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CORNING, N.Y. -- Cameron Jensen (Alpine, NY – Odessa-Montour High School), a second-year student at SUNY Corning Community College, earned the prestigious SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence (CASE) from the State University of New York.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. awarded 193 students from 62 campuses SUNY’s highest honor for academic excellence and leadership. The 2024 CASE Awards recognizes students for outstanding achievements throughout their SUNY experience in areas including academics, leadership, campus involvement, community service, and the arts.

Jensen, who is studying in SUNY CCC’s Engineering Science program, is one of 73 community college students to earn the CASE award. He is a first-generation, non-traditional student, who re-enrolled at SUNY CCC after a rocky educational journey during high school and a first failed attempt at higher education in 2018. Despite those obstacles, Jensen has gone on to achieve academic success at the highest level, which includes participation in NASA’s Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program.

“When I came back to CCC in 2022 it was a total fresh start for me,” said Jensen. “I had been out of school for three years, and I didn't have any kind of academic reputation or achievements to speak of. I worked incredibly hard to be the best version of myself I could possibly be, and having all of that work finally be recognized with an award as prestigious as CASE is an incredible honor.”

“This year’s winners include first-generation students, researchers, a single mother and grandmother, a cancer survivor, international students hailing from over 16 nations, athletes, and a student who worked with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center—among so many more with inspiring stories of excellence in the classroom and beyond,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “It is my honor to celebrate the achievements of the nearly 200 CASE awardees as they inspire others and illustrate what is possible with a SUNY education.”