Each year, Schreyer Scholars receive some of the most prestigious awards at Penn State and nationally. A sampling of some of the many award recipients are shared here.
2022 Scholar Involvement Award
Schreyer’s annual Scholar Involvement Award recognizes exceptional leadership and dedication to the College’s mission of academic excellence with integrity, building a global perspective, and creating opportunities for civic leadership and engagement.
Last fall, Krystal Leung received the award for the ways that she fostered inclusivity and belonging for both LGBTQ+ Scholars and first-year Scholars. She took on impactful roles with Gender and Sexual Diversity in Schreyer (GSDS) and SHO TIME, the College’s orientation program.
Leung graduated in May with a bachelor of science degree in computer science.
Neil C. Patel Memorial Changemaker Honors Scholarship
While at Penn State, Scholar alumni Juntae Rocker worked in many ways to serve underrepresented students and strengthen their communities across the University. In recognition of those efforts, along with his academic achievements, Rocker was awarded the 2023 Neil C. Patel Memorial Changemaker Honors Scholarship.
The Changemaker Scholarship was established in December 2021 in honor of its namesake, Neil Patel, who died from COVID-19 earlier that year. The scholarship honors Patel’s memory and recognizes Schreyer Scholars who exemplify his commitment to family, community, education and opportunity.
A 2023 graduate, Rocker double majored in Asian studies and Korean. Outside of the classroom he took on numerous leadership roles including vice president of the GLOBE living-learning community, American vice chair of the Korea-America Student Conference, and a volunteer English tutor to a North Korean defector.
2023 Eric A. Walker Award
Scholar alumna Sydney Gibbard, a 2023 graduate with a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering, is the recipient of this year’s Eric A. Walker Award.
Named for Penn State’s president from 1956-1970, the Walker Award recognizes, annually, a student whose extracurricular activities did the most to enhance the University’s reputation.
Among Gibbard’s accomplishments that helped her earn the award include founding the nonprofit Girls Code the World in 2018, and serving as the University Park Undergraduate Association student body president.
2023-24 Fulbright Finalists
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers graduating fourth-year students, graduate students, and young professionals from any academic discipline the opportunity to travel abroad and pursue graduate study, perform research, or teach English.
Three recent Scholar alumni have been selected to participate in the program during the 2023-24 academic year.
- Luisina Kemanian-Leites, international politics and Latin-American studies, College of the Liberal Arts; English Teaching Assistant Award, Colombia
- Sydney McQuiggan, German, College of the Liberal Arts, and World Languages Education, College of Education; English Teaching Assistant Award, Germany
- Nicolas Fay (Fulbright alternate), writing and digital media, Penn State Berks; English Teaching Assistant Award, Turkey
Alternates of the highly competitive Fulbright Scholarship will become finalists if additional funding becomes available.
2023 Future Leaders Scholarship
Members of the College’s Scholar Alumni Society Board established this award to recognize Scholars at least in their third year of study that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the Honors College, Penn State overall, and/or their local community.
The 2023 honorees were Katelyn Farrar and Aryath Naryanamangalam.
Farrar is on track to graduate in spring 2024 with a bachelor of science degree in veterinary and biomedical science. She has taken on roles as student council vice president in the College of Agriculture and as a communication liaison at SHO TIME 2022.
Naryanamangalam, meanwhile, served as president of Schreyer Student Council during the 2022-23 academic year and is a member of the Presidential Leadership Academy. He is set to graduate in fall 2023 with bachelor of science degrees in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering.
2023 Goldwater Scholarship
The prestigious Goldwater Scholarship annually recognizes undergraduate students who show exceptional potential as leaders in the fields of natural science, mathematics, or engineering. In May, a pair of rising third-year Scholars were named as honorees.
Yuki Yoshida is majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, and Kueyoung Kim is majoring in chemistry.
At the Booker Lab, under the direction of John N. Alumasa, associate research professor, Yoshida has researched enzymology, drug design, surface glycosylation, electron microscopy, and kinase signaling.
Kim, meanwhile, joined the Zarzar Lab where under the mentorship of Lauren Zarzar, associate professor of chemistry, he researched the dynamic properties of emulsions, a mixture of two immiscible liquids, such as oil and water. Kim also attended the Amgen Scholars Program at UC Berkley over the summer.
2023 Udall Scholarship
It was announced in May that rising fourth-year Scholar Vancie Peacock had been awarded a 2023 Udall Scholarship, which recognizes second- and third-year students for exemplary leadership, public service, and commitment to Native American or environmental issues.
A biological engineering major, Peacock helmed the launch of the Schreyer Pocket Garden in 2021. Located in the Simmons Hall courtyard, the pocket garden has produced over 200 pounds of produce that have been donated to combat food insecurity at University Park. Overseeing that program is part of Peacock’s role as executive director of Penn State’s Student Farm Club.
Along with the pocket garden, she has organized volunteer days, managing the club’s rooftop garden, successfully wrote a grant for $200,000, and established two scholarships for students to independently study food recovery.
Peacock has also been heavily involved with the Vasco Bioeco Lab in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering since her first year on campus. There she has worked independently and collaboratively on a pair of projects that focus on lowering greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture and developing economically beneficial technology for farmers.
2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award
For the last 12 years, the Robert F. Guentter Jr. Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award has recognized excellence in undergraduate theses that are grounded in quality research, as determined by a jury of librarians and other Penn State faculty. The following graduating Scholars were announced as award recipients following their presentations in April:
- Third place: Priya Devanarayan – biology, Eberly College of Science, “The Danger of Being Anesthetized: The Common Use of Unauthorized Pelvic Exams as Teaching Practice Constitutes Unethical Assault on and Objectification of Patients.”
- Second Place: Luisina Kemanian-Leites – international politics and Latin American studies, College of the Liberal Arts, “A Solution to ‘The Problem from Hell?’: Quantifying the Effects of International Military Interventions During Mass Killings and Genocides.”
- Robert F. Guentter Jr. Grand Prize winner: Casey Sennett*, integrated undergraduate/graduate degrees in anthropology, undergraduate degrees in history, Jewish studies, and Middle East studies, College of the Liberal Arts, “Overlooked Histories: An Ethnographic and Historical Study of the Jewish Communities of Central Pennsylvania.”
* Sennett also received the James Rambeau Thesis Prize from the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society
2023 John W. Oswald Award
A pair of Scholar alumni were recognized for exemplary leadership during their time as students when they received the 2023 John W. Oswald Award.
Named for Penn State’s president from 1970-1983, this year’s Oswald Award honored Priya Devanarayan for her work in the area of scholarship and Chimwemwe (Michael) Mitole for his efforts in student government.
Devanarayan, who received her bachelor of science degree in biology in May, has a passion for critical care and emergency medicine in rural populations. Her honors thesis focused on the unethical practice of unauthorized pelvic exams performed on anesthetized patients for medical training purposes. Also, during her last two years at Penn State, Devanarayan served as an emergency medical technician with Penn State University Ambulance Service and Penns Valley Emergency Medical Services.
Mitole, meanwhile, earned his bachelor of science degree in finance in May and worked to address many needs within the Penn State community during his time as a student. He served as one of the presidents of the Sapphire Leadership Academic Program, worked as the chief of staff of the University Park Undergraduate Association in 2020, and collaborated with his peers in the Nittany Lion Consulting Group to establish an ally group program.
2023 Rock Ethics Institute Stand Up Award Winners
Established in 2008, the Stand Up Awards recognize undergraduate students at Penn State who have demonstrated ethical leadership by standing up for a cause, idea, or belief. Through honoring their courageous examples, the awards aim to inspire others to become ethical leaders.
In April, it was announced that three fourth-year Scholars, now Scholar alumni, were recognized for their efforts to support their communities and make Penn State a better place. Emma Cihanowyz, Taran Samarth, and Maria Smereka were named as Stand Up Award recipients.
Cihanowyz, who earned bachelor of arts degrees in international politics and French, worked to wipe out “period poverty” that contributed to 13% of menstruators at Penn State missing class due to insufficient access to needed products. As an executive with Penn State’s chapter of Days for Girls, a global nonprofit that advances menstrual equity, Cihanowyz led efforts to increase the availability of menstrual products at University Park.
Samarth, who graduated with bachelor of arts degrees in philosophy, political science, and sociology along with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics, lent their diverse skills to the Penn State Forward organization. Through that group’s work, and other efforts, Samarth helped to promote democratic practices, sustainability, and a more inclusive environment at the University.
Smereka, who received a bachelor of science degree in biology and a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish, led efforts on campus to support Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion, particularly by helping to raise tens of thousands of dollars in aid for Ukrainian refugees. As president of the Penn State Ukrainian Society and co-founder of the Centre Coalition for Ukraine, Smereka played a central role in how the Centre region assisted native Ukrainians who sought safety in this area.
