Graduate School

Graduate student excellence celebrated at annual awards ceremony

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Graduate student award recipients were celebrated during Penn State's annual Graduate Student Recognition Ceremony with nine awards to more than 30 graduate students in recognition of outstanding achievement.

"Penn State's graduate students are the embodiment and hope of the future," said President Eric Barron in a message in the ceremony's official program. "They are the spark that begins the next level of groundbreaking research. They are the future of the academy, poised to train generations of scholars across every discipline. They are the innovators of technology startups, the advisers to world leaders, the artists who will showcase dramatic new perspectives, and the economic engine of our nation and the world,"

Award recipients are listed below, by award category:

Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award: Taylor Wood, doctoral student in materials science and engineering

Ardeth and Norman Frisbey International Student Award: Julián Prieto, doctoral student in education theory and policy

Graduate Student Service Award: Jaya Tripathi, doctoral student in Biorenewable Systems

Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award: Julia Berry, doctoral student in chemistry; Mitansh Doshi, doctoral student in aerospace engineering; Foxian Fan, doctoral student in industrial engineering; Farzad Hashemi, doctoral student in architecture; Ashlee McGovern, doctoral student in chemistry; Cynthia Ramos, doctoral student in philosophy with a dual title in women's, gender and sexual studies; Nathaniel Schermerhorn, doctoral student in psychology with a dual title in women's, gender and sexual studies; Agnimitra Sengupta, doctoral student in civil engineering; and J Wood, doctoral student in human development and family studies

Professional Master’s Excellence Award: Alyssa Addesso, master's student in forensic science; Caprielle Peters, master's student in public health; Megan Soetaert, master's student in international affairs; and Adam VanGorder, master's student in international affairs

Graduate Student Excellence in Mentoring Award: Camila Gutiérrez Fuentes, doctoral student in comparative literature with a dual title in visual studies

Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award: Paula Clares, master's student in additive manufacturing and design; Jessica Fegley, master's student in landscape architecture; Kendra Flood, master's in agricultural and extension education; and Sydney Stark, master's student in wildlife and fisheries science

Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Graduate School: McKayla J. Nicol, doctoral student in pathobiology with a dual title in clinical and translational sciences and Yuanheng (Arthur) Wang, doctoral student in applied linguistics

Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award: Mahabubul Alam, doctoral student in electrical engineering; Jiayin Dong, doctoral student in astronomy and astrophysics; Suzanne Fleishman, doctoral student in ecology; Jason Griffin, doctoral student in psychology; Morgane Haesen, doctoral student in French; Samantha Hartmann, doctoral student in biochemistry, microbiology  and molecular biology; Yuchen Hou, doctoral student in materials science and engineering; Laura Kaminsky, doctoral student in plant pathology; Claire Kelling, doctoral student in statistics with a dual title in social data analytics; Mérédith Laferté-Coutu, doctoral student in philosophy; Allyson Ray, doctoral student in molecular, cellular, and integrative biosciences; Lauren Stetz, doctoral student in art education; and Jillian Strayhorn, doctoral student in human development and family studies

View the full description of each of the Graduate Student Awards with contacts for further information.

Last Updated April 15, 2022