Academic Honors Convocation celebrates achievements of 61 extraordinary students

At the outdoor reception before Friday’s Academic Honors Convocation celebration for students, senior Jason Toliao of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences stood with his father and took in the joyous scene.

He could see fellow Trojans huddling and taking group selfies, others hugging each other hello, and some chatting animatedly with classmates and professors about their post-graduation plans.

“There’s so many people here who I see around campus every day hanging out with friends,” said Toliao, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and plans to pursue medical research. “I would never expect them to be so accomplished academically as well as being this great presence around campus.”

Toliao, who was honored as one of the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship recipients by USC President Beong-Soo Kim at the end of the evening, was one of 61 Trojans celebrated for their achievements at the annual event held inside Town and Gown on USC’s University Park Campus.

During his opening remarks, Kim praised the honorees for their creativity and collaboration, their ability to see new possibilities and perspectives, and for expressing ideas in “fresh and imaginative ways.”

“The excellence being recognized tonight should give us all a renewed sense of optimism about where we’re headed and how USC can shape the world,” he said.

Excellence across the board

Among the students in the spotlight were a researcher focused on the genetics of brain aging, a scholar who delved into the link between dance and neuroplasticity, and a Trojan who explored the economic order of our modern world through an analysis of capitalism and private property.

“They’ve shown us what excellence looks like firsthand,” Kim said. “It begins with incredibly hard work and the discipline to show up every day and decide how to move forward.”

The ballroom was filled with students and their teachers, mentors, colleagues, friends and family.

“Just as our honorees look for ways to lift up others, they themselves have benefited from a support system that has helped them reach greater heights,” Kim said. “Support is woven into every success we’re going to celebrate this evening.”

Trojans honored alongside peers

A group of Fulbright Scholars excitedly greeted each other at the outdoor pre-dinner reception. They included senior Welela Solomon of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, who is passionate about improving quality healthcare access and systems around the world.

“I think it’s just so wonderful to be surrounded by so much excellence,” Solomon said in an interview. “I’m inspired by all the great work that people are doing and going to be doing in the future as well.”

Senior Siddharth Srikanth of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, a double major in computer science and applied math, stood nearby and glowed as he discussed in an interview what it means to him to have been chosen for the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The fellowship will provide three years of funding for Srikanth’s doctoral program in computer science at Columbia University, which he’ll begin this fall.

“My research is centered around robotics and how we can build assistive robots for elderly people or impaired people sometime in the future,” he said. “I have some of my friends here to celebrate with me, which is very exciting. I’m very excited for my next chapter.”

A well-rounded Trojan experience

Before entering the ballroom for the dinner celebration, USC Price School of Public Policy graduate student and USC Dornsife alumna Beatrix M. Heard reflected on receiving the USC Rockwell Dennis Hunt Scholastic Award. It is given to an undergraduate alumnus of USC who is pursuing a graduate or professional degree at the university and who is most representative of the university’s traditions and values.

“During my time at USC, I probably changed my major five times,” Heard said. “Each time, I really jumped into the clubs and the organizations that were associated with [those majors]. I spent a lot of time doing volunteer work, educational work and community work.”

She said she hopes all students are able take advantage of the many resources and opportunities at USC and move forward feeling as fulfilled as she does.

“There’s so many people here,” Heard said with a laugh. “I made my best friends at USC and was able to make the most of my university experience.”

Faculty members academic and research achievements were celebrated at a similar convocation earlier in the month.

Student honorees

Here is the full list of student honorees:

Phi Kappa Phi Student Recognition Award: Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the oldest interdisciplinary honor society at USC. It recognizes scholarship and awards prizes annually to graduate and undergraduate students for creative and scholarly achievements.

• Katie Bradshaw
• Nicholas J. Kim
• Issay Matsumoto
• Rachael Somers

Phi Beta Kappa Undergraduate Awards: Devoted to liberal learning in arts and sciences, Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776, presents two undergraduate awards to honor creativity, scholarship and leadership in faculty-student community relations.

• Magdalena Albright
• Carson Chivers
• Helen Highland
• Ranay Sah
• Dane Sprague

Rockwell Dennis Hunt Award: Awarded to an alumna or alumnus of USC who is pursuing a graduate or professional degree at the university and who is most representative of the Trojan Family’s traditions and values.

• Beatrix M. Heard

University Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award: Awarded to three graduate teaching assistants — from diverse areas such as the natural sciences and engineering, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts — who have exhibited consistent excellence in the classroom and thus symbolize the university’s dedication to the education of scholar-teachers.

• Haley Hsu
• Antonio Maria Cleani
• Charles C. Lehnen

PhD Achievement Award: Awarded for doctoral student achievement.

• Yashar Aghaei
• Mohammad Bazmi
• Maiya Hotchkiss
• Saif Khan
• Eric Tinkerhess
• Zaina Ujayli

Barry Goldwater Scholar: Barry Goldwater Scholarships are awarded to outstanding undergraduates who are studying mathematics, natural sciences or engineering and who intend to pursue a research career.

• Nicholas J. Kim
• Catcher Salazar
• Jason M. Toliao

USC Discovery Scholar Prize: The Discovery Scholar distinction honors undergraduate students who excel in the classroom while demonstrating the ability to create exceptional new scholarship or artistic works in any major concentration offered at the university.

• Madeline Clara Cheng
• Cardin A. Chung
• Sara Eyassu
• Nicholas J. Kim
• Yoonseo Lee
• Hannah J. Lee
• Vanessa Liu
• Mengshi Liu
• Jason M. Toliao
• Hengxuan (Wendy) Wang

USC Global Scholar Prize: The Global Scholar distinction honors students who excel in their studies both at home and abroad.

• Julia Marie-Françoise Alexander
• Valerie Aronhalt
• Eloise Bencke
• Saba Daneshmand
• Sanya Gupta
• Zac Hardiman
• Aryana Mahmud
• Joseph Monticciolo
• Leah C. Nwizugbo
• Laura Julietta Pisciotte Garzon

USC Steven & Kathryn Sample Renaissance Scholar Prize: The Renaissance Scholar Prize recognizes and celebrates USC undergraduates who have excelled academically while pursuing at least two widely separate fields of study.

• Tingyo Chang
• Carson Chivers
• Asha Dukkipati
• Abhinav Gupta
• Halle Hunt
• Ming Leng
• Alysse Quin
• Madeleine Tozer
• Nicole Jiale Yu
• Maria Carolina Zensen Simone’s

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program: The fellowship program was established to recruit and support individuals who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions in STEM, including STEM education.

• Aiko Milagros Abo Dominguez
• Nathan Derhake
• Kenta Lin
• Nicholas Lototsky
• Siddharth Srikanth