Nadia Itani ’21, Matt Sweeney ’21 Are the 2021 Gunn Medal Recipients
The Gunn Medal is one of the College’s highest undergraduate honors.
Nadia Itani ’21 and Matt Sweeney ’21 were awarded the Joseph J. Gunn ’30 Alumni Medal at the 2021 Baccalaureate Mass on Sunday, May 16.
The Gunn Medal is given to a graduating senior, or seniors, who embody the College’s Lasallian mission and have made a significant contribution to the College during their undergraduate years. It has been recognized throughout the years as one of the College’s highest honors given to an undergraduate student.
A civil engineering major from Emerson, N.J., Itani has positively affected nearly every aspect of the Manhattan College campus.
Itani is a peer tutor and student success mentor in the Center for Academic Success. She has been a resident assistant for the past two years and has been named “RA of the Week” multiple times. She is also actively involved in the Muslim Student Association, and has been a peer minister, helping facilitate interfaith efforts and conversations among the student body. She also played a vital role in the Midnight Run program, helping deliver bagged meals to homeless New Yorkers.
She is also a member of the Society of Women Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Association of Preservation Technology and the New York Water Environment Association.
Itani has accepted a full-time position with the McLaren Engineering Group and will begin working for the New Jersey-based company in July 2021.
Known affectionately as “Mayor” Sweeney, Matt is also a civil engineering major, from Floral Park, N.Y.
He is the chairman of the Neighborhood Relations Committee, founder of the Jasper Environmental Coalition, a DJ on WRCM Radio and writer for the Quadrangle.
Earlier this year, Sweeney was one of 40 individuals to earn a spot on the Irish Echo’s top 40 under 40 annual awards list, which highlights the up-and-coming leaders of Irish America from around the nation who work in a variety of fields and occupations.
The vice president emeritus of Manhattan College’s chapter of the New York Water Environment Association, Sweeney organized a community volunteer initiative to clean up Dogwood Junction on Broadway and Memorial Grove in nearby Van Cortlandt Park. During his final semester at Manhattan College, he is interning in the environmental engineering discipline at Langan Engineering and Environmental Services.
The Commencement ceremonies will take place on Monday, May 17, Tuesday, May 18 and Wednesday, May 19 for graduates in person. All events will be live streamed at https://commencement.manhattan.edu and available for viewing on demand after they are completed.