Honors College Awards Celebration – Spring 2026
Family Scholarships
Konikoff-Rudman Scholarship
Jayden Clugston (Interdisciplinary Business Honors)
Labonski Scholarship
Nia Jolivet (Honors Global Challenges & Solutions)
Morinigo Scholarship
Madison Harris (Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students)
O’Rourke Scholarship
Ethan Tran (University Honors), Nelson Zheng (University Honors)
Honors Research Grant – Fall 2025
| Kenna Costello | Development of the Lateral Bundle, a Putative Stem Cell Migration Guide, during Annelid Regeneration |
| Alex Emmert | Modal Force Acquisition in Young English Learners |
| William Finch | Investigating Early-Life Social Affiliations, Associated Neural Systems and the Effects of Isolation in a Cichlid Fish |
| Xiang Luo | Mitochondrial Morphology in Orbitofrontal Cortical Neurons during Incubation of Oxycodone Craving |
| Bhavya Nileshkumar Patel | Collision Avoidance Maneuver |
| Akash Raghu | Exploring the Relationship between Muscle Cell Area on Weight in Rainbow Trout |
| Savannah Robbins | Best Practices for Responding to Grieving Students: Evaluating a Resource for Faculty |
| Bhargav Srinivasan | Analyzing Copy Number Variation in Whole Genome Sequencing Data of Helicoverpa Zea to Find Evolutionary Mechanisms of Pesticide Resistance |
| Akemi Takeuchi | CATITO: Cosmic-Atmospheric-Terrestrial Identification of Trapped Objects |
Honors Research Grant – Spring 2026
| Julia Devine | Occupational Teleworkability and Long-Term Post-Pandemic Labor Market Disruptions |
| Amy Goodman | Response of Dragonfly Populations to the Addition of Straw Within Farm Ponds |
| Erela Imanoel | Development of a Novel Hydrogel for Ethanol Ablation of Low Grade Cervical Dysplasia |
| Duncan Kuchar | Design and Implementation of a Six-Element Autonomous Active Aerodynamics System for Formula SAE |
| Braden Marazzo-Nowicki | Understanding Nebular Emission Diagnostics and Spectra in JWST Observations using Early Galaxy Simulations |
| Nil Ozdemir | The Impact of an AI Tutor on Economics Exam Performance |
| Saach Samdani | The Effect of Tightened Student Immigration Policy on Innovation Across Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom |
| Liesl Tran | Tonal Perception and Phonological Discrimination in Vietnamese Heritage Hearers |
Goff Awards
This year’s awardees are:
- Amrutha Alibilli, Neuroscience and Spanish majors, 2025
- Mallory Striplin, Chemistry, 2026
Winston Honors Faculty Award
This year’s awardee is:
- Melanie Killen, College of Education
Winston Honors Writing Awards
| Short essay awards | Kiana Eshaghi (University Honors) How “Ethical” Coffee Sustains Racialized Capitalism in the Americas Sulayman Khan (University Honors) Freedom & Surveillance: When a Government Loses Its Moral Legitimacy |
| Research paper awards | Avani Ambardekar (University Honors) “Sacred Unproductivity”: How Indigenous Reverence for Animal Dignity Cultivates Climate Resilience Maja Durkovic (Honors Humanities) Split Decisions: Supreme Court Divisiveness and the Shaping of Public Confidence Anne MacLellan (Public Health Practice Honors) Exploring Gender Differences in Tuberculosis Concealment and Stigma Across 5 Sub-Saharan African Countries (Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, and Zambia) Over Time |
| Thesis awards | João Eduardo Camargo de Miranda (Government & Politics Honors) China’s Role in Latin America: Economic Partner or Political Actor? Robert (Chase) Latyak (University Honors; Aerospace Engineering Honors) Free-Flight Aerodynamics of Ellipsoidal Clusters in Hypersonic Flow Margaret Kato (Gemstone; Entomology Honors) Generation of Species Sensitivity Distribution Models for Estimation of Toxicity and Risk for Non-Target and Listed Coleopteran Species Xiang Luo (Neuroscience Honors) Mitochondrial Morphology in Orbitofrontal Cortical Neurons during Incubation of Oxycodone Craving Cadence Michels (Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics Honors) “Selective cleavage and measurement of mucin with designed proteases: a new diagnostic tool” Katelyn Weslowski (History Honors) “Where the Waters Blend:” Indigenous-English Relations in Seventeenth-Century Maryland |
Portz Awards
| Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) | Madeline Anson |
| Design Cultures & Creativity (DCC) | Beatriz Moreira Leite |
| Gemstone (GEMS) | Tami Mumuney |
| Honors Humanities HH) | Noora Ghahremani |
| Honors Global Challenges & Solutions (HGLO) | Carmela DeLlano Hernandez |
| Integrated Life Sciences (ILS) | James Szot |
| Interdisciplinary Business Honors (IBH) | Urszula Cieslak |
| University Honors (IBH) | Laila Wilson |
Honors Ambassador Awards
Most Involved Honors Ambassadors
- Madeline Benfer (UH)
- Mandy Thompson (DCC)
Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES)
| Outstanding Teaching Assistant | Grace Yang |
| Outstanding Student Leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Praise Oladunni |
| Outstanding Peer Mentor | Anagha Bhuvanagiri |
| Outstanding Student Researcher | Sofia Douglass |
| Distinguished Faculty Member | Dr. Lawrence Gordon |
| Spirit of ACES | Robert Snell |
Design Cultures & Creativity (DCC)
| Capstone Awards | Raymond Guzzone, Ariel Zang, Lydia Chan, Basmah Elradi, Diego Abarcar-Calugay |
| Creative-in-Residence | Beatriz Moreira Leite |
Gemstone (GEMS)
| Gemstone Rookie of the Year | Kathryn Saunders (first year) |
| Most Valuable Team Member | Eli Leopold (sophomore), Harshil Agarwal (junior) |
| Outstanding CONNECT Mentor | Shreyas Bachu |
| Outstanding Teaching Assistant | Paola Rojas |
| Robert McDermott Fearless Award | Kathlyn Rodriguez |
| Graduate Assistant Recognition | Jannelle Dang |
| Team Mentors of the Year | Dr. Xin Zan (junior Team VISTA), Dr. Rodolphe Gentili (sophomore Team BIONIC) |
Honors Global Challenges & Solutions (HGLO)
| Academic Track Excellence Awards | Maria Stepanyan, Jack Dausch |
| UMD Fellows Track Awards | Clara Young, Rohan Warrier |
| Rising Star Award | Davina Oyefusi |
| HGLO Global Ambassador | Megan Cox |
| Engaged Commuter Award | Mirane Kayssy Kegne |
| Spirit of Dorchester Award | Rohan Warrier |
| GCSA Leadership Awards | Vardaan Srivastava, Audrey Cowles, Conrad Blom, Cate Zigmund, Rohan Warrier, Charlotte Kingsley |
| HGLO Honors Ambassador of the Year | Vianne Hughes |
Honors Humanities (HH)
| Honors Humanities Outstanding Leadership Awards | Nealah Malmstrom, Connor Grabowski, Sophie Linkie |
| Honors Humanities Public Service Awards | Anna Tovchigrechko, Gavin Neubauer |
| Honors Humanities Outstanding Research Award | Julia Atemafac |
| Honors Humanities Outstanding Scholar Award | Maja Durkovic |
| The Seidel Keystone Award | Jessica Reed Runner up: Maxine Poe-Jensen |
| The Lowell Ensel Endowed Keystone Award | Evelyn Troy Runner up: Vivian Jiang |
| The Honors Humanities Keystone Award | Juliette Leeth Runner up: Keegan Perry |
Interdisciplinary Business Honors (IBH)
| IBH Outstanding Graduate | Jiayi Wang |
| Spirit of IBH | Veronica Lijeron |
| IBH Cohort 1 Founders Awards | Urszula Cieslak, Krushi Shah, Angela Luo, Aditya Dabeer, Mathew Calderon, Nikhail Mann, Jasmine Emeruwa, Akash Raghu, Raquel Ford |
| IBH First-Year Impact Award | Aanya Kheterpal |
Integrated Life Sciences (ILS)
| Outstanding Teaching Award | Ishaan Antani |
| Outstanding Student Research Awards | Lilian Wang, Lynn Hui, Swathi Sevugan |
| The Unsung Hero Award | Ella Simon |
| The Catalyst Award | Aditri Gadigi |
| The Community Engagement Award | Aleena Hassen Friess |
| Outstanding Research Mentor Award | Colenso Speer |
| Graduate Assistant Recognition | Daniel Lee |
University Honors (UH)
| UH Mission Awards | Rebecca Jones, Laila Wilson, Anika Hukmani, Hannah Smith, Sage Hoffman |
| Impact & Innovation Awards | Brynne McBryde, Ingrid Satelmajer |
| Vantage Point Realization Awards | Brooke Baney, Adam Didouchevski, Julianna Gray, Hannah Richard |
| Student Scholar Awards | Anushka Poddar, LeeAnn Wong Arbelo, Savannah Robbins |
| Emerging Leader Awards | Alisha Mansoor, David Akamine, Sarah Davis, Diana Lyons, Benjamin Mielcarek, Rose Deguet Delury |
| Leadership Medallions | Alyssa Davies, Gabrielle Dorsey, Cricia Villanueva, Ryan Mathew, Jeremiah Carr, Kate Oyedele, Naasera Husain, Tanvi Kotta, Alessandra Crippa, Vivian Maneval, Ashley Patterson, Patrick Gee |