Fall 2020 Graduate Student Showcase scholarships are listed below and will be updated as
sponsors join.
Distinction in Creativity Award.
The Distinction in Creativity award is presented collaboratively by
the Graduate School and Office of Vice President for Research. This award recognizes
the passion and personal contributions of these talented graduate students, and
honors their commitment and efforts in their area of work.
1st place:
$250 award
- Leila Malekadeli - Art and Art History
2nd place:
$150 award
- Amy Young - Art and Art History
Great Minds in Research Award.
The Great Minds in Research award is presented collaboratively by
the Graduate School and the Office of Vice President for Research. This award
recognizes graduate student submissions that contribute to the excellence and
advancement of research, scholarship, and entrepreneurial efforts at CSU. We
celebrate these rising stars, and honor these graduate students for the commitment
and efforts in their field.
1st place:
$250 award
- Judith Chiginsky - Agricultural Biology
2nd place:
$150 award
- Julianna Sun - Cell and Molecular Biology
Honorable mention:
Ten $100 awards
- Charlotte Cialek - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Ryan Czarny- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Rachel Doser - Biomedical Sciences
- Emily Fitzmeyer - Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology
- Jake Greenwood - Chemistry
- Sarah Myers - Psychology
- Kailee Reed - Cell and Molecular Biology
- Katie Rocci - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
- Lisa Schlein - Cell and Molecular Biology
- Ray Sumner - Anthropology and Geography
Business for a Better World Award.
The College of Business is invested in projects that offer sustainable solutions to
substantive problems affecting a population. Through this Business for a Better
World Award, the College is pleased to highlight outstanding scholarship from
business graduate students.
1st place:
$500 award
- Ethan Hahn - College of Business
Drivers of Innovation: The CSU Ventures Awards.
The Drivers of Innovation awards highlight the leading edge of the most innovative
research originating from CSU research. Awardees in this category have presented
innovative research capable of solving commercial needs that benefit society.
Additionally, the awardees have demonstrated a solid capability to communicate their
science clearly as well as a superior ability to visually represent their research
in a manner that is accessible to all audiences.
Platinum:
Two $500 awards
- Peter Chen - Mechanical Engineering
- Mo Hussein - Systems Engineering
Silver:
Two $250 awards
- Diego Bestel - Mechanical Engineering
- Kanda Borognoni - Chemistry
The Office of International
Programs seeks to honor three graduate students that demonstrate an
active commitment to making a Global Impact through research. Examples might
include field research that was conducted at an international location, research
that was accomplished by partnering with an international organization or
institution, or research that has the capacity to address a significant global
challenge.
Top Scholar:
Three $400 awards
- Yuiko Chino - Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
- Brittney Sly - Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Melody Zarria - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
Graduate Student Council: New Graduate Student Award.
In line with the Graduate Student Council’s (GSC) overall commitment to bring
graduate students together for the purposes of networking, collaboration, and
advocacy the GSC is proud to sponsor the Graduate Student Showcase. Our organization
has always had a strong focus on welcoming new graduate students to CSU and
empowering them to succeed. Offering the New Graduate Student Award in partnership
with the Graduate School, is yet another way we can help these emerging scholars
reach their full potential.
The New Graduate Student Award is available to all graduate students in the first
three semesters of their graduate work (anyone who started Summer/Fall 2019 or
later), and four students will be selected, with each winning a $250 prize. In line
with the mission of GSC, special consideration will be offered to projects focused
on informing policy that may benefit graduate students and further the goals of GSC.
The New Graduate Student Award will be judged by the GSC leadership team and our
administrative advisors.
Visual Arts Top Scholar:
$250 award
- Pratyoosh Kashyap - Agricultural and Resource Economics
Research Top Scholar:
Three $250 awards
- Lauren Abram - Ecosystem Science and Sustainability
- James Terry - Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology
- Lisa Wang - Civil and Environmental Engineering
Undergraduate Choice Award.
The Graduate School is proud to partner with the Office for Undergraduate Research and
Artistry to sponsor the Undergraduate Choice Awards through which each
category of the Graduate Student Showcase will be judged by a team of undergraduate
scholars. This category is designed to expose undergraduates to graduate level
scholarship, facilitate the training of undergraduates in the critical analysis of
scholarly products, and to reward graduate students whose work is perceived to be
among the highest quality by the undergraduate team of judges.
Visual Arts Top Scholar:
$125 award
- Zach Leonard - Art and Art History
Research Top Scholar:
Three $125 awards
- Jessy Jiao - Human Development and Family Studies
- Allie Kohler - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
- Avpreet Othee - Systems Engineering
Top Scholars for University-Wide Graduate
Programs
Presented and offered by the Graduate School and CSU Libraries.
1st Place:
$500 award
- Dani Lin Hunter - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
2nd Place:
$300 award
- Platon Selemenakis - Cell and Molecular Biology
3rd Place:
$250 award
- Erika Peirce - Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
College of Agricultural Sciences Top Scholars Awards.
The College of Agricultural Sciences is proud to present the Top Scholar award.
Top Scholar:
$500 award
- Aeriel Belk - Animal Sciences
College of Business Dean’s Award for Research Excellence.
For the College of Business graduate student that provides a creative research
solution to a substantive business problem. Through this award, the College of
Business is pleased to honor a business graduate student for outstanding research.
Top Scholar:
$500 award
- Marya Skotte - College of Business
WSCOE Excellence in Research Award.
The Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering is proud to present the Excellence in
Research Award.
Top Scholar:
Three $250 awards
- Audrey Beattie - Mechanical Engineering
- Marija Krunic - Systems Engineering
- Morteza Ziaee - Mechanical Engineering
College of Health and Human Sciences Awards.
The College of Health and Human Sciences is pleased to provide four Excellence in
Research and Scholarship awards. and one Excellence in Creativity award.
Excellence in Research and Scholarship:
Four $250 awards
- Emma Clark - Human Development and Family Studies
- Shivani Kaushik - School of Social Work
- Clayton Swanson - Health and Exercise Science
- Scott Wrigley - Food Science and Human Nutrition
College of Liberal Arts Awards.
Awards to Graduate Students in Liberal Arts Disciplines/Departments for highest
achievements in:
Creative and Performing Arts, including visual arts, music (solo
and ensemble), theatre, dance, poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction:
Top Scholar:
Two $500 awards
- Michaela Allen - School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
- Andrea Bagdon - Art and Art History
Scholarly/Research-based poster presentations:
Top Scholar:
Two $500 awards
- Mary Shirley Mitchell - Anthropology and Geography
- Natalie Stacker - History
College of Natural Sciences Outstanding Scholar
Award:
The College of Natural Sciences Outstanding Scholar Award
honors the scholarship of graduate students who exemplify the college’s
commitment to cutting-edge research.
Outstanding Scholar:
Four awards of $500 each
- Alexandra Koegel - Chemistry
- Daniel Mork - Statistics
- Mariel Price - Chemistry
- Christopher Rom - Chemistry
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Awards.
CVMBS values discovery and celebrates development of the skill set to advance
knowledge with original research. Our mission is to help animals, people and the
planet through restorative and preventive strategies for the health of these
systems – a One Health perspective. This award recognizes promise in a research
student in developing the skills to advance knowledge.
Top Scholar:
Three $500 awards
- Arielle Hay - Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology
- Sebastian Pace - Biomedical Sciences
- Fabiola Silva Angulo - Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology
Warner College of Natural Resources Award
for Graduate Student Achievement.
Warner College of Natural Resources Award for Graduate Student Achievement: This
award recognizes excellence in graduate student achievement and excellence in
scholarship and research that sets the foundation for outstanding career-long
contributions to the natural resources field.
Warner Top Scholar!
Three $500 awards
- Kate Burgess - Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
- Cora Davies - Forest and Rangeland Stewardship
- Talia Speaker - Human Dimensions of Natural Resources
Planning committee members:
- Dr. Mary Stromberger, Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School
- Dr. Colleen Webb, Associate Dean of the Graduate School
- Allie Alyan
- Ludy Avalos
- Theresa Barosh
- Madison Colley
- Allison DeWaele
- Lynna Dicamillo
- Amada Koch
- Julie Paolucci
- Katlyn Reed
- Matthew Saxton
- Lindsay Wickenbach
Graduate School Support:
- Denise Apodaca
- Vincent Avalos
- Sandy Dailey
- Dr. Greg Florant
- Dr. Michelle Foster
- Dustin Grantham
- Cathy Lee
- Alina Lugo
- Teresa McClure
- Dr. Kristina Quynn
- Jennifer Wang
- Marian Willis
Special Thanks to Presenters and Judges
Thank you for joining us at the GradShow. Special appreciation goes to all of the graduate
students who
presented, as this celebration would not be possible without your willingness to share your
creative works and
scholarship. An additional thank you to the judges who volunteered. Your time and efforts
truly made all the
difference in allowing us to recognize and celebrate graduate student excellence here on
campus.
While we do our best to provide correct and current information regarding the award
categories and amounts,
occasionally this information may change. All awards and award amounts are subject to
change.
2020 Discretionary Scholarship Awards.
All 2020 awards are provided in the form of Discretionary Scholarships and are acknowledged
by the Office of
Financial Aid as a resource to support the student’s cost-of-education. The addition
of the scholarship
could cause a student to have total financial aid in excess of their cost-of-education,
which would adjust
accordingly.