Wall of Honor Reception Honors Student Scholars

Stony Brook University was named a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year, the second time in three years that Stony Brook has been so honored. On May 4, the External Fellowships and Scholarships office held a Wall of Honor reception recognizing Fulbright recipients as well as student and alumni recipients of prestigious fellowships and awards.

A digital Wall of Honor was developed during the pandemic as a way to honor student scholars, and the in-person 2023 reception was the first of its kind, one which Ashley Staples, director for External Fellowships, hopes to continue in future years.

“I am excited we could celebrate in person with 11 of our Wall of Honor awardees during this inaugural event. It was a pleasure to meet their parents, friends, and advisors, those who encouraged them along the way.” Students, faculty, staff and guests attended the event to celebrate the success of this talented group of students and alumni.

“Applying for fellowships takes courage as well as time and effort,” said Celia Marshik, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate and professional education. “In every application, you put yourself out in the world: your talents, your experiences, and your hopes. When the odds are that you’ll be rejected more than awarded, it’s understandable that many choose not to apply. Those we celebrate on the Wall of Honor took the leap, and we’re delighted to recognize them.”

Stony Brook University Executive Vice President and Provost Carl Lejeuz noted, “One of the great privileges of being provost is to celebrate the achievements of our students. I am so impressed by how talented our students are, and these awards in particular showcase on a national or even global scale how many bright young scholars choose to study at Stony Brook.

Thirty-two undergraduate and graduate students and alumni were awarded status in nationally competitive, merit-based competitions by 12 different awarding bodies representing state, national, international and private foundation funders during the 2022-23 academic year.

• Nadine Areikat, Undergraduate (Biology and Psychology) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Alternate in Jordan
• Andrew Bae, Undergraduate (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Computer Science) – Goldwater Scholarship
• Sarah Barkley, PhD Student (Social Psychology) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Matthew Belzer, PhD Student (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Physics) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Michael Bennett, PhD Student (Critical Music Studies) – Fulbright Research Award in Italy
• Kate Blackwell, PhD Student (Ecology and Evolution) – Fulbright Research Award in Norway
• Haley Briggles, PhD Student (Music History & Theory) – AAUW American Dissertation Fellowship Alternate
• Kurt Butler, PhD Student (Electrical Engineering) – Fulbright Research Alternate in Spain
• Justin Chan, Undergraduate (Political Science) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in Taiwan
• Caitlyn Chen, Undergraduate (Linguistics) – Critical Language Scholarship
• Lisa Crawford, PhD Student (Marine Science) – NY John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellows
• Leanne Demay, PhD Student (Neuroscience) – DAAD Graduate Research Award to Germany
• Vaughn Greene, PhD Student (Biomedical Engineering) – SBU Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access Fellows
• Sarah Gunasekera, Undergraduate (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Biology) – Goldwater Scholarship
• Noah Hunt, Master’s Student (Marine Science) – NY John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellows
• Uzochi Jean-Phillippe II, 18 (Africana Studies) – Rangel International Affairs Fellowship
• Rachel Jones, Undergraduate (Biology) – Fulbright Research Award in India
• Kevin Kay, PhD Student (Music Composition) – DAAD-RISE Short Term Research Award to Germany
• Gabrille Lopez, ‘12 (Marine Biology) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Marie Millares, PhD Student (Materials Science and Engineering) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Avery Morris, PhD Student (Musical Arts) – Fulbright Research Award in Czech Republic
• Josue Nassar, PhD Student (Electrical and Computer Engineering) – SUNY Chancellor’s Dissertation Award
• Ava Nederlander, Master’s Student (Computer Engineering) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Daniel Ofer-Moran, Undergraduate (Multidisciplinary Studies) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Alternate in Serbia
• Danielle Ramirez, Undergraduate (Health Sciences) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in Brazil
• Bromina Rani, Undergraduate (Political Science and Sociology) – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in Czech Republic
• Alexis Smith, PhD Student (Hispanic Languages and Literature) – Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship – Vanderbilt
• James St. John, PhD Student (Engineering) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Allison Verbil, Master’s Student (Computational Linguistics) – Critical Language Scholarship
• Sarah Weisberg, PhD Student (School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences) – NMFS Sea Grant Joint Fellowship
• Grace Wivell, PhD Student (Linguistics) – Fulbright Research Award in Indonesia
• Asa Wong-Gomez, PhD Student (Anthropology) – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

— Beth Squire