They’ll head to nations around the globe to pursue their academic passions.
University of Rochester undergraduates and alumni will travel the world as teachers, students, and researchers after receiving merit-based national awards during the 2023–24 academic year.
The awards are based on academic success, research endeavors, and community contributions through leadership and service. This year’s 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.
Below is a recap of the honorees.
Six students earn NSF fellowships for graduate research
Six students were selected for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship program, which supports outstanding students pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. Representing Rochester are Molly Corr ’24, Margaret Hoare ’24, Alexandra Lawrie ’24, Alexander Martin ’24, Hope Silva ’24, and Ryan Hardy, a graduate student and PhD candidate in biochemistry.
Several Rochester alumni also were chosen.
Clarice McKee ’24, Daniel Thomas ’26 earn Critical Language Scholarships
Two undergraduates were chosen as Critical Language Scholars, a summer study abroad program that enables American college and university students to learn languages essential to US engagement with the world.
Clarice McKee ’24 is heading to New Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan, to study advanced Chinese. Daniel Thomas ’26 will travel to Japan to hone his skills in Japanese.
Natasha White ’24 earns Fulbright
Natasha White ’24, an English and international relations double major from Frederick, Maryland, is among four students and alumni chosen to receive a Fulbright US Student Grant. She’ll head to Berlin, Germany, for an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA).
Skylar Sylvester ’23 will carry out her ETA in Vietnam. Catherine Carson ’24E and Seth Cutler ’24 received Fulbright grants but declined.
Laith Awad ’24 chosen for Huntington Public Service Award
Laith Awad ’24 received the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award, 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.
Two juniors earn Obama-sponsored public service scholarships
Mara Criollo-Rivera ’25 and Kristel Kezia Layugan ’25 were selected for the Barack and Michelle Obama-sponsored Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, giving Rochester three recipients in the scholarship’s first two years.
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.
Iyke-Nzeocha ’24 earns national engineering award
Tochukwu Iyke-Nzeocha ’24, a biomedical engineering major, received the Edward E. Barnette Jr. Community Impact Scholarship 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’s NSBE chapter. She was born in Boston and raised in Lagos, Nigeria.
Souleymane Diallo ’24 named Schwarzman Scholar
Souleymane Diallo ’24 an international relations major from Guinea, West Africa, is one of 150 members of the 2024–25 Schwarzman Scholars 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’s program in global affairs this August at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Lizmairi Vargas Santa ’26 earns Projects for Peace grant
Lizmairi Vargas Santa ’26, an economics and business entrepreneurship double major, was awarded a $10,000 Projects for Peace grant and will run a seminar for youth titled “Fostering Curiosity and Creativity for Youth Empowerment and Lasting Peace” 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.
Five chosen for summer research in Germany
Five students will be part of the DAAD RISE summer research program at German universities. They are Robert Ghetiu ’26 (chemistry), Emerson Jenen ’26 (molecular genetics), Daniel Kesler ’25 (chemical engineering), Priscilla Peters ’25 (health, behavior and society and chemistry), and Jensen Sminchak ’26 (chemical engineering).
Isabella Rocha ’25 chosen as a Key into Public Service Scholar
Isabella Rocha ’25, 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. 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.
Edban Watt ’24 selected for a graduate program in Scotland
Edban Watt ’24, a mechanical engineering major from Caledonia, New York, will study at the University of Glasgow after being named Rochester’s first recipient of the Saint Andrew’s Society of the State of New York Graduate Scholarship in 34 years. The program promotes cultural interchange and goodwill between Scotland and the United States.
Andy Liu ’24 wins national student employee award
Andy Liu ’24, a computer science major and a research assistant at the UR Clinical and Translational Science Institute, won the National Student Employee of the Year Award, as chosen by the National Student Employment Association in the undergraduate category. Liu has worked in the institute’s informatics branch since November 2021.
