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60 Terps to Lead Commencement Procession as Senior Marshals

Program Highlights Students’ Leadership, Service, Extracurricular Participation

By Maryland Today Staff

Senior marshals line up and hold gonfalons for the graduate school and college of education at commencement May 2021

Senior marshals are nominated by faculty and staff to enter the commencement ceremony carrying the banner bearing the name of their major’s school or college.

Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle

University of Maryland senior marshals are flag bearers in more ways than one.

Not only do they usher in graduating Terps at the main commencement ceremony, giant gonfalon banners in hand for colleges, schools and other major units, but they are campus leaders who have demonstrated exceptional scholarship, service to the campus community, extracurricular involvement and personal growth.

“It’s been such an honor to serve alongside these student leaders in the past at this critical point in their journey,” said Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, director of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, who oversees the program with Robert Infantino, associate dean of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.

The 60 Spring 2022 marshals are:

Debbie Adam

Debbie Adam (majors: biological sciences, Spanish and Latin American language, literatures and culture) obtained a citation from the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College. She served as the co-president and co-founder of the Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program, co-president of the American Medical Student Association, and education and activation intern for Alternative Breaks. She engaged in independent research through the Terps in Space program, worked as an undergraduate researcher in the Neural Systems Laboratory and defended an honors thesis on pattern categorization in the ferret animal model through the biology department’s Honors Program. After graduating, she intends to attend medical school.

Voke Ajuchi

Voke Ajuchi (major: public health science; minor: Spanish) served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the School of Public Health, a peer educator at the University Health Center and a resident assistant. She was a member of the Charles R. Drew Pre-Health Society and the Food Recovery Network and graduated with a citation from the University Honors Program. Following graduation, she plans to work to reduce the disparities that minorities experience in the health field.

Christina Alemayehu

Christina Alemayehu (major: communication; minor in nonprofit leadership and social innovation) is a first-generation Ethiopian American student who prioritized service on campus. She served on the Honor Council for the University Student Judiciary, as vice president of public relations for the Senior Council, as a tutor, as marketing coordinator for the Service Learning Certificate Program in the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education, on the Finance Committee for the Student Government Association and as a College of Arts and Humanities ambassador. She led Terps4Change, volunteered at Terp Farm and was an avid member of the dance community at The Clarice.

Greeshma Sonia Anand

Greeshma Sonia Anand (major: biological sciences; minor: Spanish) served as president of MaryPIRG Students, a College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences ambassador, outreach co-coordinator for United Students Against Sweatshops and event manager for Terps Against Hunger. She earned a citation from College Park Scholars’ Life Sciences program and was a member of Beta Psi Omega. After graduation, Greeshma plans to spend two years as an emergency department scribe and volunteer with local mutual aid organizations before attending medical school.

Heather Bacon

Heather Rebecca Bacon (major: individual studies—systems design and analysis) was inspired to create her major by her passion for using a multidisciplinary, systems-thinking approach to solve complex problems. She served as vice president of community service and president of Alpha Kappa Psi, was a counselor for Camp Kesem, and was a member of the QUEST Honors Program. After graduation, she will work at Accenture Federal Services as a data engineering analyst.

Sofia Shiraz Bhalwani

Sofia Shiraz Bhalwani (major: psychology) was president of the Pakistani Student Association, member of the QUEST Honors Program and team leader at the Maryland Psychotherapy Clinic and Research Lab. She intends to spend a year volunteering at soup kitchens and an emergency call center before attending medical school.

McCauley Brown

McCauley Brown (majors: biological sciences, Spanish and Latin American literature, culture, and media) conducted team research and served as a student leader in the Gemstone program in the Honors College, worked to advance menstrual health equity on campus and in surrounding communities with the organization Get Ovary It, and helped facilitate a supportive space for LGBTQ students in STEM fields as a leader of oSTEM. She was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and tutored with the Latino Student Fund. Brown will continue her studies in the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction program at UMD, with the goal of becoming a high school biology teacher.

Hugo Burbelo

Hugo Julian Burbelo (majors: computer science, philosophy) served as co-executive director of Technica, the largest hackathon in the world for underrepresented genders. He was selected as one of Major League Hacking’s Top 50 Hackers of 2021 out of 135,000 students for his contributions to the startup and technology communities. He was selected for the hackNY fellowship program, was a finalist in the annual Pitch Dingman Competition, and will work as a software engineer for Google following graduation.

Kezia Casteal

Kezia Casteal (major: criminology and criminal justice; minor: philosophy) was involved with Phi Alpha Delta pre-professional law fraternity and several honor societies, including Tau Sigma, Mortar Board and the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education Academic Excellence honor society. In addition, she was vice president of educational programming for UMD Senior Council, transportation officer for College Mentors for Kids, a Black Pre-Law Association member and a University Partners Program ambassador. She was also a UNIV 106 peer leader, a teaching assistant in the English department, and an inaugural member of the Moot Court team. She plans to attend law school.

Minahil Cheema

Minahil Cheema (majors: biological sciences, public policy; minor: nonprofit leadership and social innovation) earned an Honors College citation. She piloted TeleShadowing, a clinical shadowing program open to students worldwide, which she advanced as a Do Good Accelerator Fellow and Do Good Challenge finalist. She was founding director of the Rotaract Club; served on the University Honors Student Board, the Student Health Advisory Committee and the Mental Health Coalition with Active Mind, and was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society. A published author on health care disparities in rural areas, Minahil also co-founded a free telemedicine clinic for low-resourced patients (Sehat4All), and aspires to pursue a career as a physician.

Jenna Cohen

Jenna Cohen (major: journalism; minor: leadership studies) contributed to the ”Nowhere to Go” and “Printing Hate” projects with the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. She worked as a designer for Capital News Service, Investigative Editing Corps and the LEAD1 Association and is a co-founder of Zivvy, a startup organization that highlights young voices discussing global issues. Outside of her academic work, she was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Sigma Circle and served as the student assistant manager at the Leadership and Community Service-Learning Office.

Kyle Joseph Dineen

Kyle Joseph Dineen (major: kinesiology) is a Frederick Douglass Scholar who served as an executive officer in Omicron Delta Kappa, co-president of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education’s Service Learning Certificate Program, executive chair of the Maryland Higher Education Commission Student Council, and director of government relations for the University System of Maryland Student Council, and was a leader in the Student Alumni Leadership Council. Dineenn also worked as a teaching assistant in the kinesiology and biology departments, as a clinical research assistant in emergency medicine and as a research journal editor, and for the University of Maryland Medical Center. He hopes to attend medical school.

Laura Dineen

Laura Dineen (major: kinesiology) is a first-generation Puerto Rican American student. She was president of the Service Learning Certificate Program, a teaching assistant in biology, a research assistant for the E4BH lab, and served as an Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education (OMSE) tutor for kinesiology and biology courses. During the pandemic, she co-created “Knowledge Feast,” a guided study session on Zoom that supported “Anatomy and Physiology II” students. Dineen was also a member of the Student Alumni Leadership Council, inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society and a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Alpha Epsilon and OMSE honor societies. She hopes to study dermatology in medical school.

Cynthia Eapen

Cynthia Eapen (major: criminology and criminal justice; minor: law and society) earned a citation from the College Park Scholars’ Justice and Legal Thought program. She was vice chair of the Academics Committee and the criminology and criminology justice representative for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Dean’s Student Advisory Council, the community service chair of Phi Alpha Delta, a teaching assistant, an operations assistant for Maryland Athletics and an Honor Council member for the University Student Judiciary. She has also been an active member in the Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society and a Law and Society teaching assistant. She will attend law school in hopes of advocating as an attorney on behalf of juveniles in the criminal justice system.

Magdi Elghannam headshot

Magdi Elghannam (major: biological sciences; minor: classical mythology) was president of Shellcast, vice president of Terps and Eagles Science Club, research assistant in the Motivated Cognition Lab, a volunteer for Terps 4 Change, a member of Phi Delta Epsilon, a graduate of the Global Communities program, and a resident assistant at Hagerstown Hall and The Courtyards. After graduation, Elghannam will attend the University of Maryland School of Medicine to pursue his goal of reducing racial and socioeconomic disparities in medicine.

Umailla Fatima headshot

Umailla Fatima (majors: biological sciences, public policy) was a member of the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College, Federal Fellows the Student Health Advisory Committee, Combating Overdoses in Rural Areas, Omicron Delta Kappa and the Student Government Association. She had internships at Johns Hopkins University, Children's National Hospital, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Maryland Department of Health and Cornerstone Government Affairs. She plans to pursue a career in clinical medicine and health policy.

Allison Fear headshot

Allison Fear (major: chemical and biomolecular engineering; minor: project management) was an undergraduate researcher in the Nanoscale and Biomolecular Assembly Lab working toward a scientific publication on stimuli adapting hydrogel polymer capsules. She served as venue director, security director and vice president of finance and operations for Student Entertainment Events. She was also involved in Alpha Omega Epsilon, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Omega Chi Epsilon, the Society of Women Engineers and ClarkLEAD and was vice president of the Adele H. Stamp chapter of Mortar Board Honor Society. Fear will pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Paula Beatriz Masi Fleytas headshot

Paula Beatriz Masi Fleytas (major: public health science; minor: neuroscience) is originally from Asuncion, Paraguay. She was a member of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education’s La Familia, a student ambassador for HPAO, a research assistant for the Department of Family Science and a facilities supervisor at the Eppley Recreation Center. She is working toward her MPH in environmental health sciences through the accelerated BS/MPH program from the School of Public Health.

Emily Frocke headshot

Emily Frocke (major: special education) was involved in College Mentors for Kids, Maryland Images and Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society. Next year, she will be an elementary school teacher with Montgomery County Public Schools.

Shoham Ghosh headshot

Shoham Ghosh (major: biological sciences; minor: Spanish) served as director of health and wellness in the Student Government Association, co-president of the COVID-19 Student Task Force, Alternative Breaks experience leader and Counseling Center student assistant. In addition, he was a member of the Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics Departmental Honors program and worked as a teaching assistant in the biology and chemistry departments. Following graduation, Ghosh will join Deloitte Consulting as a strategy analyst.

Kelly Granahan headshot

Kelly Granahan (major: public health science) received the School of Public Health's 2021 Dean's Scholar Award and the 2022 Fraley Award, as well as the Camille and Clifford Kendall Endowed Scholarship in 2021 and 2022. She also served as the recruitment opportunity committee chair for the Universities at Shady Grove’s Student Ambassador Program and vice president of Tau Sigma national honor society and was an active member of both the Adele H. Stamp Mortar Board and the Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. Granahan was also a research assistant in pharmaceutical development, federal policy activism and in health writing and education. She plans to pursue a Master of Public Health or Master of Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics degree after graduation.

Madelyn Grace Harris headshot

Madelyn Grace Harris (major: psychology) earned a citation from the Design Cultures and Creativity program in the Honors College, She was a Banneker/Key scholar, orientation advisor, research assistant, Maryland Summer Scholar and volunteer crisis intervention counselor. She also participated in the Black Student Union, MaryPIRG, Psi Chi honor society, the Psychology Honors Program, Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society and Helping Give Away Psychological Science. She plans to pursue a doctorate in counseling psychology starting this fall and continue the work she began with her undergraduate honors thesis, “Black Grief Matters: Disenfranchisement, Social Support, and Coping Among Black College Students Grieving the Deaths of Black Americans by Police Brutality.”

Michaela Cabrielle Faye Hawkins headshot

Michaela Cabrielle Faye Hawkins (major: accounting) was a University Honors student who is graduating in three years. She served as treasurer of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, vice president of finance for the Student Success Leadership Council, member of the Women's Empowerment Institute, and a mentor and workshop leader for minority scholars in local high schools. She was recognized every semester on the Dean’s list and with the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education Academy of Excellence Award. She interned at KPMG where she will return this summer before beginning a Master of Science degree in Accounting this fall.

Joseph David Houghton II headshot

Joseph David Houghton II (majors: management, supply chain management; minor: professional writing) served on several student organization executive boards and co-founded the Snider Consulting Group, a student-run organization that serves clubs and groups across campus. He was a teaching assistant three times, interned at the Writing Center as a tutor, completed the QUEST Honors Program and the Global Consulting Fellows and the Supply Chain Consulting Fellows programs and earned a citation from the College Park Scholars’ Business, Society and the Economy program. He was hired by Ernst & Young to work in its supply chain consulting practice in McLean, Va.

Tiffany Alexis Jackson headshot

Tiffany Alexis Jackson (major: public health science) served as a resident assistant, an undergraduate senator for the School of Public Health, a TerraPeers mentor and a member of Phi Delta Epsilon pre-medical fraternity. She volunteered at the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center and worked as an undergraduate researcher at the Type 1 Diabetes Pathology Lab at Johns Hopkins Medicine. She plans to continue her research at the National Institutes of Health for two years before entering medical school and pursuing a career as a pediatric endocrinologist.

Dejuan Johnson headshot

Dejuan Johnson (major: architecture; minor: construction project management) served as a student research assistant to the dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and was a built environment ambassador.

Zeshan Khan headshot

Zeshan Khan (major: biological sciences; minor: technology entrepreneurship) was part of the Southern Management Leadership Program and worked as student manager at the Student Organization Resource Center. He plans to study for the MCAT while working as a medical assistant and shadowing doctors before attending medical school.

Dahye Kang headshot

Dahye Kang (majors: biological sciences, criminology and criminal justice; minor: Asian American studies) is graduating with a citation from the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College. She served on the executive board for the Asian American Student Union, took part in the APIDA Heritage Month Planning Committee and was an Asian American student representative on various advisory councils. In addition, she served on the executive boards for Alpha Phi Omega and the Banneker/Key Community Council; was an intern, team leader and mentor for the Maryland Mentor Corps; and was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa.

Swarnapali M. Keppetipola headshot

Swarnapali M. Keppetipola (major: biological sciences; minors: Spanish language and professional contexts, Asian American studies) was a Banneker/Key Scholar who earned a STAMP Star Award for five semesters of service with the Terps for Change service-learning program. She was co-founder and co-president of the UMD chapter of the Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program, and served as the president of the Classical Ballet Dance Ensemble. She received an honors citation from the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College for addiction research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, where she will continue to work as a lab assistant before matriculating into medical school in the fall.

Muritz Dobgima Kobe headshot

Muritz Dobgima Kobe (major: mechanical engineering; minor: Army leadership studies) emigrated from Bamenda, Cameroon at the age of 6. He will be commissioned into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant and a rotary-wing aviator.

Emily Leo headshot

Emily Leo (major: bioengineering) earned an Honors College citation, initiated and led several Women in Engineering programs, performed and directed with Ballet Company M, planned programs with the Student Alumni Leadership Council, served as a resident assistant, taught at OpenBarre Studios, and has been a part of QUEST, Honors Ambassadors and the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society, Tau Beta Pi and Alpha Omega Epsilon. She interned for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, worked as an undergraduate researcher in Professor Catherine Kuo’s tissue engineering lab, and will start a job as process engineer at CRB upon graduation. Leo was a Spirit of Maryland finalist and was awarded the A. James Clark School of Engineering Dean’s Award for scholarship, leadership and service.

Reines Esguerra Maliksi headshot

Reines Esguerra Maliksi (majors: information science, journalism) was involved with Student Entertainment Events throughout her college career, most recently as president. In addition, she was a resident assistant, served on the Stamp Advisory Board and as a Common Ground peer dialogue leader, participated in the CIVICUS living-learning program, and interned for Baltimore magazine, CDW and Degy Entertainment. Following graduation, she will pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

Michael Charles Mareno headshot

Michael Charles Mareno (majors: government and politics; English language and literature) earned a citation from the Gemstone program in the Honors College, was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Sigma Circle, served with the Student Government Association as a first-generation/low-income student liaison and as a legislator. He was on the executive board of Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society, took part in the Federal Fellows program, worked in the Undergraduate Student Legal Aid Office as an intern and as a student advocate, and interned with the Maryland General Assembly. Mareno is also an alum of the Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, where he focused on issues facing working-class immigrants.

Delma Mbulaiteye headshot

Delma Mbulaiteye (majors: biological sciences; English) is a Ugandan-American student who weaved together her interests in STEM and the humanities at Maryland. She hopes to pursue medicine while contributing and learning from the field of medical humanities.

Mohamed Moneib headshot

Mohamed Moneib (majors: information systems, finance) is an immigrant from Cairo and first-generation college student. He joined the Smith Business Academy, an organization with the mission of increasing the graduation and job placement rates of underprivileged communities, and later became its president. He will join Microsoft as a cloud solution architect and hopes to strengthen the recruiting relationship between UMD and Microsoft.

Anindita Mullick headshot

Anindita Mullick (major: individual studies—environmental health policy and decision-making) was a Banneker/Key Scholar involved in several programs, including the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College, Global Fellows and the QUEST Honors Program. Outside of academics, she led UMD Tzu Ching and Rising Researchers UMD.

Brianna Nabet headshot

Brianna Nabet (major: family science) spent her undergraduate career empowering students to promote advocacy for socially disadvantaged and marginalized youth in child welfare systems. She created the one-credit course “Foster Care and Adoption; Law, Policy, and Family” (FMSC215). Nabet plans to continue to encourage others to create change in their communities in Charlotte, N.C.

Rachel Niswander headshot

Rachel Niswander (major: mathematics; minor: business analytics) earned a University Honors citation from the Honors College. She worked as a Guided Studies Sessions leader for MATH141, a GSS mentor and a student resource specialist at Student Organization Resource Center. Niswander also served as director of Maryland Night Live, co-founder of Punchbowl Comedy, a University Honors peer mentor, and an active member of the Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies, receiving its new member scholarship.

Imani Nokuri headshot

Imani Nokuri (major: government and politics; minor: nonprofit leadership and social innovation) was a Banneker/Key Scholar and Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar who earned a citation from the University Honors program in the Honors College. Nokuri was a teaching assistant for AASP187, the interim African American Studies Department representative on the BSOS Dean’s Student Advisory Council, vice chair of the Student Advisory Committee for the vice president for diversity and inclusion, and a ministry team member for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. She interned at the Office of the Public Defender for Prince George’s County, American Enterprise Institute and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and worked on social justice programming in her position as a group fitness Instructor for UMD RecWell. She will attend Stanford Law School in the fall.

Matthew Ober headshot

Matthew Ober (majors: information science, flute performance) was a member of the College of Arts and Humanities’ Dean's Advisory Board, the Provost’s Student Advisory Council, National Residence Hall Honorary, Student Government Association and Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society. Ober founded and served as president of the Flute Society and performed regularly with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Wind Orchestra, Opera Orchestra, and his co-founded wind and piano sextet, Pressez. He won the 2022 Flute Society of Washington Collegiate Soloist Competition, performed with the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute and was principal flutist with the College Band Directors National Association’s Eastern Division Intercollegiate Band.

Frances Marie Sanchez Panday headshot

Frances Marie Sanchez Panday (major: environmental science and policy; minor: remote sensing of environmental change) worked for three years with the Office of Sustainability as a sustainability advisor and deputy chair of the Sustainability Fund Review Committee, and as a research assistant within the Global Ecology Lab for the Campus Forest Carbon Project. Additionally, Panday served as the environmental science and policy representative for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ Dean's Student Advisory Council, science diplomacy teaching assistant for the Federal-Global Fellows program, and co-rush chair for Epsilon Eta professional fraternity. She is on track to receive her M.S. in geographical sciences and plans to pursue a Ph.D. and become a professor in the biogeography field.

Kislay Parashar headshot

Kislay Parashar (major: computer engineering) is from New Delhi and served as president of the Student Government Association and of the Engineering Student Senate. In addition, he received the Gordon R. England Engineering Scholarship, was a teaching assistant for ENEE200 and was a member of the University Senate and the Terps in Space program. After graduation, Kislay intends to work in the software technology industry for a few years before earning his MBA.

Sarah Elizabeth Patrick headshot

Sarah Elizabeth Patrick (majors: information science; operations management and business analytics) founded and served as president of InfoSci FI, served as the professional chair for the STEM sorority Alpha Omega Epsilon and was an iSchool undergraduate ambassador, Break Through Tech program assistant and teaching assistant. Patrick also was a member of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education’s Academic Excellence Society and Phunktions Hip Hop Dance Company. After graduation, she will work at Amazon Web Services as a solutions architect.

Genevieve Pelletier headshot

Genevieve Pelletier (major: animal sciences/pre-professional) was a teaching assistant, a member of three honor societies and a member of Ballet Company M. She also served as an ambassador for Agriculture Future of America. She will start a position as a live management trainee at Perdue Farms starting in June.

Jaqueline Reyes headshot

Jaqueline Reyes (major: communication) is a first-generation Salvadoran-American student. She was president of the Senior Council, vice president of public relations for MaryPIRG, internal and social affairs liaison for the Coalition of Latinx Student Organizations and assistant events manager for HerCampus. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to travel then to seek a doctorate in history with a concentration in Latin American history.

Logan Saar headshot

Logan Saar (major: materials science and engineering) was vice president of community service for the Pi Sigma Epsilon co-ed business fraternity, a member of the club ice hockey team and a trip leader for the Terrapin Trail Club. He conducted research on the practical importance of artificial intelligence in autonomous experimentation systems to STEM education in high schools and colleges. He will pursue a Master of Science in materials science and engineering at UMD.

Jayme Gabriela Savoy headshot

Jayme Gabriela Savoy (major: English) was an Incentive Awards Program scholar, student representative for the creative writing program's Anti-Racist Working Group and ambassador for the College of Arts and Humanities. In the Honors College, she served as the Gemstone Program's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee director, an equity-centered dialogue facilitator, a peer mentor to students of color and more. She spent several summers interning at MERIT, a Baltimore nonprofit that serves underrepresented students interested in the health field. She also wrote fictional books that increase positive representations of the Black community. Savoy plans to pursue a career mitigating educational inequity for students of color.

Megha Sevalia headshot

Megha Sevalia (majors: public policy; public health science) earned a citation from the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College. She worked at the Student Legal Aid Office and as a teaching assistant in the School of Public Policy, served as the student liaison to the city of College Park, volunteered as a peer counselor at the Help Center, and participated in Alternative Breaks, the Federal Fellows program, the Student Conduct Committee and the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society. She intends to pursue a career in law and health policy.

Alon "Sherm" Sherman headshot

Alon "Sherm" Sherman (major: public policy, government and politics) honed in on environmentalism, global cooperation, using policy for good and legal advocacy as a founding member of Lecturer Michael Spivey's Moot Court. Out of class, he was in the Student Government Association office as a legislator, consent educator and director; and on Fraternity Row as a Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life-SAP intern, social chairman and misconduct prevention chair. Sherman is deciding on a career path between environmental law, policy communications and nonprofit strategic development.

Sophia Stone headshot

Sophia Stone (major: government and politics) served as an executive board member for Preventing Sexual Assault and as a sexual assault prevention intern for the Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life. A member of Alpha Phi sorority, she served as Red Dress Gala chairman and on the Panhellenic Association’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Task Force. Following graduation, she will return home to Pittsburgh to pursue her law degree at Duquesne University.

Monét Djieya Tchamdjoci headshot

Monét Djieya Tchamdjoci (major: communication; minor: humanities, health and medicine) served as vice president of Lambda Pi Eta, treasurer of Project Sunshine and Rho Gamma coordinator of the UMD Panhellenic Association. She was also a part of the Beta Sigma chapter of Delta Gamma, Order of Omega and Orientation. She will attend graduate school in hopes of researching communication methods that will elicit change toward health epidemics within minority communities.

Abhirami “Ami” Thaivalappil headshot

Abhirami “Ami” Thaivalappil (major: biological sciences; minor: international development and conflict management) earned a citation from the College Park Scholars’ Global Public Health program. She worked as a senior CARE peer advocate, a guided study sessions leader for BCHM462 and an undergraduate researcher in the Cao Lab studying progeria, and she served on various advisory boards. She received the Nancy and Ira Shapiro Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award for her contribution to various publications in the Cao Lab, as well as the defense of her honors thesis. Thaivalappil intends to continue pursuing social equity and research as a career as a scientist.

Robyn Toler headshot

Robyn Toler (major: hearing and speech sciences) was a student representative for the college of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ Dean’s Student Advisory Council, a teaching assistant and research assistant, and a student representative and leader for multiple boards and organizations and student clubs. She will attend graduate school in the fall to become a speech-language pathologist.

Lesly Umanzor headshot

Lesly Umanzor (major: biological sciences) served as a co-leader for Alternative Breaks and volunteered at Food Recovery Network. She worked part time as a medical assistant at an optometrist's office. Umanzor plans to take two gap years to focus on research and volunteer experience while studying for the MCAT.

Grace Fitzgerald Vaeth headshot

Grace Fitzgerald Vaeth (major: management; minor: Spanish) was a member of the Honors Humanities program and an Honors Ambassador, a member of Mockapella, an event manager at the Memorial Chapel, and a career advising intern for the Robert H. Smith School of Business. She received Honorable Mention for the Lowell Ensel Keystone Prize Award for her original music album, “A Life's Journey.” Following graduation, Vaeth will take part in the Human Resources Leadership Development Program at Stanley Black & Decker.

Alythia Vo headshot

Alythia Vo (major: biological sciences, Spanish; minors: Asian American studies, U.S.-Latino studies) was a member of the Integrated Life Sciences program in the Honors College. She served as co-president of the Asian American Student Union, recruitment and community outreach chair of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, teaching assistant for the course “Mammalian Physiology,” president of the Taiwanese American Student Association, member of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity and vice president of the Division of Student Affairs’ Student Advisory Council. Off-campus, Vo worked as a research assistant for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, served as a community outreach volunteer for COVID-19 vaccine research trials, and interned for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. She hopes to pursue an M.D./M.P.H. with the goal of combating health disparities in underserved communities.

Katherine Vo headshot

Katherine Vo (major: information science; minor: general business) was an ambassador for the Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing, the design organizer for Technica, the design organizer and director for Bitcamp, design director for the Association for Women in Computing, and a member of Kappa Theta Pi professional technology fraternity. She also served on the executive board for the Vietnamese Student Association and on the marketing staff for the Mid-Atlantic Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. Vo will work as a user experience designer following graduation.

Jonné Lee Washington headshot

Jonné Lee Washington (major: environmental science and policy; minor: law and society) was a resident assistant and member of the FIRE (First Year Innovation and Research Experience) program. She completed two internships in sustainability work. She plans to pursue policy work in environmental justice and sustainability after graduation.

Gabriela Ellen Winter headshot

Gabriela Ellen Winter (majors: supply chain management, marketing) was active in the Student Alumni Leadership Council, Public Leadership Scholars, Alpha Omicron Pi, Omicron Delta Kappa and more. Following graduation, Winter will begin her career as a part of Capital One’s Management Rotational Program.

Khizar Yahya headshot

Khizar Yahya (major: public health science) is a first generation Pakistani-American student. He served as a team leader for the Maryland Mentor Corporation and as president of Chi Phi, a social fraternity aimed at bettering society. Yahya also worked as a resource specialist for the Student Organization Resource Center for most of his college career. He plans on joining research dedicated to improving the quality of life of underserved communities before applying to medical school.

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