The Student Experience Division announced the selection of Lucio Maffei and Sofia Rodriguez as the Class of 2024 Senior Class Marshals. In this role, Maffei and Rodriguez will spend their senior year serving as the all-University representatives for their class and conclude their experience by leading the student procession during the 2024 Commencement ceremony.

“Throughout their student experience, Lucio and Sofia have distinguished themselves as changemakers. They exemplify leadership, commitment to service and academic excellence in all that they do, and they strive to make a positive impact on the world around them. As Senior Class Marshals, I know they will carry forward these same attributes and serve as outstanding representatives for the Class of 2024,” says Rob Hradsky, vice president for the student experience and chair of the selection committee.

Lucio Maffei

Hailing from West Orange, New Jersey, Maffei is a junior majoring in political philosophy and ethics in the College of Arts and Sciences and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and has earned academic accolades spanning Dean’s List recognition each semester, selection as a Maxwell School Leadership Scholar for his academic excellence and exceptional leadership abilities, and an Invest in Success Scholarship recipient for his strong academic performance beginning in his first semester.

In his time on campus, Maffei has fully immersed himself in his academic pursuits and fostered community among those majoring in philosophy and who share an interest in philosophy. He founded and now serves as president of Phi Sigma Tau International Philosophy Honor Society and serves as vice president of the Philosophy Club. To support undergraduate students interested in research, he also founded and serves as editor-in-chief of Aurantium, an undergraduate philosophy journal.

Leading new initiatives has resonated across Maffei’s time on campus. In his first year at Syracuse, Maffei launched the Helpful and Ethical Leadership Project (HELP) to address needs he recognized in the local community primarily focused on poverty and homelessness. Since founding HELP in 2020, Maffei has worked with fellow students to organize clothing drives to benefit the Rescue Mission, raise funds to support Ukrainian refugees and volunteer with Meals on Wheels. In his role as a Senior Class Marshal, Maffei says he hopes “to extend and support more efforts that help impoverished and unhoused communities in Central New York.”

Among his other leadership roles, Maffei was recently elected the president of the Mock Trial team at Syracuse University, and previously served as quartermaster, captain and an executive board member of the team. He is also a board member of the Mock Trial Association of America’s National Student Advisory Board, as well as a member of the Pre-Law Society.

Maffei is also a leader when it comes to his service to others on campus. In his roles as a resident advisor for the last two academic years, as well as a peer leader for the First Year Seminar, Maffei has had a chance to support first-year students in their transition to college life and build connection with the Orange community.

Similar to his other roles on campus, Maffei takes on this responsibility with great pride and deep commitment as he looks forward to representing his peers to the larger community.

“I think that students are the voice of our generation and I want to be a part of channeling and directing that voice to make our community and world a better place,” says Maffei. “I am proud to be a Syracuse University student, and to be able to serve my peers in this capacity means the world to me.”

Read more about Sofia Rodriguez via the SU News Website.

By Shannon Andre