The Honors Community
Merrimack provides dedicated housing, community activities and specially chosen resident advisors for all residential students in the honors program.
Benefits of Honors Housing
Honors students live in academically focused residences where they live and study together. Incoming first-year students live in an honors living-learning community; upperclassmen have the opportunity to live in honors residential suites.
Benefits include:
- Living In a community with other honors students.
- Engaging in transformative learning experiences by living and studying with other highly motivated students.
- Participating in experiential-learning opportunities, including special guest speakers, service opportunities, and group outings.
2022-23 Resident Advisors
Honors resident advisors are tasked with developing and fostering a welcoming and academically focused residence hall environment. The honors program employs three R.A.s in Ash Centre’s first-year living-learning community and five R.A.s in the honors residential suites at North Residential Village.
North Residential Village Resident Advisors

Bella Ozga ’23
- Hometown: Miami, FL
- Major: Athletic Training
- School: School of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Hobbies: Working out, Drawing, Hanging out with Friends

Adam Roczniak ’23
- Hometown: Albany, New York
- Major: Neuroscience
- School: School of Science and Engineering
- Hobbies: Vice President of Kappa Sigma Fraternity

Gianna Sciarappa ’23
Honors Residential Suites at North Residential Village
- Hometown: Dedham, MA
- Major: Athletic Training
- School: School of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Hobbies: Spin, Reading, Playing Sports

Brooke Toothaker ’23
Honors Residential Suites at North Residential Village
- Hometown: Freepoint, Maine
- Major: Health Science
- School: School of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Hobbies: Playing in the Marching Band
Ash Center Resident Advisors

Samarah Alteon ’24
- Hometown: Miami, FL
- Major: Athletic Training
- School: School of Nursing and Health Sciences
- Hobbies: Working out, Drawing, Hanging out with Friends

Sam Barresi ’24
- Hometown: Longmeadow, MA
- Major: Mechanical Engineering with a minor in computer science
- School: Science and Engineering
- Fun Fact: I make and fix Jewelry

Sky DiMartino ’24
- Hometown: New Hartford, CT
- Major: Biology
- School: School of Nursing and Health Sciences

Nicholas Dee ’23
- Hometown: Fitchburg, MA
- Major: Human Development & Human Services and Education
- School: School of Education & Social Policy
- Hobbies: Basketball & Piano

Evan Dodge ’23
- Hometown: Middleport, NY
- Major: History and Secondary Education
- School: School of Liberal Arts and School of Education & Social Policy
- Hobbies: Drummer in the Marching Band

Briana Normandin ’24
- Hometown: Leominster MA
- Major: Psychology & Human Development and Human Services
- School: School of Liberal Arts
- Hobbies: I draw portraits!

Alessia Puccio ’24
- Hometown: Wilmington, MA
- Major: Elementary Education & Human Development and Human Services
- School: Winston School of Education and Social Policy
- Fun Fact: I am a Merrimack legacy

Brianna VanHecke ’24
- Hometown: Haverhill, MA
- Major: Computer Science and Spanish
- Hobbies: I really love to ice skate!
Inspired by St. Augustine
The Merrimack College honors program is inspired by St. Augustine’s belief that studying with friends is the best environment for learning, challenging oneself, and for discovering one’s passions. In describing his early education, he fondly recalls:
I found all kinds of joy when I was in the company of my friends — talking, reading engaging books together — going from the lightest joking to talking of the deepest things, and back again.” (Confessions 4: 8, 13)Our hope is the honors housing reflects the values proposed by St. Augustine.