Class of 2026
Making Their Mark
We’re spotlighting the stories, accomplishments, and perspectives of the members of URochester’s Class of 2026.
Meet the Class of 2026
Lina Abdou
She earned a Projects for Peace grant for a project aimed at strengthening single-mother households in Morocco.
Maria Ahmed
The biochemistry major and Goldwater Scholar plans to pursue an MD/PhD.
Kaan Ayetkin
The mechanical engineering major wrote code to help explore confinement fusion plasma conditions.
Tanya Beiswenger
She’s the first doctoral candidate to defend a dissertation in the new health professions education leadership program.
Tamuda Chimhanda
The computer science student helped launch a startup to make networking ever better.
Tia Clark
A paid teacher residency helped Clark move from classroom assistant to certified teacher.
Wimeth Dissanayake
The Goldwater Scholar aspires to become a physician-scientist focusing on hematology.
Adrianne Edlund
A Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate, she is equipping communities across New York with lifesaving CPR and AED skills.
Johanna Fritzinger
The neuroscience PhD candidate is decoding how the brain hears and interprets sound.
Paul David Flood
Flood, who is earning a PhD in musicology, studies migration and globalization.
Allencia Grant
The MBA student and fellow of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management joined a Simon community committed to her success.
Nyasha Gwaza
The electrical and computer engineering major helped divert young people in Zimbabwe from engaging in illegal gold-panning activities.
Joel Hoo
The composer and multi-instrumentalist has won multiple awards while pursuing a master’s in contemporary media and film composition.
Joshua Jung
The anthropology major produced a documentary about the role of digital spaces in creating genres such as Neo-Cru R&B.
Jonathan Klus
The statistics doctoral candidate received the William Jackson Hall Graduate Student Fellowship Award.
Parnika Kulkarni
An artist and entrepreneur, Kulkarni pursued an MS in marketing analytics to bridge the gap between the creative and the analytical.
Lexi Kunz
Earning a dual degree in applied music (percussion) and business, Kunz leads the OSSIA new music ensemble at Eastman.
James Wani J. Lako
As president of Simon’s Master’s Advisory Council, he advocated for peers and built leadership skills while preparing for a career in finance.
Aashay Mardikar
The biochemistry major and Goldwater Scholar began his research career during his first year at URochester.
Kyra McCracken
The biomedical engineering major provided quality assurance for surgical devices for gynecological surgery as an intern at Hologic, Inc.
Luis Mendez
Committed to his patients, faith, and family, Mendez’s research examines BMI-related interactions during orthodontic therapy.
Onesmo Mushi
A former English teacher from Tanzania, Mushi is this year’s URochester graduate speaker for Commencement.
Natasha Njoroge
From student ambassador to street outreach volunteer, Njoroge will continue her commitment to care as a URochester Medicine nurse.
Victoria Popov
The PhD student has led the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience’s NEURO2ALL community outreach group.
Jay-Brian Randone
The chemical engineering student researched using AI to design new materials for sustainability and energy applications.
Xingyu Shen
This future assistant professor of accounting and information systems has presented at several conferences and won awards for his research.
Sophia Wang
The audio and music engineering major interned at HP, helping to develop headsets.
Marvin Wu
The Goldwater Scholar aspires to become a synthetic organic chemist in the pharmaceutical industry.
Allison Young
The baritone saxophonist and master’s student in jazz studies and contemporary media won the JEN Sisters in Jazz Combo Competition.
Marco Zocchi
As a PhD student, Zocchi was part of the research team that discovered an unexpected food source for tumors.
