Congratulations to Our Scholarship Winners 

Each year, through the Alumni Memorial Scholarships, we recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our students. These scholarships are awarded in remembrance of those alumni who lost their lives while bravely serving their country during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict. Memorial plaques with the names of these honored alumni can be seen in the Bray Hall rotunda. Selection criteria for the Alumni Memorial Scholarships is based not only on academic excellence but also on extracurricular activities and strength of character. Funds for these awards are made possible via the ESF Golf Tournament. Congratulations to the 2021 recipients!

  • Active member of Bob Marshall Club.
  • COVID-19 contact tracer, test site volunteer and laboratory technician (processes surveillance COVID-19 test pools).
  • Participant in a plant biotechnology research project led by Dr. Lee Newman. The goal of this project is to isolate a gene promotor found in ripening bell peppers and to use the sequenced promotor to develop a biotechnological tool for cancer treatments, pharmaceuticals, and phytoremediation.
  • Medic and trauma Instructor for the Israel Defense Forces; Army service provided a solid medical foundation and experiences to treat patients, lead and teach others. This experience provided a unique opportunity to interact and relate with many groups of people from the multicultural Israeli society.
  • Volunteer for the Bellmore-Merrick Ambulance Service in Long Island.

Sophomores

Liam Grima

Liam Grima
Baldwinsville, New York
Environmental Studies (focus on Law & Policy); 4.0 GPA

  • Acting secretary of ESF’s South Asian DESI Club; spreading awareness of South Asian culture, in order to promote inclusivity, reduce bias and spread awareness to maximize the opportunity for South Asian students in the broader Syracuse Community.
  • Teacher’s assistant for Syracuse University Maxwell School’s Politics of North and South Korea course; coordinated with the professor, acted as a liaison for students, aided the online transition and worked with the SU technology department to simultaneously deliver lectures in a hybrid format.
  • Participant in Syracuse University’s NYPIRG: seeks to represent the interests of students and advance New York’s commitment to justice, equity, and sustainability. Specific activities: packed and transported leftover food from an SU dining hall to a nearby shelter on a weekly basis. 
  • Volunteer at Babylon, Long Island, Democratic Party office.
Hadar Shimshon

Hadar Shimshon
Ra’anana, Israel
Environmental Health; 4.0 GPA

  • Active member of Syracuse University Hillel. 
  • Active member of Bob Marshall Club.
  • COVID-19 contact tracer, test site volunteer and laboratory technician (processes surveillance COVID-19 test pools).
  • Active member of Alchemist Society; provided peer guidance and tutoring; conducted exciting experiment and discussed chemistry-related current research projects. 
  • Co-president of Jewish Club (Stumpies); activelywork to connect the small Jewish community atESF by conducting holiday-oriented activities and meetings. 
  • Member of Alpha Xi Sigma Honor Society.
  • Undergraduate teaching assistant for General Biology. 
  • Participant in a plant biotechnology research project led by Dr. Lee Newman. The goal of this project is to isolate a gene promotor found in ripening bell peppers and to use the sequenced promotor to develop a biotechnological tool for cancer treatments, pharmaceuticals, and phytoremediation.
  • Medic and trauma Instructor for the Israel Defense Forces; Army service provided a solid medical foundation and experiences to treat patients, lead and teach others. This experience provided a unique opportunity to interact and relate with many groups of people from the multicultural Israeli society.
  • Volunteer for the Bellmore-Merrick Ambulance Service in Long Island.

Juniors

Katherine Gannon

Katherine Gannon
Aurora, Illinois
Environmental Resources Engineering; 3.91 GPA

  • President and past secretary of the Student Environmental Coalition.
  • Fundraising chair, Engineers Without Borders.
  • Alpha Xi Sigma Honor Society.
  • Drawdown Scholar, Research Experience for Undergraduate Fellows; worked independently on research that addressed increasing Penn State’s accountability for its carbon footprint through the creation of a college-level greenhouse gas inventory.
  • EcoReps; collaborated with coworkers to create sustainability-themed events for residence halls.
  • SciTech Hands-On Museum teacher assistant; worked with lead teacher to engage students in STEM-based activities.
Kira Whisenhunt

Kira Whisenhunt
Niskayuna, New York
Biotechnology; 3.95 GPA

  • ESF and Syracuse University COVID-19 Response Team; con-tact tracing volunteer, contact tracing trainer, test administrator and testing site supervisor.
  • Teaching assistant for General Biology. 
  • Teaching assistant for Cell Biology.
  • Member of ESF Ecotones, ESF Woodman’s Team and ESF Poetry Club.
  • Volunteer at Crouse Hospital Emergency Department and Syracuse Veterans Association.
  • Schenectady County Department of Public Health; worked as a member of the COVID-19 response team. Performed contact tracing, official documentation processing and test result communication, and handled inquiries from the public.

Seniors

Jacqueline Whitehead

Jacqueline Whitehead
Clifton Park, New York
Environmental Health; 3.85 GPA

  • Philanthropy and fundraising chair and member of Orange Pulse Dance Troupe.
  • Alpha Xi Sigma Honor Society.
  • COVID-19 contact tracer and test site volunteer: helped with COVID testing, grouping samples and contact tracing.
  • Upstate Accelerated Scholars; a program with guaranteed admissions to medical school at SUNY Upstate University after completion of an undergraduate degree. This program is active during summers with participation in weekly lessons and discussions in order to prepare for medical school.
  • Contact tracer, Saratoga County; worked full-time as a contact tracer for home county.
  • National Environmental Public Health intern; worked as a virtual intern for the Polk County Health Department in Florida. Completed a project on precautionary boil water notices.
Thi Minh Hieu Lam

Thi Minh Hieu Lam
Syracuse, New York
Biochemistry; 4.0 GPA

  • Member of Alpha Xi Sigma Honor Society. 
  • Volunteer at ESF Food Pantry;responsible for assisting students with filling out forms and locating what they need.
  • Presenter, 2020 Virtual Research Symposium hosted by the ESF Department of Chemistry; Worked with Dr. Erica Majumder and Dr. Gyu Leem on titanium oxide microbial synthesis for lignin degradation. 
  • Recipient of the Meyer Chemistry Award given by the ESF Department of Chemistry.
  • Onondaga Community College Curriculum Honor Award in the Department of Biology; granted to the student who had the best academic performance in the department.
  • Onondaga Community College; member of the Advising Committee, volunteered with the CSTEP Program, and served as a peer connector.
  • Chemical technician, Onondaga Community College; set up chemicals, solutions, glassware and equipment for chemistry lab courses; assisted lab instructors during classes by refilling chemicals, managing spills and broken glass, and ensured the safety of students.

U.S. Graduate Students

Susannah Howard

Susannah Howard
Environmental Science 3.9 GPA

  • Previous College(s): Smith College, B.A. Geosciences North Thetford, Vermont

  • Member of the Syracuse/ESF Native Students Organization, including Indigrads (Indigenous graduate student organization). 

  • Member of the ESF Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership Program.

  • Organizing a new American Indian Science and Engineering Society Chapter at ESF and SU (with Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity).

  • Social media and research coordination, volunteer and trustee at the Thetford Historical Society, Vermont.

  • Member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (at Citizen Potawatomi Chapter in Shawnee, Oklahoma, with work in progress to establish a chapter in Syracuse).

  • Member of the Geological Society of America, Eco-logical Society of America, SACNAS and Sigma Xi.

  • Co-writing a book on land justice with Pete West-over on Indigenous sovereignty and conservation.

  • Member, treasurer and co-chair for the Indigenous Smith Students Alliance (at Smith College).

  • Researcher, REU for Sustainable Land, Air &Water. Curatorial intern at National Air and Space Museum, Smith at the Smithsonian.

  • Intern, Potawatomi Leadership Program (Shawnee, Oklahoma).

Alison Kocek

Alison Kocek
Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management; 4.0 GPA

  • Previous College(s):M.S., Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management at ESF; B.S., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson

  • Ph.D. representative for Graduate Program Advisory Committee, Department of Environmental Biology.

  • Vice president, Onondaga Audubon. 

  • Secretary, Eastern Lake Ontario Dune Coalition. 

  • Board of Directors, Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps.

  • Board of Directors, Audubon Council of New York.

  • Project coordinator, New York Great Lakes Piping Plover Working Group.

  • Research has focused on identifying the factors that regulate avian populations and developing data-driven solutions to answer conservation and management challenges. Research and collaboration has resulted in eight co-authored refereed publications, one book review, three publications currently under review.

  • Instructor for a Salt Marsh Ecology Seminar; co-instructor for a Coastal Waterbird Ecology workshop in Gujarat, India; co-instructor for the avian portion of Wildlife Field Techniques; guest lecturer for Ornithology, EFB Core Course, and Wetlands Conservation & Management.

International Graduate Students

Atif Ali

Atif Ali

Sustainable Energy; 3.9 GPA

  • Previous College(s):B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

  • Comparative Public Policymaking summer exchange program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

  • Research assistant; current project: quantifying the land-use change effects and especially GHG emissions from installing solar farms at agricultural and marginal lands as well as forests.

  • Editor of departmental e-newsletter at Department of Mechanical Engineering at undergraduate institution; compiled data from the department since its inception and edited e-newsletter.

  • Volunteer Club at undergraduate institution; arranged departmental events and seminars. 

  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers at undergraduate institution; organized events.

  • Our Girl Pakistan; a United Kingdom-based organization fighting against child and forced marriages. 

  • Shauoor NGO; worked in child labor rehabilitation project; visited places in Lahore where minor children were employed as laborers. Provided them with books; ensured that those children would go to school and become useful citizens of the country.

  • Study of the United States Institutes; for Pakistani Student Leaders on Policymaking at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Joanna Lumbsden-Pinto

Joanna Lumbsden-Pinto
Environmental Science Ecosystem Restoration; 3.5 GPA

Previous College(s): Master of Professional Studies, ESF BSc Biology, Universidad dePanama

  • President, International Student Association.
  • Treasurer, Food Recovery Network. 
  • International Student Orientation Mentor.
  • Producing GIS data for the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. 
  • Volunteer work on a project with the Onondaga Nation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
  • Research project assistant at ESF: Vegetation dynamics of Long Island Central Pine Barrensin New York: recent changes and potential future trajectories of an ecosystem at the crossroads. Thisproject is the product of an alliance between severalagencies including ESF, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Central Pine Barrens Commission.