Graduate Student Council announces 2025 Anchor Award Winners

The Vanderbilt Graduate Student Council has announced the winners of the 2025 Graduate Leadership Anchor Awards, which honor the hard work and leadership of Vanderbilt graduate students schoolwide. Awards were presented at an awards ceremony in April of this year. The awards recognize outstanding service, mentorship, departmental leadership, student advocacy, research and best overall.

Service Award

Vera Borkowski, Nursing Science

Vera serves as a manuscript reviewer for Nursing Outlook and Applied Clinical Informatics, as well as a conference abstract reviewer for the American Medical Informatics Association and the national School-Based Health Alliance. One of her nominators noted that Vera "continues to practice as a nurse practitioner, advocating and making a positive impact on the broader student health care community in Connecticut."

Mentorship Award

Patrick Buhr, Political Science

Patrick's commitment to his research has helped form a legacy of leadership and mentorship between first-year and advanced graduate students. One nominator highlighted how Patrick overhauled the political science department's Graduate Mentorship Program. "He matched advanced graduate students with first-year students based on their research interests, and he ensured that every first-year student had at least one assigned mentor."

Jeewoo Kim, Human Genetics

Jeewoo is an exceptional mentor to many around her, including younger students in her lab, a genetic counseling fellow and a high school student interested in pursuing a career in STEM. One nominator said, "Jeewoo's mentorship extends beyond academic guidance; she provides emotional support and encouragement, helping her mentees navigate the challenges of their academic journeys."

Department Leadership Award

Jared Rhodes, Cancer Biology

Jared has been described as "a force of energy and leadership" within the Cancer Biology Student Association from the moment he joined the board.

Student Advocacy Award

Brina Ratangee, Medicine, Health and Society

Brina has an active role in amplifying graduate students' voices and issues through her role as editorial director of The Vanderbilt Hustler. She has written a wide variety of pieces, on topics from graduate admissions to research funding, which have amassed more than 70,000 views.

Research Award

Junyi Ji, Civil Engineering

Junyi has demonstrated remarkable research productivity in the lab, as evidenced by five journal articles and 12 peer-reviewed conference papers. Junyi's research has been described by one of his nominators as "grounded by his hands-on work on I-24 MOTION testbed, and it has the potential to advance understanding of societal cyber-physical systems more broadly."

Best Overall

Kevin Zhang, Neuroscience

Kevin exemplifies a rare combination of dedication, leadership, advocacy and genuine warmth that inspires those around him. His outstanding qualities distinguish him not only as a committed student, but also as an exceptional leader and advocate for his peers.

Hannah Waterman, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Hannah is an outstanding researcher, a dedicated mentor and a natural leader. She pushes herself and those around her to excel by consistently demonstrating intellectual curiosity, resilience and a passion for science.