On May 2, the External Fellowships and Scholarships office held an elegant Wall of Honor reception recognizing and appreciating the work of Stony Brook students and alumni who have achieved status in competitive, merit-based fellowship and scholarship competitions during the past academic year.
Sixteen of the 32 awardees were able to attend in person and celebrate with the Stony Brook fellowships community, which includes numerous faculty and staff who give time to review applications, offer feedback on essays, and participate in preparatory interviews. In addition to the in-person ceremony, a digital Wall of Honor highlights the awardee’s achievements and allows future fellowship applicants to read more about each awardee’s work.
“The Wall of Honor Reception is a wonderful event to experience the community effort it takes to achieve status in one of these competitions. It provides an opportunity for awardees to meet each other, to celebrate with their family and friends, and to be recognized for their achievements. I was excited to introduce the Wall of Honor pin this year, which I hope students will wear to remind themselves of how their achievement was the result of a lot of labor, truly putting their applications together brick by brick and layer by layer,” said Ashley Staples, director for external fellowships.
“On behalf of the Graduate School, we are proud to celebrate your hard work and dedication to your field and making the decision to showcase your work on the national stage,” shared Celia Marshik, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education. “If this Wall of Honor celebration is the first time you are finding yourself being acknowledged at this level, know that it will not be the last. We are excited to see how you use your experience to excel in the future.”
Thirty-two individuals were awarded status in highly selective, merit-based competitions by 18 different state, national, international, and private foundation funders during the 2023-24 academic year.
Alexandra Viro, Undergraduate (Linguistics) – DAAD Summer Scholarship
Allen Pierre-Louis, Undergraduate (Physics) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Allison George, PhD Student (Neuroscience) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Allison Verbil, Master’s Student (Computational Linguistics) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Alternate
Amanda Rowe, PhD Student (Evolution and Ecology) – Life Sciences Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Finalist
Amy Wang, PhD Student (Social Health Psychology) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Anastasia Iorga, PhD Student (IDPAS) – AAUW Dissertation Fellowship
Ashley Barry, PhD Student (Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) – ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship
Ben Levine, PhD Student (Physics and Astronomy) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Daley McMahon, PhD Student, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Durré Rias, ‘20 (Human Evolutionary Biology and Anthropology) – Fulbright Study-Research Award
Gabriella Vaccaro, Undergraduate (Biochemistry) – Goldwater Scholarship
Gursimran Padda, Undergraduate (Globalization Studies and Sociology) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant
Jadyn Trayvick, PhD Student (Clinical Psychology) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Jeanai La Vita, DMA Student (Music) – Fulbright Study-Research Award Alternate
Johanna Mitra, ‘22 (Ecosystems and Human Impact) – Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Alternate, Fulbright Study-Research Award Alternate
Kevin Chacon, Master’s Student (English Master of Arts in Teaching) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant
Kiara Kolaczyk, MBA Student (Marketing) – Boren Fellowship
Kimberly Reyes Fuentes, Undergraduate (Linguistics – TESOL) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant
Lawrence Ma, ‘23 (Linguistics) – Fulbright Taiwan ETF Award
Logan Swanson, PhD Student (Linguistics) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Mariam Malik, ‘21 (Political Science) – Rangel Fellowship
Mason Hintermeister, PhD Student (Anthropology) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Nicole Khusid, PhD Student (Physics) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Michael Dilluvio, Master’s Student (Physiology and Biophysics) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant
Nihal Uddin, Undergraduate (Social Justice, Equity and Ethics) – Critical Language Scholarship Alternate
Quinn Kanner, Master’s Student (TESOL) – Critical Language Scholarship
Sarah Myers, PhD Student (Art History) – Smithsonian Fellowship
Sera Lee, PhD Student (Technology and Society) – AAUW International Fellowship Alternate
Ujala Dar, Undergraduate (Globalization Studies; Biology) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant
Xiao Han, PhD Student (Genetics/CSHL Cancer Researcher) – NIH NCI Transition Fellowship
Zain Zaidi, Undergraduate (Chemistry) – Goldwater Scholarship