Iona College Honors Students in 17th Annual GAEL Awards
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.— Iona College’s Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs hosted its 17th annual Gala for Achievement in Excellence and Leadership Awards Ceremony (GAEL Awards) to celebrate and acknowledge the College’s most exceptional student leaders.
Students were welcomed with remarks by Iona College President Seamus Carey, Ph.D. and Kevin O’Sullivan, senior vice president for Enrollment and Student Affairs. There were also student performances by the Iona College Pipe Band, Iona Players, Iona Singers, Black Student Union Dance Team, Irish Step Dance, and Iona College Dance Team.
The 2022 ceremony was held on April 25 in the Hynes Athletics Center Arena. Top awards were presented to the following Gaels:
Commencement Awards:
- Joseph E. Powell Award – Chyanne Blakey '22
- Sullivan Award – Courthney Liza Normil '22
- Julia Friedman Award – Katie Feeney '22
- Mildred Squires Award – Maeve Ellen Wydan '22
Gael of the Year
- Chyanne Blakey '22
RA of the Year
- Claudia Marcelin ’22
Organization of the Year
- Model United Nations
Left to right: Chyanne Blakey '22, Courthney Liza Normil '22, Katie Feeney '22, Maeve Ellen Wydan '22.
Gael of the Year: Chyanne Blakey '22.
RA of the Year: Claudia Marcelin ’22.
Jack Mollahan ’22 from the Model United Nations, Organization of the Year.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.