Honors College Scholars Convocation | Class of 2024

Dear Honors College Scholars Class of 2024,

Today marks an exciting moment in a journey we officially began together with our induction ceremony when you first arrived. We celebrate all you have accomplished across Rutgers University–New Brunswick, in your schools, and in the broader world, and we eagerly anticipate your future successes. You have already embodied the promise of our scholarly community, committed to being life-long learners, and we know that you’ll continue to uphold the pledge you took:

Where there is something to learn, I will explore. Where there is a new voice, I will listen. Where there is a need, I will help.

This ceremony recognizes your achievement as Honors College Scholars, meeting all of the requirements of the Honors College. These include the culminating academic experience for all Honors College students, the Capstone. We acknowledge your outstanding academic achievement with the Honors College medal and designation as an Honors College Scholar on your forthcoming diploma.

We are proud of how each of you has explored Curiosity, Knowledge, and Purpose in your own individual ways.

With all our best wishes,

J.D. Bowers, PhD Dean, Honors College, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

The Honors College at Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Established in 2015, the Honors College at Rutgers University–New Brunswick is built on a legacy of honors education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the nation’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning. The Honors College redefines interdisciplinary education by inviting students from across the liberal arts and professional schools to live and work together to tackle global issues and transform their ideas into action. Attracting the highest achievers from New Jersey, across the country, and around the world, the Honors College is a community where intellectual curiosity, hands-on knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, service, and compassion for one another are central to their experience. We are committed to advancing a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community where all members have the opportunity, understanding, and support to thrive and to pursue a career with purpose.

CURIOSITY. KNOWLEDGE. PURPOSE.

The Honors College thanks our many supporters, alumni, faculty and staff, families and friends, and the University administration for helping us to provide our students with the many development opportunities they have readily embraced. In particular, we thank the University’s academic leadership for their vision and encouragement.

Jonathan Holloway, PhD

President, Rutgers University

Francine Conway, PhD

Chancellor, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, PhD

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Joseph Barone, PharmD, FCCP

Dean, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Alberto Cuitiño, PhD

Dean, School of Engineering, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Jason Geary, PhD

Dean, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Laura Lawson, PhD

Executive Dean, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Lei Lei, PhD

Dean, Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick

Meghan Rehbein, EdD

Dean, Douglass Residential College, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Juli Wade, PhD

Executive Dean, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Program

PROCESSIONAL

”Fanfare for the Uncommon Honors College” * Please stand.

OPENING

J.D. Bowers, PhD

Dean, Honors College, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

WELCOME

Francine Conway, PhD

Chancellor, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

HONORS COLLEGE SCHOLARS PRESENTERS

Vanassa Lafleur, School of Arts and Sciences

Buzzy Brickman, Rutgers Business School

CONVOCATION ADDRESS

Petra Gaskins, Council Member, City of New Brunswick

* Please silence electronic devices. A professional photographer will be taking photographs of each Honors College Scholar (details in back of program). Please remain seated during the ceremony—no flash photography.

* “Fanfare for the Uncommon Honors College” (2015) was written by Donel Young, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Honors College.

PRESENTATION OF THE HONORS COLLEGE MEDAL

Please hold your applause until all names have been read.

READER

Krista Klein, PhD

Acting Associate Dean, Honors College, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

INDUCTION INTO THE HONORS COLLEGE ALUMNI SOCIETY

Co-Leads of the Honors College Traditions Committee

Bianca Caproni, School of Arts and Sciences

Sandhya Rajagopalan, School of Arts and Sciences

CLOSING

J.D. Bowers, PhD

Dean, Honors College, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

RECESSIONAL

Please stand and join us in “clapping out” our Honors College Scholars.

Remain by your seat until the recessional has concluded.

We invite you to gather in the Honors College Rodkin Family Courtyard to celebrate with your family and friends. Professional photographers will be available to take your photos.

Convocation Address Speaker

Petra Gaskins, Council Member, City of New Brunswick

Petra Gaskins, a proud resident of the City of New Brunswick, made history when she was sworn into the City Council on January 02, 2023. She became the first Black woman and the youngest to serve in the City’s history.

Petra’s involvement in politics originated from her personal experience of homelessness due to child abuse and parental abandonment. From her pre-teen years to adulthood, she constantly had to confront unjust laws and bureaucracies that spurred within her a determination to get involved; she began organizing for the rights of homeless children after initially being denied the opportunity to attend high school.

Today, she is the Chief of Staff to New Jersey State Senator Joseph Cryan, Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. She previously served as Director of Outreach for Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and as an Aide to Governor Phil Murphy. Petra is most known for creating outside-the-box opportunities to elevate those whose voices have been systemically ignored. Petra holds a BA degree in Political Science and Global Studies from Rider University.

Honors College Scholars Class of 2024

The Honors College Medal is awarded to students who have completed all Honors College academic requirements to receive the designation of “Honors College Scholar.”

John Adams Rutgers Business School

Oluwanifemi Adetunji School of Arts and Sciences

Akin Aksay School of Arts and Sciences

Sheaa Amin * School of Arts and Sciences

Joseph Arrigo School of Engineering

Emily Arscott Mason Gross School of the Arts

Nora Asker * School of Arts and Sciences

Neha Avadhani Rutgers Business School

Carmel Bader School of Engineering

Mayank Barad School of Engineering

Vaughn Battista Mason Gross School of the Arts

Karl Matthew Cruz Bermudez School of Arts and Sciences

Rohan Bhavankar Rutgers Business School

Avni Bhavsar School of Engineering

Annabelle Bowman Mason Gross School of the Arts

Buzzy Brickman * ⁜ Rutgers Business School

Lauren Bromberg * School of Arts and Sciences

Sophie Brown * School of Arts and Sciences

Benjamin Buckley School of Arts and Sciences

Isabella Cabarcos School of Engineering

Bianca Caproni * ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Jasmine Cedeno School of Arts and Sciences

Leyneir Cristell Cespedes Licas School of Arts and Sciences

James Chan School of Engineering

Alakh Chauhan School of Engineering

Peter Chen School of Engineering

Christine Cherian * School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Vanessa Chin * School of Arts and Sciences

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

Anna Chostko * ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Lorraine Clark School of Arts and Sciences

Liesl Co School of Arts and Sciences

Camila Correa School of Arts and Sciences

Madison Cortes * School of Arts and Sciences

Charlee Crawford School of Arts and Sciences

Samantha D’Elia School of Arts and Sciences

Francisco del Campo School of Arts and Sciences

John DelGuercio School of Arts and Sciences

Trent Demers School of Arts and Sciences

Krish Desai Rutgers Business School

Vincenza Deserio School of Arts and Sciences

Jenna DeSimone School of Arts and Sciences

Evan Dickinson School of Arts and Sciences

Danielle Dominguez School of Arts and Sciences

Nathaniel Eck * School of Arts and Sciences

Maira Ejaz School of Arts and Sciences

Mohammed Elfaramawy ⁜ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Omar Elmogazy School of Arts and Sciences

Chiara Espinal School of Arts and Sciences

Nicholas Fastuca School of Arts and Sciences

Dylan Fedele * School of Engineering

Ava Feldman * School of Arts and Sciences

Caroline Fernandes Rutgers Business School

Chelsea Fernandez * School of Arts and Sciences

Amy Flather School of Arts and Sciences

Jared Fraticelli School of Arts and Sciences

Dylan Freno Mason Gross School of the Arts

Kaitlyn Fung * School of Arts and Sciences

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

Nettie Gaeta School of Engineering

Maria Galkin * School of Engineering

Shane Gallagher School of Engineering

Kirandharshini Ganesh * School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Alexis M Garcia School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Christopher Garofalo * School of Arts and Sciences

Erica Gjini * School of Engineering

Leslie Gomez School of Arts and Sciences

Gabriella Gonzalez School of Arts and Sciences

Matthew Greenen School of Engineering

Annabel Guo * ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Rees Hagler School of Arts and Sciences

Dylan Halbig School of Arts and Sciences

Kristen Marie Hamilton * School of Arts and Sciences

Amanda Henning School of Arts and Sciences

Hana Huber School of Arts and Sciences

Mehwish Imran School of Arts and Sciences

El Johnsen School of Arts and Sciences

Peyton Jordan Rutgers Business School

Emily Jurkevich Rutgers Business School

Aneesh Kakirde School of Engineering

Margaret Kane School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Rashmi Kapse Rutgers Business School

Shravan Kasetty School of Arts and Sciences

Donovan Kerns School of Engineering

Hayoon Kim * School of Arts and Sciences

Jaime Kim School of Arts and Sciences

Kaitlyn Koenig School of Arts and Sciences

Sakshi Koul School of Engineering

Andrew Krapivin School of Arts and Sciences

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

Arvind Kruthiventy School of Engineering

Gauri Kshirsagar Rutgers Business School

Vanassa Lafleur * ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Astha Lakhankar School of Arts and Sciences

Laura Lassen School of Arts and Sciences

Sarah LaValle School of Arts and Sciences

Matthew Lazzara School of Arts and Sciences

Alex Lee School of Engineering

Luna Lee * School of Arts and Sciences

Kerry Li School of Engineering

Jiebin Liang School of Engineering

Aliceana Lin * Rutgers Business School

Gloria Liu * School of Arts and Sciences

Grace Liu * School of Arts and Sciences

Earl Simon Reazo Lontok * School of Arts and Sciences

Camille Lorico School of Arts and Sciences

Joshua Louie School of Arts and Sciences

Anna Maclin Rutgers Business School

Emily Mahaffy School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Nia Devaki Mallangada School of Arts and Sciences

Natasha Marshall * School of Arts and Sciences

Amala Mathew * School of Arts and Sciences

Sean Maye School of Arts and Sciences

Mary McIlvain School of Arts and Sciences

Emma McMillan * Mason Gross School of the Arts

Simon Mendoza School of Arts and Sciences

Johanna Murphy School of Arts and Sciences

Nadeen Nawar School of Arts and Sciences

Theodore Nguyen School of Arts and Sciences

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

Elizabeth Nicell School of Arts and Sciences

Margaret Nickel School of Arts and Sciences

Kayla Olivo School of Engineering

Esha Paghdal School of Arts and Sciences

Isaiah Pajaro School of Engineering

Anushka Pande School of Arts and Sciences

Sean Park School of Arts and Sciences

Manisha Parthasarathy School of Arts and Sciences

Anjali Patel School of Arts and Sciences

Bhavya Patel School of Arts and Sciences

Hana Patel * School of Arts and Sciences

Khushi Patel School of Arts and Sciences

Shipra Patel * School of Arts and Sciences

Marisa Percoco * School of Arts and Sciences

Ria Philip * School of Arts and Sciences

Nicole Podlog School of Arts and Sciences

Caroline Poskrobko School of Arts and Sciences

Ravi Raghavan School of Engineering

Faizali Rahim School of Engineering

Sasha Raina School of Arts and Sciences

Sandhya Rajagopalan * ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Hirsh Ramani * School of Engineering

Sneha Ramesh Rutgers Business School

Daniel Raser School of Engineering

Jonathan Rasnitsyn School of Arts and Sciences

Olivia Rebernik School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Zoe Reich * ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Lehna Reza School of Arts and Sciences

Luke Rivera School of Arts and Sciences

Andrew Roberts School of Arts and Sciences

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

Jake Rothstein ⁜ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

David Rubin * School of Arts and Sciences

Oliver Rzepecki School of Engineering

Sarah Samdani School of Arts and Sciences

Olivia San-Emeterio School of Arts and Sciences

Priyanka Sarkhel * School of Arts and Sciences

Hannah Schwartz School of Arts and Sciences

Joy Scott School of Arts and Sciences

Heta Shah School of Arts and Sciences

Jill Shah Rutgers Business School

Tej Shah * Rutgers Business School

Amol Mahesh Shirodkar * School of Engineering

Katherine Sidebotham * School of Arts and Sciences

Daniel Simpson Jr. School of Arts and Sciences

Kritika Singh * School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Joshua Skoudis * School of Arts and Sciences

Amy Smith School of Arts and Sciences

Avery Soupios School of Arts and Sciences

Alexander Suponya ⁜ School of Engineering

Annalie Swanepoel School of Arts and Sciences

Kaushik Tallam School of Engineering

Ariana A Taveras School of Arts and Sciences

Matthew Terhune School of Arts and Sciences

Akhil Thalasila ⁜ School of Arts and Sciences

Meghna Thekepat School of Arts and Sciences

Paul Varghese School of Arts and Sciences

Jane Wang School of Arts and Sciences

John Wang School of Arts and Sciences

Linda Wang Rutgers Business School

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

Kithmy Wickramasinghe * School of Arts and Sciences

Louis Williams * Rutgers Business School

Rehan Yadav * Rutgers Business School

Tomaima Yousef School of Arts and Sciences

Adrienne Yu Rutgers Business School

Janis Zellmer * School of Arts and Sciences

Ethan Zheng School of Arts and Sciences

Emily Zhivotovski School of Arts and Sciences

Colin Ziabakhsh School of Arts and Sciences

Katherine Zoda Rutgers Business School

Harrison Zoltowski School of Arts and Sciences

Andrew Zuppardi School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

* Designates receipt of the Honors College Merit Pin in recognition of deep engagement in the Honors College community above and beyond the requirements.

⁜ Designates those who are Honors College Changemakers having received the Honors College Changemaker Award and/or completed 100+ hours of service.

NOTE: Honors College Scholar recognition is not a verification that a student is graduating or earning the indicated academic credential.

iii

THE HONORS COLLEGE MEDAL

The medal’s original design was inspired by the clock tower, which stands high above the Honors College building and plays the Rutgers University alma mater, “On the Banks of the Old Raritan”, daily. The trees in the design represent growth and strength for a bright future. The three birds are a symbol of time passing as well as harmony and peace, with the number three also referencing the Honors College motto—Curiosity. Knowledge. Purpose.

HONORS COLLEGE ALUMNI SOCIETY

Congratulations Honors College Scholars!

Scan the QR code to visit the Honors College Alumni page: HONORSCOLLEGE.RUTGERS.EDU/HCALUMNI

Join the official Honors College LinkedIn group to connect with former classmates and colleagues and establish new networking relationships.

We look forward to staying in touch and hearing your news!

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY PRO PICS

Rutgers has partnered with Pro Pics to take professional portraits of all graduates during the ceremony. Photos will be available for purchase after the ceremony. There is no cost to have your photo taken and no obligation to purchase. If you would like to receive your photo proofs, please go to www.RutgersPhotos.com to submit your information. If you have any questions regarding your photos, please contact Pro Pics at orders@propicsusa.com.

All students are encouraged to share their memories from the Convocation on social media. You can tag us in your posts @ruhonorscollnb. We may share your posts online after the event.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE HONORS COLLEGE STAFF WHO HAVE DEDICATED THEIR TIME AND DEEP CARE DURING OUR GRADUATES’ JOURNEYS AT THE HONORS COLLEGE AND RUTGERS AT LARGE:

J.D. Bowers, Dean, Faculty Fellow in Residence

Krista Klein, Acting Associate Dean

Andrea Rydel, Assistant Dean

Meera Ananth, Senior Director for Development, Rutgers University Foundation

Nicole Burrowes, Honors College Faculty Fellow in Residence

Kamini Chopra, Administrative Coordinator

Ariel Chun, Academic Advisor

Sharon Cocuzza, Associate Vice President for Development, Rutgers University Foundation

Sabrina Gat, Academic Advisor

Justin Kelley, Lecturer & CCC Coordinator

Chloë Kitzinger, Honors College Faculty Fellow

Shawn Lawson, Jr., Residence Life Coordinator

Trip McCrossin, Honors College Faculty Fellow in Residence

Domenic Nalbandian, Assistant Director for Student Support & Inclusive Communities

Shan Reeves, Community Based Counselor

Talia Robbins, Assistant Teaching Professor and Lead Instructor of the Forum

Kristen Syrett, Honors College Faculty Fellow

Anna Witek, Web Designer and Digital & Visual Strategist

Lisa Wittmaack, Department Administrator

Donel Young, Director, Marketing and Communications

CURIOSITY. KNOWLEDGE. PURPOSE.