TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Graduate and Professional School
2025
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL
AWARDS CEREMONY
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1-4 P.M.
RUDDER THEATRE & EXHIBIT HALL
PROGRAM
WELCOME
Mark Gleason
Master of Ceremonies
Dr. Fuhui Tong
Associate Provost and Dean
Graduate and Professional School
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RECOGNITIONS
Graduate Mentoring Academy
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies
AWARDS
Bednarz Award
Montgomery Award
Outstanding Mentoring Award for Graduate and Professional Students
Outstanding Mentoring Award for Faculty
Distinguished Dissertation Award
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL
RECOGNITIONS
Faculty Aspiring Leadership Fellows
Employee Milestones
Vision, Values and Excellence Staff Award
Above and Beyond Student Employee Award
RECEPTION
Rudder
Hall
Graduate Mentoring Academy Fellows
Graduate Mentoring Academy (GMA) Fellows are recognized for their commitment to advancing a culture of mentoring by investing over 10 hours of GMA programming. They have engaged in seven evidence-based competencies, including a capstone session reflecting on their mentoring approach.
Renee Abbott
Kaluhath Gayan Abeysinghe
Alexander Abuabara
Adeolu Adekunle
Leticia Adu
Kristina Agan
Puneeth Ganesh Babu Agoram
Samiha Ahmed
M G Toufik Ahmed
Eneye Ajayi
Boluwatife Ajayi
Oluwaseun Aladeboyeje
Heather Albrecht
Hussain Alcassab
Emmarie Alexander
Alison Altman
Crysthal Alvarez
Gillian Ampah
Chinmay Aras
Ifeoluwa Babalola
Heather Barreda
Luciana Barroso
Katherine Barrow
Robert Beach
Samantha Beevers
Lina Bernaola
Sarah Berny
Vaishak Bhat
Christy Blanton
Tahereh Boroughani
Donald Bowen
Matthew Boyce
Karen Broussard
Catherine Byars
Gustavo Camargo Silva
Kaitlyn Carter
Maryn Cavalier
Duncan Christensen
Sydney Christensen
Hannah Coleman
Claudia Collier
Porscha Cooks
Kenneth Cooper
Michelle Costa***
Jane Cotter
Jeremiah Cribley
Ryan Davis
Jason Dean
Ruben Delgado
Olivia Dingus
Sakina Dixon
Damion Dixon
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Fross
Mauricia Gallegos
Laura Garcia
Abantika Ghosh
Emmaleigh Grady
Noeline Gunasekara
Shalin Gund
Shelby Gunnells
Ryan Hamberg
Aainaafaridah Hamdan
Ali Hamed Barghi
Sarah Hargett
Tania Hasan
Andrew Hawkins
Stephanie Hendricks
Aidan Holman
Benjamin Horlick
Azile Hotz
Sam Hotz
Emily Howell
Teagen Hruska
Yu-Chi Huang
Sarah Ingram
Jenna Johnson
Anna Johnson
Jeanna Jones
Jason Joseph
Graduate Mentoring Academy Fellows
Alaya Keane
Hassan Khan
Jorja Kimball
Harrison Koller
Vijay Kumar Koyyada
Surya Krishnan
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Sandra LaBonte
Jessica Labonte
Jeffrey Lacour
Amanda Lacy
Rebecca Lee
Harrison Lee
Aisha Lee-Cobbins
Juliet Letteney
Peizhen Li
Yatta Linhares Boakari
Linlin Luo
Shikhadri Mahanta
Jacob Mankenberg
Lilly McAlister
Alexia Mejia
Trevor Melsheimer
Sandra Meyer
Doris Migliaccio
Haitham Mohammed
Pedro Monagas-Valentin
Leslie Mora
Hayden Moran
Matthew Moulton
Rika Muhl
Chihab Nadri
Beiyan Nan
Lynette O’Neal
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Johnson Oladele
Tabitha Olsen
Michael Onyejanochie
Rhea Pai
Kelly Pantaleon
Isabella Patino
Tad Peelen
Vivian Peralta Santana
Suzanne Peterson
Zurishaddai Powell
Satvik Praveen
Tyler Prochnow
Rick Pulos
Vigneshwaran Radhakrishnan
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Carlos Ramirez
Tiash Rana Mukherjee
Cory Raney
Virginia Redwine Johnson
Emily Reed
Christopher Reighley
Sadiq Rijiya
Magda Rodriguez
Alondra Rojas
Araceli Salinas
Alexandra Salinas
Daniel Schwartz
Sahar Shata
Sofia Sheikh
Liam Sheppard
Kirby Sherman
Beth Silvy
Reetu Singh
Priyanka Sira Prakash
Dinuki Siriwardana
Elizabeth Smith
Trenton Smith
Anurag Srivastava
Debbie Starnes
Nicholas Starvaggi
Dylan Stewart
Robert Strong
Tasnim Sultana
Alexandra Svetlik
Samantha Sweck
Azra Tarman
Blanche ter Hofstede
Devin Teri
Jeewasmi Thapa
Kentaro Toyonaga
Amanda Trimble
Benjamin Ukert
Mert Kerem Ulku
Graduate Mentoring Academy Fellows
Muhammad Usman
Mycha Van Allen
Zachariah Vice
John Vickers
Jenna Vito
Judy Waight
Sabrina Waite
Ziyu Wang
Warren Waren
Jane Welsh
Emma Whaley
Bethany Whitemeyer
Dallas Williams
Heather Williams
Nathan Williams
Brandon Woo
Kimberly Wright
Jenna Yentes
Anna Yeritsyan
Ebtihal Youssef
Macy Zardeneta
Nan Zhang
Tianyang Zhou
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning Certificate Recipients
The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is part of a national network focused on fostering excellence in undergraduate teaching. Programs are offered by the Graduate and Professional School and the Center for Teaching Excellence.
Associate Certificate
Academy for Future Faculty, Academy for Future Faculty Senior Fellows, Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate Teaching Course, Graduate Teaching Consultants
Boluwatife Ajayi
Md Mojibur Rahman Redoy Akanda
Boshra Khaled Muhmood Akhozheya
Fawad Ali
Mansour Alnajrani
Aya Amer
Meredith Anderson
Jacob Andros
Mayson Astle
Rosemary Ayelazuno
Adeshina Badejo
Tanisha Berrios
Jacquie Berry
Vaishak Bhat
Rose Blanchard
Younes Bordbar
Christopher Bott
Adam Bower
Abdullah Braik
Erika Bravo
Francisca Briandt
Camille Carey
Braulio Cervantes Paz
Chee-Hoon Chang
Nilson Chapagain
Effrosyni Chatzistogianni
Ijeoma Ruth Chukwuemeka*
Carli Copell
Tara DeAndrea
Ruben Delgado
Ajithamithra Dharmasiri
Diya Dharmendran
Kyla Diaz
Christina Dollahon
Devon Dollahon
Xiangjue Dong
Madelyn Dotson
Austen Ehrie
Sami El Ahmadie
Abdullah Elsheikh
Samuel Falade
Gogoal Falia
Vanessa Fernandez-Rodriguez
Gislene Ferreira dos Reis
Gabriella Figueroa
Abraham Flores Lecea
Habiba Ghoneim
Abantika Ghosh
Isabelle Goldstein
Manuel Gonzalez Somoza
Jasmine Goode
Saurabh Gotmare
Claire Gregoire
Percy Gresham
Harini Gunda
Ibrahim Gunes
Purushottam Gyawali
Thomas Hallmark
Quan Han
Md Ariful Haque
Tania Hasan
James Hirons
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning Certificate Recipients
Associate Certificate Cont.
Aidan Holman
Shakil Hosain
Azile Hotz
Alexandra Howard
Emily Howell
Yu-Chi Huang
A S M Faridul Islam
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Hai In Jo
Dallin Kenneth Jones
Laxmi Prasanna Kandi
Anna Estelle Kelley
Muhammad Khan
Shelby Kilpatrick
Heesun Kim
Hyunrae Kim
Marshall King
Kerim Uygur Kizil
Kalyan Raj Kota
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Hannah League
Seunghoon Lee
Aisha Lee-Cobbins
Emma Lewis
Jinxu Li
Xin Li
Ryne Maness
Daniel Martinez
Stephanie McMahon
Rachel McNeal
Saylor Mealing
Dipesh Bharat Metha
Sandra Meyer
Jennifer Morgan
Basheer Mugdadi
Danial Nayeri
Rajesh Neupane
Caleb Nwaogwugwu*
Arafat Rahman Oany
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Olivia Ognibene
Nataleigh Perez
Tahmina Pervin
Dinesh Phuyal
John Ponis
Serinmary Pulikkottil Rejimon
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Arif Akhter Rangon
Edward Rhodes
Alondra Rojas
Richard Rosas
Arantxa Sacristan Ramirez
Julia Sainz
Abu Shoaib Saleh
Benjamin Schulte
Lokesh Kumar Sekar
Mohammad Zaher Serdar
Arash Shahsavari
Hyejin Shin
Bhuwan Shrestha
Dinuki Siriwardana
Brandon Strauss
Aditya Surve
Samia Tasnim
Maria Teleki
Flavia Termignoni Garcia
Mary Thompson
Garrett Tresch
Idorenyin Udoh
Guadalupe Valencia Toxqui
Makenzie Van Beber
Jacob Vasquez
Omar Andres Viera Resto
Judy Waight
Miriam Watts
Gretchen Williams
Kimberly Wright
Ziyi Wu
Chen Xu
Gaopeng Xu
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning Certificate Recipients
Associate Certificate Cont.
Taha Yehia
Eshani Yeragi
Nan Zhang
Xukai Zhang
Yingying Zhao
Zhuldyz Zhumashova
Practitioner Certificate
Advanced Teaching Practices: Research-Driven Approaches for Higher Education Course, Course Credit Program, Graduate Leadership Institute, Graduate Teaching Consultants, Teaching as Research Fellows
Vaishak Bhat
Bette Bittner
Dawn Burton
Ida Carter*
Gin Chong*
Ruben Delgado
Diya Dharmendran
Andrew Eberlein
Austen Ehrie
Jean Ferguson
Vanessa Fernandez-Rodriguez
Autumn Hagen
Laxmi Prasanna Kandi
Marshall King
Erica Knighton
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Emma Lewis
Tiffany McLaurin**
Dana Mickey
Ana Nava
Keegan Nichols
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Irvin Osborne-Lee*
Parisa Paymard
Kaila Ronayne
Richard Rosas
Kristi Schonefeld
Kelly Shipman
Guadalupe Valencia Toxqui
Madison Weinrich
Paige Williams
Krishna Kaushik Yanamundra
Scholar Certificate
Teaching as Research Fellows
Sara Amani
Ahmed Elkady
Omniya Mohamed
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Prairie View A&M University
Tarleton State University
Karissa Palmer
Umer Farooq
Gretchen Williams
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies Certificate Recipients
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies (GRAD Aggies), a joint effort of Texas A&M’s Career Center, Center for Teaching Excellence, Graduate and Professional School, Graduate and Professional Student Government, International Student and Scholar Services, University Health Services, University Libraries and University Writing Center, provides professional development activities, instruction and resources to prepare students for professional success after graduate school.
Foundations Certificate
Maryam Abbasi Kamazani
Kristina Agan
Boluwatife Ajayi
Oluwaseun Aladeboyeje
Sushma Alaparthi
Hussain Alcassab
Syeda Fizza Ali
Faria Asadi
Seyyed Ali Ayati
Derrick Ball
Sangeeta Balyan
Eboni Bango
Emily Katherine Barrow
Samantha Beevers
Carl Benson
Gustavo Boquete
Abdullah Braik
DaJuana Chaney Fontenot
Yanbing Chen
Pin-Wen Chen
Vicki Chu
Ashley Coffell
Hannah Coleman
Erika Coll Aguilar
Claudia Collier
Kelly Cook
Rashmi Dangol
Pragati Dhingra
Kevin Ding
Divya
Maria Sacred Lalain Doromal Aquino
Pamela Douglas
Joshua Elston
Dulce Espinoza
Tyler Eutsler
Paulina Farias
Sofia Feliciano
Gabriella Figueroa
Nicola Fish
Brighton Garrett
Justin Garrison
Gisel Garza
Abantika Ghosh
Halle Gold
Manuel Gonzalez Somoza
Jasmine Goode
Emmaleigh Grady
Ali Hamed Barghi
Quan Han
Md Inja Mamun Haque
Amy Hays
Stephanie Hendricks
Karina Hissen
Sydney Holland
Azile Hotz
Emily Howell
Heather Jacobs
Jenna Johnson
Jason Joseph
Mrunal Kamble
Ibraheem Kanan
Swetha Kancharla
Manik Karkare
Sarbjeet Kaur
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies Certificate Recipients
Foundations Certificate Cont.
Simranjit Kaur
Deepa Khadka
Shovit Khanal
Hyunrae Kim
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Jeffrey Lacour
Chungkeun Lee
Jinxu Li
Jessica Lowe
Austin Lynch
Nadeesha M. Mahamarakkala Patabendige
Shikhadri Mahanta
Katelyn Maier
Ariana Martinez
Kayley McBride
Kelly McCafferty
Samantha Mcclain
Frances Clare McClay
Athanasius Mdolo
Trevor Melsheimer
Doris Migliaccio
Trevor Millar
Nataly Monroy Garzon
Maria P. Montenegro
Pratik Nesarkar
Taylor Northcut
Edwin Ochedikwu
Kenneth Oguejiofor
Kofi Owusu-Ansah
Rhea Pai
Kelly Pantaleon
Parisa Paymard
Serena Porter
Chiranjibi Poudyal
Satvik Praveen
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Reshma Ramachandran
Khushboo Rastogi
Christopher Reighley
Edward Rhodes
Kelli Richard
Valeriya Rogovchenko
Jose Salazar
Cesar Salazar Pereira
Alexandra Salinas
Nadia Samiya
Sierra Sanders
Subash Sapkota
Harsh Shah
Sejal Sanjay Shanbhag
Hyejin Shin
Wilbens Siguineau
Brady Sokora
Breann Stavinoha
Michael Stott
Caden Summers
Samantha Sweck
Julia Tapilatu
Lyndzie Tarango
Chelsea Thorn
Cassidy Tibbetts
Aung Kyaw Tun
Mycha Van Allen
John Vickers
Omar Viera Resto
Ashley Voight
Sabrina Waite
Akeira M. Warner
Heather Williams
Yuhan Wu
Tasya Yusianda
Kaili Zhang
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies Certificate Recipients
Explorations Certificate
Kristina Agan
Syeda Fizza Ali
Emily Katherine Barrow
Carlos Bermudez Ramirez
Gustavo Boquete
Nicolette English
Cortney Ferguson
Gabriella Figueroa
Saliha Garcia
Abantika Ghosh
Shelby Gunnells
Ali Hamed Barghi
Azile Hotz
Emily Howell
Jenna Johnson
Sarbjeet Kaur
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Jeffrey Lacour
Windy Lowder
Shikhadri Mahanta
Kelly McCafferty
Taylor Northcut
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Vivian Peralta Santana
Thien Phan
Satvik Praveen
Ehab Rabah
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Carlos Ramirez
Khushboo Rastogi
Christopher Reighley
Edward Rhodes
Kelli Richard
Savannah Sanders
Hyo Won Seo
Harsh Shah
Sejal Sanjay Shanbhag
Michael Stott
Caden Summers
Brooke Torjman
Kentaro Toyonaga
Mycha Van Allen
Jenna Vito
Jacqueline White
Dallas Williams
Mastery Certificate
Adeolu Adekunle
Kristina Agan
Crysthal Alvarez
Emily Katherine Barrow
Sarah Hargett
Azile Hotz
Emily Howell
Jenna Johnson
Shelby Kilpatrick
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Harsh Shah
Mycha Van Allen
Ana Velasquez Escobar
Jacqueline White
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies Certificate Recipients
Mastery Certificate in Career Development
Individual Development Plan Career Exploration Series
Adeolu Adekunle
Esther Adeyemi
Oluwaseun Aladeboyeje
Alexis G. Allen
Sergio Arellano
Daniela Ayala
Seyyed Ali Ayati
Sourima Banerjee
Eboni Bango
Kimberley Barrera
Yesica Botero
Donald Bowen
Catherine Byars
Daniel Commey
Jason Dean
Jacob Degitz
Sahithi Duppati
Madhusree Gangopadhyay
Uyok Hanson
Jenna Johnson
Elizabeth Joseph-Williams
Jonathan Kerman
Surya Krishnan
Sanjana Kunkolienkar
Huy Lai
Hannah League
Shikhadri Mahanta
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Sagar Patel
Thien Phan
Meredith Prater
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Khushboo Rastogi
Christopher Reighley
Mikayla Renwick
Jarrod Romine
Meshwa Sakaria
Maya Sandy
Harsh Shah
Sejal Sanjay Shanbhag
Hannah Smith
Kathan Vyas
Miriam Watts
Laura Zotter
Mastery Certificate in Communication
Aggie Voice Blog Ambassadors Program
Delaney Couri
Gabriella Figueroa
Ayushri Jain
Mastery Certificate in Communication
English Language Proficiency Practice Group for Instructors
Adeolu Adekunle
Kyangzi Calderon Cerguera
Diego Elizalde Segovia
Luis Hernandez Gonzalez
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Andreas Lemonaris
Yeaeun Lim
Yuzhe Wang
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies Certificate Recipients
Mastery Certificate in Instruction & Assessment
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching & Learning Certificate Programs
Boluwatife Ajayi
Md Akanda
Meredith Anderson
Mayson Astle
Adeshina Badejo
Rose Blanchard
Younes Bordbar
Adam Bower
Abdullah Braik
Francisca Briandt
Dawn Burton
Chee-Hoon Chang
Nilson Chapagain
Carli Copell
Ruben Delgado
Diya Dharmendran
Christina Dollahon
Devon Dollahon
Xiangjue Dong
Austin Ehrie
Umer Farooq
Vanessa Fernandez Rodriguez
Habiba Ghoneim
Jasmine Goode
Saurabh Anil Gotmare
Purushottam Gyawali
Thomas Hallmark
Tania Hasan
Shakil Hosain
Azile Hotz
Dallin Jones
Laxmi Prasanna Kandi
Anna Kelley
Shelby Kilpatrick
Hyunrae Kim
Vishnudas Kulangara Veettil
Hannah League
Ryne Maness
Rachel McNeal
Dipesh Metha
Dana Mickey
Basheer Mugdadi
Rajesh Neupane
Keegan Nichols
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Olivia Ognibene
Parisa Paymard
Serinmary Pulikkottil Rejimon
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Edward Rhodes
Alondra Rojas
Kaila Ronayne
Arantxa Sacristan Ramirez
Lokesh Sekar
Bhuwan Shrestha
Aditya Surve
Maria Teleki
Judy Waight
Kimberly Wright
Krishna Kaushik Yanamundra
Eshani Yeragi
Yingying Zhao
Zhuldyz Zhumashova
Graduate Resources and Development for Aggies Certificate Recipients
Mastery Certificate in Leadership & Mentoring
Graduate Mentoring Academy Facilitator Program
Adeolu Adekunle
Anum Ahmed
Delaney Couri
Aminah Crawford
Thomas Hallmark
Tania Hasan
Lindsey Loflin
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Tanvir Islam Rajib
Dipankar Sen
Bednarz Award
The Bednarz Award, established in 2016, honors the contributions and impact of Dr. Sarah Bednarz to CIRTL by recognizing outstanding students in CIRTL@Texas A&M programs. Awardees exhibit high quality Teaching as Research projects and impactful involvement in CIRTL@Texas A&M.
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele
Doctoral Student
Department of Communication & Journalism College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Darrel Wanzer-Serrano
Faith Ebiere Eguolo Odele is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Communication and Journalism. Her research examines colonial, racial and gender politics in media production and representation, challenging systems of injustice. She aims to pursue a career in academia focused on research, teaching and public scholarship to drive social change. She has completed the Academy for Future Faculty, Academy for Future Faculty Senior Fellows, Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate Teaching Course, Graduate Leadership Institute, and Teaching as Research (TAR) Fellows. Her TAR project is titled “The Impact of Writing Center Consultations on Students’ Citation Practice.” Faith hopes her scholarship and creative writing will inspire meaningful conversations and foster understanding and compassion.
Montgomery Award
Montgomery Awards recognize student leaders who contribute to the academic, professional and overall quality of life for graduate and professional students at Texas A&M. Recipients demonstrate leadership in student groups or service organizations and excel in academics and scholarship.
Jeffrey Cragin
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Chemistry
College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Daniel Singleton
Jeffrey is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in chemistry under the advisement of Dr. Daniel Singleton. His research uses computational and empirical tools to study the role of solvents in the mechanism of cationic rearrangements. Jeffrey is an enthusiastic educator, and earned the 2023 Association of Former Students Distinguished Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is the current Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG) Parliamentarian and won the 12th Man Outstanding Senator Award for his service to Texas A&M.
Eshani Yeragi
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Biology
College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Alex Keene
A biology doctoral candidate, Eshani researches sleep, aging and neurogenetics using the common fruit fly. She is President of Women in Science and Engineering and GPSG Vice President of University Affairs. Eshani is involved in the Indian Graduate Student Association and contributes to committees on student rules and appeals. Her leadership in developing programming for incoming international students earned her the Facker Fellowship. She was also named Executive Board Member of the Year award by Residence Life for her service as President of the Gardens Apartments Community Council.
Outstanding Mentoring Award for Graduate and Professional Students
Outstanding Mentoring Awards for Graduate & Professional Students seek to honor those who have demonstrated outstanding success in mentoring undergraduate students or peers.
Jillian Paige Bennett
Master’s Student
Department of Aerospace Engineering
College of Engineering
Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Valasek
Jillian is a second-year aerospace engineering master’s student. Her research on nonlinear adaptive multiple time scale control is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Jillian will continue on to pursue an aerospace engi neering Ph.D. at Texas A&M, specializing in dynamics and control. She is passionate about mentoring students through her lab and organizations like Sigma Gamma Tau and the aerospace honor society, helping women navigate school and life stressors while pursuing aerospace engineering opportunities.
Gemini Alexis Creason-Parker
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Sociology
College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah Gatson
A sociology doctoral candidate graduating in May, Gemini researches the intersection of media and crime. Her dissertation analyzes Law & Order: SVU to assess its reliance on rape myths. She won the Graduate Student Paper Award from the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Student Poster Award from the Division of Feminist Crimi nology at the American Society of Criminology. She placed second in the poster competition at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Doctoral Summit. She has mentored 28 undergraduates, ensuring their access to research regardless of discipline or experience. Her mentorship has led many of her students to pursue graduate education.
Outstanding Mentoring Award for Graduate and Professional Students Cont.
Trevor Self
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Cristine Heaps
Trevor is a doctoral candidate in biomedical sciences, focusing on ischemic heart disease and discovering new therapeutic targets. Trevor’s participation in the Graduate Mentoring Academy reflects his commitment to academic and personal growth and development, and he applies its values when engaging with his students. Trevor led an undergraduate team in the Aggie Research Program, training them in lab techniques. Their work won awards at two campus symposia, demonstrating his dedication to mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Outstanding Mentoring Award for Faculty
Outstanding Mentoring Awards for Faculty seek to acknowledge and honor those who have enjoyed outstanding success in mentoring graduate and professional students.
Dr. Casey Papovich
Professor
Department of Physics & Astronomy
College of Arts & Sciences
Dr. Papovich is an astrophysicist and professor of physics and astronomy. His research involves finding and studying the most distant galaxies using NASA’s telescopes, including most recently the James Webb Space Telescope. He has previously received awards for his teaching and research activities. He is a passionate mentor of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers and a strong advocate for science education. He earned his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, and then held NASA’s Spitzer Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona prior to joining Texas A&M in 2008, where he is the Marsha L. ’69 And Ralph F. Schilling ’68 Chair in Physics & Astronomy.
Dr. X. Ben Wu
Professor
Department of Ecology & Conservation Biology
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Dr. Wu is a professor of ecology and Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence. He teaches introductory and graduate courses on ecology and landscape analysis. He has served as chair or co-chair for 40 Ph.D. and master’s students and as a committee member for 81 Ph.D. and 44 master’s students. His current research focuses on spatial ecology and pyric herbivory in savannas. His lab also works on programs centered on faculty and teacher development and educational innovations. Dr. Wu has been Associate Dean of Faculties and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, as well as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Distinguished Dissertation Award
Distinguished Dissertation Awards honor current or former students whose dissertations make a significant contribution to scholarship in their discipline.
Humanities and Fine Arts
Dr. Sara Chung
Department of English College of Arts & Sciences
Dissertation: “Encountering Gothic Humanism in Victorian Novels”
Dr. Chung graduated in August 2024 with a Ph.D. in English under the mentorship of Dr. Mary Ann O’Farrell. Her dissertation, “Encountering Gothic Humanism in Victorian Novels,” critically reexamines canonical Victorian literature—often seen as emblematic of universal human experience—to reveal how such texts reflect a partial and Eurocentric conception of humanity. In doing so, Chung proposes the concept of Gothic humanism as a means to both disrupt and reimagine what it means to be human.
Biological and Life Sciences
Dr. Jenna Hulke
Department of Biology College of Arts & Sciences
Dissertation: “The Evolutionary Interplay Between Parasite Mating Systems and Their Complex Life Cycles”
Dr. Hulke earned her Ph.D. in biology from Texas A&M in August 2024, under the mentorship of Dr. Charles Criscione. Her dissertation, “The Evolutionary Interplay between Parasite Mating Systems and Their Complex Life Cycles,” examines the role of inbreeding and inbreeding depression in maintaining the number of hosts a parasite requires to complete their life cycle. Her research provided the first test of a long-standing hypothesis within the field of parasitology devised two novel methods for testing inbreeding depression.
Distinguished Dissertation Award Cont. Social Sciences
Binbin Lin
Department of Geography College of Arts & Sciences
Dissertation: “Social Sensing for Public Health: A BESH Framework to Understand and Mitigate Inequalities”
Binbin Lin will graduate in May 2025 with a Ph.D. in geography under the mentorship of Dr. Lei Zou. Her dissertation, “Social Sensing for Public Health: A BESH Framework to Understand and Mitigate Inequalities,” investigates health disparities through social sensing and data science approaches across three interrelated dimensions: exposure, access and outcome. Systematically examining the behavioral, societal and environmental determinants underpinning these disparities, her findings yield policy-relevant insights for optimizing healthcare resource distribution and designing targeted interventions.
Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering
Dr. Deep Shah
Department of Civil Engineering College of Engineering
Dissertation: “Leveraging Satellite Remote Sensing for Understanding Global Reservoir-Based Droughts”
Dr. Shah earned his Ph.D. in civil engineering in August 2024 under the mentorship of Dr. Hulin Gao. His dissertation, “Leveraging Satellite Remote Sensing for Understanding Global Reservoir-Based Droughts,” highlights the critical need for global water reservoir datasets that are often not shared or accessible. His work focuses on generating open-access datasets and advancing the understanding of water shortages in reservoirs worldwide. Dr. Shah’s research sheds light on how both climate variability and human activities drive reservoir storage droughts and identifies reservoirs at a higher risk.
Faculty Aspiring Leadership Fellows
Coordinated by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Faculty Aspiring Leadership Program helps faculty across campus develop the leadership skills that enable transformative change.
Dr. Kevin Curley Jr.
Instructional Associate Professor Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Curley works with CIRTL to develop programming in graduate education and postdoctoral training to establish a national faculty focused on effective, evidence-based teaching practices for diverse student populations.
Dr. Hector Rivera
Associate Professor Department of Educational Psychology College of Education & Human Development
Dr. Rivera works with the Graduate & Professional School’s Student Development and Success team working to develop, execute and assess a multi-session leadership training program for graduate and professional students as a part of the GRAD Aggies professional development program.
Tim Weaver
Instructional Associate Professor Art & Design College of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts
Tim Weaver supports the My Grad Journey system, which helps graduate and professional students document their goals and activities, allows faculty advisors to provide feedback, and enables departments to gather data for reports.
Employee Milestones
The Graduate and Professional School acknowledges employees for their significant service milestones. We appreciate their commitment to our graduate community and their contributions to advancing graduate education.
DR. ROB DIXON
Director of Marketing & Communications
Graduate and Professional School
5 Years of Service
JACQUELINE PEREZ
Director of Business Services
Graduate and Professional School
5 Years of Service
KAREN SEAGO
Graduate Records Specialist for Records Processing
Graduate and Professional School
10 Years of Service
Vision, Values and Excellence Staff Award
The Vision, Values and Excellence Award recognizes excellence in leadership, communication, collaboration, and commitment to student-centered values. Recipients positively impact the Graduate and Professional School and the wider community.
Raiden Sawyer
Graduate Student Specialist lll for Records Processing
Graduate and Professional School
Supervisor: Trenton Smith
Raiden works as a Graduate Student Specialist III for Records Processing, where he supports graduate student success in degree milestone completion and clearance for graduation. He also assists with the Academic Requirements Completion System (ARCS) and commencement programming.
Above and Beyond Student Employee Award
The Above and Beyond Student Employee Award honors a student employee who excels in communication, collaboration, innovative thinking, global awareness, and professional impact within the Graduate and Professional School and the community.
Emerson Strauch
Graduate Assistant for Business Services
Graduate and Professional School
Supervisor: Danielle Pacheco
Emerson assists with internal budget reconciliation, updating and verifying student financial information, and generating compliance reports. He also works to develop new solutions for processing and reporting data.
Special Thanks
Rudder Theatre Complex
Graze and Gala
Century Oaks Catering
Post Oak Florist
Copy Corner Printing
DJ Franco Photo Booth
Richard Badillo Photography
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