Schenectady, N.Y. (June 14, 1998) – Anguel Zapryanov, an economics major at Union College who came to the U.S. in 1993 from Harmanli, Bulgaria, is valedictorian of Union's Class of 1998.
A financial analyst for Stern Stewart Co., a New York City corporate advisory firm, he fulfilled his requirements for graduation last fall.
Zapryanov transferred into Union after completing two years at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He said he was attracted to Union by the opportunity to do summer research and to participate in a term abroad. Zapryanov credits his arrival at Union to Dianne Crozer, associate dean of admissions, who works closely with transfer students. He said that Crozier and Prof. Doug Klein of economics also were helpful in finding him off-campus housing when he arrived.
He spent a term in Italy led by Prof. Ruth Stevens, which he describes as one of his best experiences at Union. “I love everything about Italy,” he said, “the people, the food, the wine, but especially Italian Renaissance art.”
He wrote his senior thesis on “Asymmetric Information and Aggregate Investment: Evidence from Macrodata” with Prof. Eshragh Motahar of economics, with whom he worked on a number of research projects.
At Union, Zapryanov was active in the economics club
He says he is considering teaching economics at the college level.
Laurie M. Kirschner, salutatorian
Schenectady, N.Y. (June 14, 1998) – Laurie M. Kirschner, a psychology major at Union College and a 1994 graduate of Suffern High School, was salutatorian of the Class of 1998 at Union College.
She is the daughter of Joan and Lewis Kirschner of 35 Sagamore Ave., Suffern.
She will attend Harvard University Graduate School of Education to pursue a master's degree in human development and psychology. She is considering teaching psychology at the college level, with a specialty in female adolescent psychology.
She wrote her senior thesis on “Psychological Separation and Identity Formation in Adolescent Females: The Influence of Family Dynamics.” Her advisor was Suzanne Benack, associate professor of psychology. Kirschner presented her research recently at Union's Steinmetz Symposium on Student Creative, Scholarly and Research Achievement.
Among her findings, Kirschner found that conflict with parents can be a good thing in identity formation among adolescents. “It is important that they can disagree and voice their own opinions as distinct,” she said.
Kirschner said she was also interested to discover that young women who emphasized that their father was warm and supportive tended to do very well psychologically, even more so than those who said their mothers were warm.” The reason, she says, is that adolescent women need to separate from their mothers; having a supportive father eases the transition to independence.
Kirschner interviewed about 60 female students for her study.
Among her activities at Union, she was photo editor of Concordiensis, the student paper at Union; an admissions interviewer; founder of “Why Weigh Your Self Esteem,” a support group for those affected by eating disorders; a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority and the organization's risk management chair; a member of Peer Facilitators, a student organization that fosters discussion on issues. She also served as an orientation advisor at Union, and held internships with Hope House (a facility for adolescents involved with substance abuse) and Glendale Nursing Home.
Among her awards and honors, she is a member of Phi Beta Kappa; Psi Chi, the national honorary society in psychology; recipient of the Delphic Honor Society Award for exemplary contribution to the Union College community, the Lisa Gerhan Memorial Award for excellence in psychology; and the President's Commission on the Status of Women's Community Service Award. She also received the Phi Beta Kappa Prize for excellence in General Education at Union.
At Suffern High School, she was photo editor of the yearbook, secretary of the class, and a member of Suffern Health Players, an educational program for elementary students.