The Department of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics recently honored the following graduate students with 2025 department awards at its annual awards celebration:
Social Justice Award
Recipient: Emet Oden
Emet is a graduating residential student who currently has a 4.0 GPA. He has been a part of the MFT Trans Team during his entire time in the program and served as the group’s president this past year. He recently volunteered in a mental health support role at a local gathering for the trans community in the Syracuse area. He has partnered with mental health providers in the Syracuse area to facilitate workshops focused on providing gender affirming care and trans inclusive mental health care. Emet has worked rigorously to provide affirming, dignified care for this marginalized group, and use his knowledge, power, and skill set to dismantle barriers to affirming, dignified care wherever he can.
Class Marshal
Recipient: Sophia Widdekind
Sophia is a graduating residential student who currently has a 4.0 GPA. She has demonstrated commitment to the MFT Department and community service in many ways. in her first semester she co-facilitated a talk for her peers and the department on anti-fat bias, which was not associated with a class assignment or Capstone project. She served as vice president of the MFT Trans Team, and she worked at the clinic front desk for four semesters, picking up extra shifts to ensure the phone was answered and clients were greeted during the three months there was a vacancy in the administrative position. She had a full caseload during her time in the clinic, including a co-therapy case with the clinic director, even as her hours were on track to be above and beyond the required 500. Her passion and dedication to community service, our MFT department, and the MFT field as a whole is exemplary.
Torres and Wilczewski Scholarship Award
Recipient: Amanda Di Grazia
Amanda is a first-year residential student who currently has a 4.0 GPA. She has demonstrated her passion and commitment to the MFT Department and MFT profession in many ways. She serves as the residential MA student representative for the department and has collaborated with the online MA student representative to build multiple avenues for communication, including creating a newsletter. Amanda has been a fantastic ambassador for the MFT program, attending admissions sessions for prospective students and being available to answer questions from applicants. She has taken great initiative to create information sessions and workshops for residential MA students. Amanda is a member of the MFT Trans Team and works to use her voice to advance the MFT profession.
Eleanor Macklin Scholarship Award
Recipient: Kiana Eng
Kiana is an online MA MFT student who is scheduled to graduate in spring 2026. Kiana shows promise as a scholar and clinician. She currently has a 4.0 GPA and serves as the online MA student representative for the MFT department. In that role, Kiana has volunteered her time to attend information sessions with prospective MFT students and has done a fantastic job highlighting the unique qualities of our online program. Kiana has also collaborated with other student representatives to increase communication among cohorts and establish an MFT newsletter. Her passion and dedication to her studies, to the program, and the field of MFT are remarkable.