Hofstra University

Hofstra journalism major Joe Orovitz '27, who frequently covers Hofstra Men's Basketball for the Office of Marketing and Communications (Marcomm), is making a name for himself behind the lens. His photo of the team celebrating last week's historic CAA Tournament win over Monmouth was splashed on the back page of Newsday on March 11. Orovitz's photos have been featured throughout Newsday's coverage and in media outlets nationwide. Now Orovitz is heading to Tampa with the team as it makes its first NCAA Championship appearance in 25 years to face Alabama this Friday, March 20, at Benchmark International Arena.

When Hofstra senior Richie Castronova boarded a plane to London last spring, he had no idea he would soon be competing for a $1 million prize on national television. Castronova '26, a TV and business major in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, starred on FOX's new game show 99 to Beat alongside his sister. While participating in the Hofstra LA semester program, Castronova advanced through multiple rounds of interviews and screenings before officially being cast in May 2025. Filmed in London over the summer, 99 to Beat premiered this fall on FOX.

The DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science celebrated innovation and student achievement at the Advanced Summer Program in Research (ASPiRe) Symposium, held August 26 at the Science & Innovation Center. This year's event featured 30 students presenting their summer research in fields spanning bioengineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence (AI), among others, many in collaboration with faculty mentors and some with researchers from the Feinstein Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine.

Two mechanical engineering students from the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science recreated a historic artifact for the Hofstra University Museum of Art's EVERY Body, EVERY Mind exhibition. Krishan Rathee '27 of Williston Park, NY, and Gianluca Tredici '26 of Tomkins Cove, NY, developed a replica of a late 19th-early 20th-century Chi Wara headdress. Their work offers visitors of all ages and abilities the rare opportunity to engage with art through touch. The exhibition, which runs through July 11, explores the 35-year impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act and highlights inclusive approaches to museum education. The tactile replica allows guests, including those with visual impairments, to interact more meaningfully with a culturally significant object.

Lawrence Herbert School of Communication students won top honors in five categories at the 50th national Gracie Awards for exemplary news programming. The prestigious honor, awarded annually by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF), recognizes work by, for, or about women in television, radio, and online media on the national, local, and student levels. Hofstra students have taken home multiple Gracie Awards for the last 11 years.

A group of students from the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of technology and innovation during a recent trip to Silicon Valley. Led by Associate Professor Jianchen Shan, the students engaged with some of the biggest names in the tech industry, gaining valuable insight into the latest advancements and career opportunities in computer science and cybersecurity.

Over 140 undergraduate students presented their research at Hofstra's annual Undergraduate Research Day, last month. The research projects were showcased in multiple formats including posters, art displays and performances and focused on varied academic disciplines, including humanities; communications; education; engineering; computer science; and the natural, health, and social sciences.

Over 30 graduate students in the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies' Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) program celebrated a milestone in their nursing journey as they commemorated the transition from classwork to clinical practice at a recent White Coat Ceremony.

Jessie Hirsch (Bellerose, NY) and Julia Catanzano (Deer Park, NY), students from Hofstra's School of Health Sciences (SHS), earned top honors at the Greater New York American College of Sports Medicine (GNY ACSM) Conference held at NYU Langone in New York City. The conference showcased research from undergraduate and graduate students across the region, featuring 29 accepted abstracts and six finalists in the prestigious President's Cup Student Research Competition. Additionally, SHS had three student poster presentations that included collaborative research conducted by undergraduate Exercise Physiology students including Admar Calovini (New Hyde Park, NY), Jasmine Garmon (Holbrook, NY), David Wang (Valley Stream, NY), Erin Crisley (Wakefield, MA), Paige Kyle (Aurora, CO), Tarek Harhash (East Northport, NY), Emma Brennan (Myrtle Beach, SC), Lily Yepez (N.Bellmore, NY), Stacey Wong (Middle Village, NY), Anaya Davis (Palm Bay, FL), Amelia Heywood (Roseville, CA), and Emily Kishori (Elmont, NY).

Seventeen teams of seniors from the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science presented their capstone projects to a panel of judges at the Senior Project Showcase, closing out their final semester. The competition included projects ranging from earpiece design enhancement to a mobile app for textbook exchange to a rock, paper, scissors robot. Nineteen industry judges scored projects on a rubric, which included problem relevance, solution methodology, originality, and quality of presentation. Projects were grouped into two categories, computer science and engineering.

Fourteen cheer and dance students from Hofstra got to celebrate "decision day" live on NBC's Today Show. In a special segment on May 1, Hauppauge High School senior Jenny Dove revealed to her family, friends, and the national audience that she chose Hofstra University as her future alma mater. To celebrate, the Hofstra cheer squad exploded onto the NBC plaza to welcome Jenny to the Hofstra Pride.

Hofstra's School of Health Professions and Human Services conducted a poverty simulation event in which students were assigned roles and scenarios - gender, age, family roles, employment, and housing status - and were required to manage their finances and make ends meet for a fictional four-week period. Nearly 70 students particpated from graduate programs including Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Health Administration, and Health Informatics.

Hofstra University student organizations, student leaders, and professional staff partners were honored with 2024 Student Leadership Awards for their efforts to positively impact the campus community. The awards were held on April 25 at the Multipurpose Room in the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center.

Students from the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science took home first and third place finishes at the 2024 LICTF capture the flag competition. The annual event, hosted by the Long Island chapter of the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), features a series of challenges designed to test skills and knowledge of cybersecurity, including cryptology.

The Alliance for Women in Media announced the 2024 winners of its 49th annual Gracie Awards, and seven students at Hofstra University's Lawrence Herbert School of Communication were among the honorees.

Yaw Bonsu '24 and Michelle Rabinovich '25, became the first Hofstra students to cover Super Bowl week for WRHU 88.7 FM, the campus's four-time Marconi Award-winning radio station. Bonsu and Rabinovich had the opportunity to interview NFL players and coaches, community leaders, and journalists who cover the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Students at Hofstra University's Lawrence Herbert School of Communication spent part of their January break in Hollywood, networking with alumni and other media and entertainment executives as part of the 10th annual "Hofstra in LA" program.

Baldwin resident Yaw Bonsu '24, a journalism major with a concentration in sports media at Hofstra's Lawrence Herbert School of Communications, was recently awarded the national Radio Television Digital News Association Foundation (RTDNA) Presidents Scholarship at the organization's national conference in Minneapolis. The $2,500 award, endowed in memory of past RTDNA presidents, recognizes two broadcast journalism students for excellence in reporting.

Thirty-four students from the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies, representing the first undergraduate nursing class at Hofstra, received their "Keeping Healthcare Human" pins, symbolizing their transition from classroom to clinical studies. The ceremony, attended by family, friends, and Hofstra faculty, featured a keynote address from Hofstra alum Amy J. Smith, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, NY-SAFE, assistant professor of nursing and director of the FNP and SANE programs. The nursing students, representing the Class of 2025, are in their third year, and will now begin their clinical rotations at Northwell Health facilities.

Hofstra student Maxwell Clegg '23 of Arlington, VA, will be examining the economic, political, technological, and transnational issues shaping Africa's future as a research assistant at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a prestigious international think tank.

Yaw Bonsu '24, a journalism major with a concentration in sports media at Hofstra's Lawrence Herbert School of Communications, was awarded the national Radio Television Digital News Association Foundation (RTDNA) Presidents Scholarship at the organization's national conference in Minneapolis last month. The $2,500 award, endowed in memory of past RTDNA presidents, recognizes two broadcast journalism students for excellence in reporting.

Hofstra students served as hosts during Hofstra University's 13th presidential conference, "The Barack Obama Presidency: Hope and Change." They assisted visiting scholars, journalists, and government officials, who were at the university in April to discuss the administration, policy making, and legacy of Barack Obama.

Welcome to Rabinowitz Honors College, which enriches the education of exceptional students inside the classroom and beyond.

Seven Hofstra University students have been selected to participate in the "Inside Washington" Seminar hosted by The Washington Center, January 2-10, 2022. The "Inside Washington" Seminar gives students the opportunity to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes in the nation's capital from political insiders, scholars and journalists. Last year's speakers included White House Communications Director Jen Psaski, former White House advisor Ron Christie, and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

The Advanced Summer Program in Research (ASPiRe) at Hofstra University offers undergraduate engineering and computer science students the opportunity to work for ten weeks over the summer with faculty mentors on research related to their major.

Two Hofstra students were commissioned by Facebook to design a cyberdefense computer platform that was used for a national competition to test the skills of high school and middle school students interested in cybersecurity.

Ten Hofstra students were honored with a Phi Beta Kappa Book (PBK) Awards, sponsored by the Provost's office and the Hofstra University Bookstore. Every fall, Hofstra's Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, one of only 283 in the nation, honors a small number of promising sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have attained a 4.0 GPA while taking broad and rigorous coursework in the liberal arts and sciences.

Eleven Hofstra engineering students helped build a pavilion on Governor's Island that took first place in the 7th Annual City of Dreams Pavilion competition. The annual competition, sponsored by FIGMENT, a free arts event, the AIANY Emerging New York Architects Committee, and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY), encourages sustainable design by challenging architects, designers, and engineers to envision and create architecture out of materials that will have as little impact on the environment as possible.

Five students with outstanding academic records and an interest in political science participated in a seminar at The Washington Center examining the impact of the 2016 presidential election on political discourse.

Almost 400 students worked as volunteers in areas ranging from media and production to credentialing and ticket distribution during the first presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, held at Hofstra University on Sept. 26, 2016. Along with a month-long series of panels discussions, lectures and performances on important election issues, the volunteer opportunity provided a once-in-a-lifetime educational experience that inspired students to engage in the democratic process and embrace their responsibility as citizens and voters. Hofstra University is the only institution in the nation to host three consecutive presidential debates, and its 2016 debate was the most widely watched in American history.