Graduate School Reception Celebrates Fellowship, Scholarship Awardees

The Graduate School celebrated fellowship and scholarship recipients with a Wall of Honor reception May 6 in the Charles B. Wang Center. Photos by John Griffin.

From skill-building to networking to funding, fellowships can aid students navigating the complex terrain of higher education by providing a direct pathway to various professional fields. This semester, 147 Seawolves applied for such awards, and 35 different winners were awarded a total of 39 awards from 11 awarding bodies.

The Graduate School celebrated these achievements with a Wall of Honor reception May 6 in the Charles B. Wang Center, recognizing students who have been awarded competitive, merit-based fellowships and scholarships this year.

"Having you here with your families and being able to applaud the work you've done is the icing on the cake for us," said Celia Marshik, dean of The Graduate School. "We're so happy to see you distinguish yourselves on the national and international stage. Submitting a fellowship application is an important process in itself, but it's nice to recognize you today and celebrate the amazing travel, research, teaching and other experiences that are enabled by these fellowships and awards."

In addition to recognizing the awards, Marshik noted the important example it sets for younger students.

"You might not see your place in the bigger picture of these prestigious awards, but when the students who come up behind you look and see people like them who received these awards, it helps open doors for people you've never met," she said. "Secondly, you are distinguishing Stony Brook on a world stage. When we have national and international award bodies looking at these pools of applications and Stony Brook students rise to the top, that's a clear signal about what we do here and the quality of the students that we have and develop."

Marshik thanked Ashley Staples, director of external fellowships and scholarly development and Vernon Caldwell, assistant director of external fellowships, for their efforts in helping students achieve these awards.

Stony Brook Provost Carl Lejuez credited The Graduate School with building a model that facilitates confidence that translates to future success.

"You show what you value by where you put your budget," said Lejuez. "As leaders, we have to make some hard decisions and sometimes we make mistakes. But that does not happen in The Graduate School. They've invested in places that are so important … and events like this let us see the results of those investments."

David Rubenstein, associate professor of biomedical engineering and the associate dean for academic and student affairs at The Graduate School, also spoke of the effort it takes to pursue fellowships and scholarships.

"The fact that you've gotten these awards, that you've gotten someone to say 'Yes, you deserve this award,' is really impactful for your careers and the work you've done," he said. "The exercise of doing this right, and the professional development that you gain by going through this process is something that you will be doing for the rest of your careers. We're proud that you're part of Stony Brook's Wall of Honor community, and we look forward to hearing about the successes you achieve during your fellowship period."

Rubenstein also challenged students to meet the moment these opportunities represent.

"I want to charge you to take a piece of the wall with you and bring what you learn back into our Stony Brook community," he said. "Think about who gave you the moment that inspired you to go for it. You have the opportunity to be that for someone else here on campus, and that's one of the most important things that you could do."

"We want to celebrate the things you accomplish that are enabled by these awards," echoed Marshik. "The story doesn't stop when you get the award. In many ways, it's just starting."

- Robert Emproto

2026 Wall of Honor Recipients:

Brian Chen, (Political Science), Senior - Critical Language Scholarship Alternate

Devorah Hewitt, (Biochemistry), Freshman - Critical Language Scholarship Alternate

Kylie DiMatteo, (Arts and Sciences), Sophomore - Critical Language Scholarship Alternate

Gino Elia, (Philosophy), PhD student - DAAD Research Grants to Germany Recipient

Ronan Tiu, (Physics, Mathematics), Junior - DAAD-RISE Finalist

Anthony Murphy-Neilson, (Marine Science, SoMAS), Master's student - Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Open Study / Research Award Finalist

Emmi Lu, (Linguistics - TESOL, AMS), Senior - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Finalist

Jeryl Johnston, (Music), PhD student - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Finalist

Nicolas Allen, (History), PhD student - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Finalist

Gino Elia, (Philosophy), PhD student - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Finalist

Heshwin Singh, (Biology BS & Psychology BS), SBU Alum - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Finalist

Oliver Navin-Roda, (Political Science), Senior - Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistant Award Semi-Finalist

Shivani Shah, (Biology/Psychology), Senior - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Semi-Finalist

Brian Chen, (Political Science), Junior - Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistant Award Semi-Finalist

Carrie Wang, (Biology), Junior - Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistant Award Alternate

Christina Marie Mariani, (Journalism and Asian / Asian-American Studies undergrad), SBU Alumni '24 - Fulbright U.S. Student Program Master's Degree Program: National Chengchi University Award in International Communication Studies Semi-Finalist

Anuva Wardah, (Political Science and Sociology), Senior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Shanice Dorzilor, (Psychology) Junior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Frankie Yang, (Accounting), Junior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Kaylynn (KJ) Fung, (Human Evolutionary Biology), Junior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Lana Wael (Gouda), (Political Science, Economics, Philosophy), Senior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Liz Marie Romano, (Psychology, Women's and Gender Studies, Film and Screen Studies), Junior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Reyshawn Reynaldo (Rey) Jackson, (Business Management, Finance and Operations Management Specializations), Senior - Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Spiros Manolas, (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical Engineering minor), Junior - Goldwater Scholarship Recipient

Ronan Tiu, (Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry minor), Junior - Goldwater Scholarship Recipient

William Lancer, (Physics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics), Junior - Goldwater Scholarship Recipient

Behrgen Smith, (Biochemistry and Structural Biology), PhD student - Hertz Fellowship Finalist

Nicolas Allen, (History), PhD student - Mellon / ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Recipient

Jediael Peterson, (History), PhD student - Mellon / ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Recipient

Colista West, (Neurobiology and Behavior), PhD student - NIH F31 National Research Service Award Recipient

Ashley House, (Geosciences), PhD student - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient

Ciara Woellhof, (BME), Master's student - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient

Evelyn Li, (Neuroscience), PhD student - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient

Julianna Gerold, (Psychology, Integrative Neuroscience), PhD student - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient

Kavya Menke, (IDPAS), PhD student - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient

Sean Krivitsky, (Biochemistry), Senior - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention

Yuxuan Lin, (Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology), PhD student - NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient

Joseph Hillesheim, (Clinical Psychology), PhD student - Point Foundation Scholarship Semi-Finalist

Kate Blackwell, (Ecology and Evolution), PhD student - Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship Recipient