University of Rochester<\/a> undergraduates and alumni will travel the world as teachers, students, and researchers after receiving merit-based national awards during the 2023\u201324 academic year.<\/p>\n The awards are based on academic success, research endeavors, and community contributions through leadership and service. This year\u2019s recipients include two juniors selected to receive a Barack Obama-sponsored scholarship for public service, a national engineering award recipient, and a senior selected for graduate study in China.<\/p>\n Below is a recap of the honorees.<\/p>\n Six students were selected for the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship program<\/a>, which supports outstanding students pursuing research-based master\u2019s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. Representing Rochester are Molly Corr \u201924, Margaret Hoare \u201924, Alexandra Lawrie \u201924, Alexander Martin \u201924, Hope Silva \u201924, and Ryan Hardy, a graduate student and PhD candidate in biochemistry.<\/p>\n Several Rochester alumni also were chosen.<\/p>\n Two undergraduates were chosen as Critical Language Scholars<\/a>, a summer study abroad program that enables American college and university students to learn languages essential to US engagement with the world.<\/p>\n Clarice McKee \u201924 is heading to New Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan, to study advanced Chinese. Daniel Thomas \u201926 will travel to Japan to hone his skills in Japanese.<\/p>\n Natasha White \u201924, an English and international relations double major from Frederick, Maryland, is among four students and alumni chosen to receive a Fulbright US Student Grant<\/a>. She\u2019ll head to Berlin, Germany, for an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA).<\/p>\n Skylar Sylvester \u201923 will carry out her ETA in Vietnam. Catherine Carson \u201924E and Seth Cutler \u201924 received Fulbright grants but declined.<\/p>\n Laith Awad \u201924 received the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award<\/a>, which provides funding for graduating college seniors to pursue one year of public service anywhere in the world. The health, behavior, and society and clinical and translational sciences double major is from Caguas, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n Mara Criollo-Rivera \u201925 and Kristel Kezia Layugan \u201925 were selected for the Barack and Michelle Obama-sponsored Voyager Scholarship for Public Service<\/a>, giving Rochester three recipients in the scholarship\u2019s first two years.<\/p>\n Criollo-Rivera is a digital media studies major who grew up in Puerto Rico and now lives in Vermont. Layugan is a clinical and translational sciences major from Maui, Hawaii.<\/p>\n Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha \u201924, a biomedical engineering major, received the Edward E. Barnette Jr. Community Impact Scholarship<\/a> at the annual National Society of Black Engineers convention in Atlanta in March. The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the NSBA mission and show promise in making a positive impact in their communities and society. Iyke-Nzeocha is president of Rochester\u2019s NSBE chapter. She was born in Boston and raised in Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n Souleymane Diallo<\/a> \u201924 an international relations major from Guinea, West Africa, is one of 150 members of the 2024\u201325 Schwarzman Scholars<\/a> cohort, for graduate study in China. The class was selected from a pool of more than 4,000 candidates. Diallo will begin a one-year, fully funded master\u2019s program in global affairs this August at Tsinghua University in Beijing.<\/p>\n Lizmairi Vargas Santa \u201926, an economics and business entrepreneurship double major, was awarded a $10,000 Projects for Peace<\/a> grant and will run a seminar for youth titled \u201cFostering Curiosity and Creativity for Youth Empowerment and Lasting Peace\u201d in her hometown of Azua, Dominican Republic. High school students from the region will work in teams to generate service projects to improve their neighborhoods and schools.<\/p>\n Five students will be part of the DAAD RISE summer research program<\/a> at German universities. They are Robert Ghetiu \u201926 (chemistry), Emerson Jenen \u201926 (molecular genetics), Daniel Kesler \u201925 (chemical engineering), Priscilla Peters \u201925 (health, behavior and society and chemistry), and Jensen Sminchak \u201926 (chemical engineering).<\/p>\n Isabella Rocha \u201925, a political science and economics double major from Somerset, Massachusetts, was one of 20 students selected to be a Phi Beta Kappa Key into Public Service Scholar<\/a>. Chosen from a pool of more than 700 applicants, scholars will receive a $5,000 scholarship and participate in an educational conference in Washington, DC, to provide them with training, mentoring, and reflection on pathways into active citizenship.<\/p>\n Edban Watt \u201924, a mechanical engineering major from Caledonia, New York, will study at the University of Glasgow after being named Rochester\u2019s first recipient of the Saint Andrew\u2019s Society of the State of New York Graduate Scholarship<\/a> in 34 years. The program promotes cultural interchange and goodwill between Scotland and the United States.<\/p>\n Andy Liu \u201924, a computer science major and a research assistant at the UR Clinical and Translational Science Institute<\/a>, won the National Student Employee of the Year Award<\/a>, as chosen by the National Student Employment Association in the undergraduate category. Liu has worked in the institute\u2019s informatics branch since November 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Undergraduates and alumni will travel the world as teachers, students, and researchers after receiving merit-based national awards during the 2023\u201324 academic year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":522092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[486,19242,18632,16072],"class_list":["post-606312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-awards","tag-global-engagement","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSix students earn NSF fellowships for graduate research<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nClarice McKee \u201924, Daniel Thomas \u201926 earn Critical Language Scholarships<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nNatasha White \u201924 earns Fulbright<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nLaith Awad \u201924 chosen for Huntington Public Service Award<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nTwo juniors earn Obama-sponsored public service scholarships<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nIyke-Nzeocha \u201924 earns national engineering award<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nSouleymane Diallo \u201924 named Schwarzman Scholar<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nLizmairi Vargas Santa \u201926\u00a0earns Projects for Peace grant<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nFive chosen for summer research in Germany<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nIsabella Rocha \u201925 chosen as a Key into Public Service Scholar<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nEdban Watt \u201924 selected for a graduate program in Scotland<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nAndy Liu \u201924 wins national student employee award<\/strong><\/h3>\n