UB students honored with prestigious ACT and Zimpher scholarships

Two UB students have been recognized by SUNY for their outstanding academic achievements and community leadership.

Yanely Reyes-Bermudez was named a recipient of the Nancy L. Zimpher Scholarship for Teacher Education, while Constance Yap was named a recipient of the ACT for Excellence and Student Initiative Scholarship. Both were honored at the ACT Fall Conference Awards Luncheon on Oct. 18.

Reyes-Bermudez, a graduate student in UB’s Teacher Residency Program, is pursuing an EdM in early childhood/childhood education with a bilingual certification extension in Spanish. The Nancy L. Zimpher Scholarship, a $1,500 award, recognizes excellence in the teacher education profession. Reyes-Bermudez expects to graduate in 2025.

From attending Buffalo’s public schools while growing up to becoming a culturally responsive educator, Reyes-Bermudez’s personal journey has shaped her mission to create inclusive and equitable learning environments. Inspired by a bilingual teacher who saw her potential, Reyes-Bermudez now strives to be that same source of hope for her students.

“I am not only becoming a teacher, but I am becoming the teacher I once needed …” Reyes-Bermudez wrote in her personal statement. “… A teacher who helps children dream, believe and achieve.”

Faculty members praised Reyes-Bermudez’s leadership and advocacy. Kristin Cipollone, associate director of the Teacher Residency Program, described her as “a relentless advocate, especially when it comes to children and injustice.” Program director Amanda Winkelsas noted her “fierce determination to transform educational spaces in service of young people’s needs.”

Yap, a senior from Clarence double-majoring in biomedical sciences and child and family studies, was awarded the ACT for Excellence and Student Initiative Scholarship for her outstanding academic performance and extraordinary commitment to UB’s campus and community. The scholarship includes a $1,000 award, as well as a $250 donation to a charity of Yap’s choice.

A Presidential Scholar in the UB Honors College, Yap has maintained a 4.0 GPA while contributing to research, teaching and community service. She co-authored a publication on a National Science Foundation-funded project and was a teaching assistant for evolutionary biology courses for three years, taking it upon herself to help mentor students.

She is a recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to the Canary Islands.

Yap’s impact extends far beyond campus. She founded Music Inspires New Dreams (MIND), a music education outreach program for children in Buffalo’s Seneca-Babcock neighborhood, and also created the NICU Recorder Program at Oishei Children’s Hospital to help families stay connected with their newborns in the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

“She sees something that needs to be done and will figure out how to complete the task,” Claudia Jaramillo Lee of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, wrote in Yap’s nomination letter. “She is the type of person who is a doer.”

Yap also volunteers with organizations supporting individuals with disabilities, as well as collaborates with students in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on culturally informed health initiatives.