biology and chemistry while applying for medical school.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Lightcast puts at $3.2 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:
jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu