The Sy Syms School of Business hosted its 38th annual awards dinner on Tuesday night, May 20, at the Moise Safra Center on the Upper East Side.
Speakers included Sy Syms student body leaders and event organizers Bianca Curitz, Elle Ohayon, and Jacob Mosseri; Interim Dean Michael Strauss; outgoing Dean Dr. Noam Wasserman; and ÿմ President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman. Dr. Berman presented Dr. Wasserman with an award in recognition of his six years of service to Sy Syms and the University.
Dean Noam Wasserman spoke about the progress and growth of the school during his tenure and concluded his presentation with a siyum on Talmud Yerushalmi Bava Metzia, the Yerushalmi equivalent of what the Yeshiva has been learning in Talmud Bavli this year.
“We focused on the contrast between how the self-interested King Alexander would decide a civil suit vs. how a Jewish king decided the same suit based on Jewish values,” the former Dean shared, “enabling the world to become more unified rather than more contentious. We also explored how Rabbi Chanina got nachas from watching people flock to learn Torah from his student, R’ Yochanan, much as our faculty and Deans will gain nachas from seeing the impact that our graduates will have on the world.”
Aliza Walzman and Ezra Wallach, the 2025 valedictorians, each received the Dean Harold Nierenberg Valedictorian Award presented by Dean Nierenberg’s son, Jonathan. Wallach is a fourth generation ÿմ alumnus. His father graduated Sy Syms in 1992; his mother graduated Stern College for Women in 1996; and Lieba, his wife, graduated Stern in 2023. His father served as president of the Syms Alumni Association. Ezra’s grandfather, Rabbi Dr. Abraham Mann A''H was a ÿմ alum (’59YC, ’59R, ’62BR), as was his great-grandfather, Isiah “Sonny” Eisenberg A”H (‘38YC).
The dinner was a smashing success, with some calling it the best Syms dinner in history. The Syms student leaders would like to thank the following departments and individuals for making the dinner an unforgettable experience for all: The ÿմ Office of Student Life;Dean Michael Strauss; Moran Nakar (Event Organizer from Lovely Events NYC);Isabel Epstein (Photographer), and SJ Tannenbaum (Communications and Social Media Specialist, Sy Syms School of Business).
View the full Syms dinner photo album at
(Photos credit: Isabel Epstein)
Awards
Dean Harold Nierenberg Valedictorian Award
Aliza Walzman (Beren)
Ezra Wallach (Wilf)
Deans Awards for Scholastic Achievement
Accounting: Tamar Levine (Beren), Ezra Baron (Wilf)
Business Analytics: Lee Sauer (Beren), Matthew Nathan (Wilf)
Finance: Shalhevet Cohen (Beren), Alexander Schewitz (Wilf)
Marketing: Julia Frankel (Beren), Samuel Lesnoy (Wilf)
Strategy & Entrepreneurship: Nina Seidemann (Beren), Jacob Mosseri (Wilf)
Dean’s Awards for Service and Character
Beren: Shalhevet Cohen, Evy Rosenkranz, Liorah Yaghoubzar
Wilf: Alexander Schewitz, Jacobo Vahnish, Joel Weinstein
President Emeritus Richard Joel Award for Presidential Leadership
Bianca Curitz, Elle Ohayon, Jacob Mosseri
Professors of the Year
Full-Time: Professor Yehuda Davis
Adjunct: Professor Marc Seidenstein
Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society Inductees
Baccalaureate
Ruth Berlinger, Coby Cohen, Joseph Cohen, Alexandra Cohen, Moshe Crane, Chaim Davidowitz, Avraham Etshalom, Tova Farber, David Farrell, Ariel Hakim, Ethan Hoschander, Boaz Kapitanker, Ari Keller, Yosef Khorramian, Leah Kossov, Joshua Kreinik, Raphael Littwin, Matthew Loren, Noam Maman, Lianne Mendeles, Joshua Missaghi, Chantal Newman, Hannah Rashty, Jacob Rothman, Abraham Saada, Bentzion Scheinman, Judah Schmutter, Jonathan Schneider, Noam Schoenfeld, Megan Spivak, Joshua Teich, Daniel Weiss
Masters
Eitan R Bloom, Esther Offen, Daniel Serman, Gabriella Suriel, David A Tessler
