2017 Boren Scholarship Recipients

Caroline Chen is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in both International Relations and Political Economy with a minor in Business Finance. She will spend the 2017-2018 academic year studying Mandarin in China as a Boren Scholar.

Edith Conn is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in both International Relations and East Asian Languages and Cultures. She will spend 2017-2018 studying Japanese in Japan on the Boren Scholarship.

Max Hill is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and the Global Economy. Max will spend the summer and the 2017-2018 academic year in India studying Urdu on the South Asian Languages Flagship Initiative.

Alexander Kil is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Area Studies and a Master of Planning at USC. Alex will study Japanese for the 2017-2018 academic year in Japan on the Boren Scholarship.

James Luttrull is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts International Relations with a minor in Spatial Studies. He will also complete a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science and Technology. James will study Indonesian in Indonesia on both the CLS and Boren Scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Kelsey Quan is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Area Studies and a minor in Classics. She will study Mandarin in China for the 2017-2018 academic year on the Boren Scholarship.

2017 Carnegie Junior Fellows Program Recipient

Alexis Dale-Huang will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in both International Relations and East Asian Area Studies. Carnegie Junior Fellowships are awarded to just 10-12 uniquely qualified candidates who are selected from a pool of nominees from close to 400 participating colleges. Fellows work as research assistants to senior associates of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Alexis will work with the China Studies (Asia Program) during her time as a Junior Fellow and previously studied in China for six months as a Boren Scholar.

2017 Critical Language Scholarship Recipients

Francesca Conterno will graduate May 2017 with Bachelor of Arts in both Cognitive Science and Comparative Literature. She will study Indonesian in Malang, Indonesia on the CLS summer 2017 scholarship.

Alex Melnik will graduate May 2019 with majors in International Relations and Urban Studies and Planning. He is also pursuing a Master’s in Public Administration at USC. He will study Indonesian in Malang, Indonesia on the CLS summer 2017 scholarship.

Ho’esta Mo’e’hahne is a doctoral candidate in sociology. Ho’esta will study Urdu in Lucknow, India while on the CLS summer 2017 scholarship.

Vaishali “Isha” Mullapudi will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics/Mathematics and a minor in Business Finance. She will study Hindi in Jaipur, India on the CLS summer 2017 scholarship.

Ciara Taylor will graduate May 2019 with Bachelor of Arts in both International Relations (Global Business) and Middle East Studies. She will study Arabic in Amman, Jordan on the CLS scholarship.

Anli Zhang will graduate May 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics and a minor in Arabic. She will study Arabic in Amman, Jordan on the CLS scholarship.

2017 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant Recipients

Ida Abhari will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in both International Relations and Philosophy with a minor in Iranian Studies. Ida is one of only four recipients selected nationally for the English Teaching Assistantship placement in Azerbaijan.

Bethany Balchunas will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Bethany won the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan and plans to pursue a career in education.

Katherine Burch-Hudson completed a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor in Global Health in 2014. Katherine received the English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil.

Stella Chung completed her Bachelor or Arts in both Communication and Political Science from USC in 2016. Additionally, she will graduate with a Master of Public Administration from USC May 2017. Stella is the recipient of the English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea.

Cindy Dzib Tuz graduated May 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Communication Design. She will travel to Brazil as an English Teaching Assistantship.

Cristina Gago will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology with a minor in Public Health and a Master of Public Health. Selected as an English Teaching Assistant, Cristina will teach at a university in Colombia.

Anthony Garciano graduated December 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Social Science Education. His research will investigate history education as a means to nation-building in the Philippines from 1946 to present-day.

Isaac Gutjahr will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinematic Arts Critical Studies and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. Isaac will begin a 10 month Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in the Czech Republic.

Azmera Hammouri-Davis graduated December 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in both Social Sciences (Psychology) and Visual and Performing Arts Studies. Azmera will travel to Salvador da Bahia, the birthplace of Capoeira to study the historical influences of the Afro-brazilian martial art.

Nitika Johri will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science and a minor in International Relations. She will serve in Indonesia as an English Teaching Assistant and work with high school students.

Maygol Kabiri graduated May 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies. She will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Spain and plans on applying for a Master’s in Social Entrepreneurship upon her return.

Stephanie Kang is working towards a PhD in Political Science and International Relations at USC. She will travel to South Korea to investigate how powerful patrons use military alliances to credibly deter an adversary and restrain their allies from escalating crisis.

Jordan Kondo will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology with a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures. Jordan is one of only six graduating seniors selected nationally for the Fulbright research grant to Japan. His project will investigate how the interaction between diet and genetics promotes longevity in Okinawans.

Kathryn Lee graduated August 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Health with a minor in Business. Kathryn will travel to Indonesia to investigate environmental indicators of water quality around Bali’s reefs to support local fishers’ livelihood, tourism and healthy reefs.

Alya Omar will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (Global Business) with a minor in Digital Studies. While on the Fulbright, Alya will research barriers and potentials for managing and repurposing food waste in South Africa.

Srilakshmi Ramesh graduated May 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with minors in International Relations and Statistics. She will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Sri Lanka and plans to become a statistician or economist.

Laura Reilly graduated May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Science in Policy, Planning and Development. She also minored in Spanish. Laura won the English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil.

Kyle Roux will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences and a minor in Classics. Kyle is one of eleven students nationally to win the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Greece and eventually plans to enter medical school.

Peter Shin will complete a Master of Music Composition at USC May 2017. Awarded the Fulbright research grant as an artist, he will study Korean musicology and composition at Seoul National University and create a new orchestral work implementing Korean elements with his training in American and European schools of composition.

Olivia Trombadore graduated May 2015 with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in Environmental Studies. Olivia won a Fulbright research grant to India where she will determine if certain communities along the Ganges River are disproportionately impacted by water pollution.

Turner Wong will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Languages and Cultures. She won at Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan and has also been admitted to the Teach For America Corps.

Jasmine Zahedi will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and with minors in Forensics and Criminality and Chinese for the Professions. Jasmine will serve as and English Teaching Assistant in Taiwan and plans to pursue a career in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

2017 Fulbright US-UK Summer Institute Recipients

Andrea Diaz is a rising sophomore pursing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Andrea will be studying at the University of Westminster in London. The Fulbright Westminster Summer Institute is a three-week program focusing on media, art, design, and business.

Kathryn “Katie” Hayes is pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture degree and just completed her first year at USC. Katie will participate in the 2017 Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute on Technology, Innovation and Creativity during a three-week cultural and academic program for US students, hosted by the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde.

2017 Gilman Scholarship Recipients

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards for undergraduate study abroad for U.S. who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university. The program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go.

Spring 2017

Karla Barron Galvan – Nicaragua
Tiara Conley – Thailand
Sofia Deak – Morocco
Astrid Enciso – Germany
Kristie Hoang – France
Powen Jenq – Japan
Jonathan Kim – South Korea
Enrique Licon – France

Summer 2017

Daniel Donchev – Italy
Alfred Garcia – Guatemala
Desiree Hansen – Germany
Jose Hernandez-Alvarado – Italy
Josephine Torrez – Italy

Fall 2017 & Academic Year 2017-2018

Melissa Xu – South Africa

2017 Goldwater Scholarship Recipients

Kevin Ye is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and plans to complete a Physics minor. Kevin’s research interests are the synthesis and development of ternary materials for sustainable energy applications, such as improving solar cell efficiency. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science and go on to conduct research on designing new energy-efficient materials and teaching at a research university.

2017 National Science Foundation Awardees

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

Awardees

Shelby Bachman – Psychology – Cognitive Neuroscience
Jaime Jorge Fernando Castrellon – Psychology – Cognitive Neuroscience
Megan Rose Goldring – Psychology – Social Psychology
Ellie Katherine Hara – Geosciences – Geochemistry
Sarah Bergsma Herald – Psychology – Cognitive Neuroscience
Elyse Kedzie – Engineering – Chemical Engineering
Mehak Majid Khan – Life Sciences – Neurosciences
Lillie Margaret Moffett – STEM Education and Learning Research – Mathematics Education
Bradley Aaron Rava – Mathematical Sciences – Statistics
Martin Siron – Engineering – Chemical Engineering
Richelle Smith – Engineering – Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Aleczandria Tiffany – Engineering – Chemical Engineering
George Yuning Wang – Mathematical Sciences – Algebra, Number Theory, and Combinatorics
Renee Zurui Wang – Geosciences – Geochemistry

Honorable Mentions

Blake Joseph Mason – Comp/IS/Eng – Machine Learning
Amanda Clare Semler – Geosciences – Geobiology
Alexander Joel Tarashansky – Engineering – Bioengineering
Cameron Michael Thieme – Mathematical Sciences – Applied Mathematics

2017 Rhodes Scholars

USC Alumni Oscar De Los Santos ’15 and Jung Kian Ng ’14 were selected as recipients of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England and may allow funding in some instances for four years.

Oscar De Los Santos graduated from USC in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He is the son of Mexican immigrants and first in his family to attend college. Oscar was selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants for a full-tuition USC Norman Topping Scholarship. As a sophomore, he was highly involved with the Obama 2012 reelection campaign, and the impact of his work was so significant that he was one of only six volunteers invited to dine with President Obama in Washington DC. Oscar’s exceptional academic achievements, leadership record, and commitment to public service flourished while at USC, and in 2014, among a national pool of nearly 700 candidates, Oscar was selected as one of fewer than sixty Harry S. Truman Scholars. Oscar graduated in May 2015, Phi Beta Kappa, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He was selected as a member of the Order of the Laurel and Palm, a USC Global Scholar, and USC Discovery Scholar. Oscar demonstrates an innate drive for community betterment and empathy for underserved communities in his professional career as well, first as a 6^th grade English and Social Studies teacher for high-risk youth, and now in his role as an anti-hunger, anti-poverty public policy advocate.

Oscar is one of thirty-two Rhodes Scholars chosen from the United States who will join an international group of Scholars chosen from eighteen other jurisdictions around the world. With the Rhodes Scholarship he seeks to pursue two one-year courses: the Master of Public Policy and the MSt in Theology, specializing in Christian Ethics. See below for news stories.

USC Dornsife News – Oscar De Los Santos ’15 named a 2017 Rhodes Scholar – The young alumnus adds to his growing list of honors and prestigious scholarships, this most recent earning him all-expense-paid graduate study at the University of Oxford.
USC News – Trojan Oscar De Los Santos named Rhodes Scholar
Daily Trojan – Rhodes Scholar reflects on journey

Jung Kian Ng graduated from USC in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He was born and bred in a small town of Northern Malaysia, Alor Setar. Raised in a single-parent family, he worked hard to excel in a national exam known as Malaysian Certificate of Education. He was subsequently awarded a Malaysian Federal Government scholarship to pursue his tertiary education in the United States. While at USC, he was an active member and a leader of multiple student organizations. He was President of the Malaysian Student Association for 2013/2014 academic year, Philanthropy Chair and Historian of Sigma Phi Delta – Alpha Chapter concurrently for two consecutive semesters before being elected to the Executive Board as Secretary. He was also a student activist in Student Coalition against Labor Exploitation (SCALE) and contributed to the success of a 13-year long campaign which resulted in USC signing on to the Worker Rights Consortium in 2013. As an ardent believer of effecting great change via public policies, Jung Kian started his career in the government immediately after graduation. Upon his completion of term as an executive intern at the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, he was appointed a Special Assistant to the Minister. He has since been transferred to the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department with the same role.

Last summer the Rhodes Trust announced a major strategic and geographic expansion for its second century. This year, 64 recipients were selected from around the world creating an international cohort of 96 Rhodes Scholars. This is the first year the Rhodes Scholarship for Malaysia has been offered, and Jung Kian Ng is one only two recipients from his home country! The Rhodes Scholarship for Malaysia is generously supported by Yayasan Khazanah. Jung Kian hopes the Rhodes Scholarship will serve as another catalyst in his journey of building a better nation for all Malaysians.

Click here to learn more about Oscar De Los Santos and Jung Kian Ng via the USC Ambassadors Newsletter.

2017 Rotary Global Grant Scholars

Justin Trop is a rising third-year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of USC with interests in public health, community medicine, and working with vulnerable populations. As a Rotary Global Grant Scholar, he will pursue a master’s degree in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with a focus in health promotion. His community service project will focus on teen-driven sexual health and relationship education for Latino immigrant and refugee youth in London.

2017 Schwarzman Scholars

Jack Huebner will graduate May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and a minor in French. A Canadian citizen and USC Presidential Scholar, Jack was recognized for his academic excellence upon admission to USC and later on as an inductee into Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society. After freshman year, Jack served as a Global Impact Fellow with Unite For Sight in Ghana, where he partnered with local eye clinics. He went on to serve on a 5-member team that conducted epidemiology studies on burn incidence and care in Uganda on behalf of BC Children’s Hospital. Jack continues his research efforts with BCCH and also volunteers at Cedars Sinai Hospital through the Trojan Health Volunteers Program. In addition to his studies and volunteer efforts, Jack serves as Assistant Captain of the men’s USC Ice Hockey team, a sanctioned member of USA Hockey and the American Collegiate Hockey Association. Under Jack’s leadership, the team has won the Crosstown Cup for the past two years against UCLA and finished second this year in the Pac 8. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Jack endeavors to learn from China’s approach to healthcare to address the gap in quality primary care across developing nations. Upon completing his Schwarzman Scholarship year, Jack plans to become a physician and future team member of Doctors Without Borders in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Matthew Prusak graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (Global Business). Matthew was a USC Presidential Scholar and served as editor-in-chief of both the Southern California International Review and the Social Justice Review. He also played a crucial role in helping to set the tone of the USC Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study as a student-leader in charge of the undergraduate wing of the organization. His senior year, Matthew was selected for the Queens’ College Cambridge – USC Exchange program, an opportunity for only one undergraduate student each year. Matthew returned to USC to earn the Global Scholar distinction his final semester which blended his reflections from his time abroad in China, Indonesia and the UK, with his research on the need for economic engagement with North Korea. Matthew currently works as a management consultant with Bain & Company’s Southeast Asia office, where he focuses on social impact and technology projects. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Matthew hopes to gain an in-depth appreciation of the trilateral relationship between the U.S., China, and the rest of the world in regard to trade policy in the 21^st century. Following the Schwarzman Scholarship, Matthew plans to complete an MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business before pursuing a career in international trade negotiation.

USC Dornsife News – USC Dornsife student and alumnus named 2018 Schwarzman Scholars

2017 Fellowship Recipients