At the Senior Distinguished Awards Convocation, the University of Pittsburgh gathers to pay tribute to the outstanding graduating students who have distinguished themselves through academics, service and leadership.
Awards and Honors
Click gray bar to view awardees for each category below.
- The Bachelor of Philosophy Degree (BPhil)
The Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil) degree is one of the most prestigious undergraduate qualifications available anywhere in the world. The BPhil degree requires students to complete a rigorous curriculum combined with independent research to create an academic experience involving breadth and depth.
Stephany Andrade
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Maya Asher
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Lauren Bedell
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Catherine Brown
School of Nursing
Olivia Carson
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Nicole Chiu
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Dev Chopra
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Michelle Chung
School of Nursing
Luciana De Jesus
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Meghana Dodda
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Isaac Gamwo
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Annis Gong
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Colleen Gunn
School of Nursing
Macie Hakim
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Shane Hansen
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Anneliese Harp
School of Pharmacy
Natan Herzog
Swanson School of Engineering
Harsh Hiwase
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and School of Public Health
Maya Jones
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Angel Joseph
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Brian Kim
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Erin Lancaster
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Julie Lawler
School of Computing and Information
Amelia Leonard
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Jiaxiong (Irvin) Li
School of Education
Cody McSherry
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Chloe Merino
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Zachary Miller
Swanson School of Engineering
Al Nie
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Stuti Panchal
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Heather Phillips
Swanson School of Engineering
Jennifer Qiu
School of Education
Mark Rhoge
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Jake Rosen
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Amelia Saccomandi
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Shannon Seidel
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Milani Shanmuganathan
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Felicia Shen
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Isabel Sichlau
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Haylie Silbernagel
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Owen Spencer
School of Computing and Information
Nicholas Vasas
Swanson School of Engineering
Simon Wang
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Christian Waronsky
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Emma Whittaker
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Madeline Wolfe
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Virginia Yu
Swanson School of Engineering
Julia Zeiser
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Yushu (Erin) Zuo
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
University Scholars
The title of University Scholar is awarded to students that have distinguished themselves by achieving a cumulative grade point average that ranks in the top 2% of their peers within their primary school of affiliation.
- Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Rhea Abraham
Krishna Amin
Su Bin An
Ellen Baker
Ella Begovic
Caleb Buzard
Natalie Cohen
Angelica Cramer
Livia Daggett
Jaina DeMeter
Nora Diday
Abigale Dzwik
Lucas Ferranti
Emily Finnegan
Nitya Gali
Danielle Gallagher
Sia Garg
William Goodwin
Tyler Gordon
Gabriela Herring
Julia Hodges
Maya Jones
Natalie Jones
Michael Keller
Laura Kephart
Bailey Kielinski
Aaron Kim
Timothy Koons
Srividya Koppolu
Lily Kramer
Victoria Legleitner
Sarah Lindley
Rohit Mantena
Jenna Margasak
Varun Nair
Kayleigh Phillips
Abhinav Pillai
Allison Redhair
Bryce Rooney
Jake Rosen
Julianne Saffron
Chloe Scharf
Anna Sedlak
Shannon Seidel
Layne Shaffer
Amy Shneyderman
Karthik Sivachandran
Mia Henss Skeel
Ramsey Smith
Evan Sun
Aaron Tien
Liam Tinker
Anthony Toscani
Abigail Vavro
Annie Wang
Katelyn Weir
Henry Zou- School of Business
Steven Bleifer
Maxwell Brown
Erica Brunner
Jordan Carrier
Katie Currie
Nicholas Stephen Giandomenico
Katherine Leatherman
Karina Lesniewski
Nicholas Molicki
Oren Serafin
Luke Siegel
Noah Stern
Karsten Taylor- School of Computing and Information
Emmanuelle Brent
Maximus Hayes
Humeyra Kacar
Jeremy Luu
Christopher Mohri
Austin Throop
Jeffrey Zheng- School of Education
Emma Carney
Charis Carroll
Melody Dean
Emily Janosko
Miarra Misutka- Swanson School of Engineering
Joel Berns
Benjamin Carnovale
Xingze Li
Wenyi Lin
Chengtong Lu
Rebecca Miller
Adam Nichols
Kushal Parekh
Brock Pemberton
Daniel Schaub
Sean Van Alen
Anagha Venkatesh
Jihao Zhang- College of General Studies
Erin Bailey
Abigail Baum
Meriem Boukaabar
Isabella Bufalini
Alexis Hobson
Grace McCullough
Phillip Shirkin
Miah Wojdyla- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Brett Adkins
Macie Hakim
Gracie Long
Lydia Queen
Emma Rubin
Lauren Starr
Claire Visscher- School of Nursing
Catherine Brown
Anna Riggs
Abigail Soskil
Lydia Vavro
Brooklyn Verellen
Eileen Zhang- School of Pharmacy
Emeline Jayne Snook
- School of Public Health
Madison Tassone
- School of Social Work
Olivia Collins
Holly McCarthy
National and International Scholarship Recipients
- Boren Scholarship
A prestigious scholarship that provides financial support, language training, and invaluable experiences for students who are passionate about studying critical languages and immersing themselves in different cultures.
Griffin Mekler-Culbertson
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences- The Critical Language Scholarship
Provides an immersive summer opportunity for American college and university students to learn languages essential to America’s engagement with the world.
Hiba Siddiqui
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences- Deutsher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), or German Academic Exchange Service
This is a private, publicly funded, self-governing organization of higher education institutions in Germany. The DAAD promotes international academic relations and cooperation and offers undergraduate students a variety of support for study and research in Germany at all levels of the undergraduate program.
Lauren Angus
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Heather Phillips
Swanson School of Engineering- The Gilman Scholarship
This scholarship enables students to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity.
Stephany Andrade
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Michelle Chung
School of Nursing
Maria Cortes Flores
School of Business
Justin Cullins
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Madison Dougherty
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Mackenzie Evans
School of Social Work
Valentina Gomez
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Eithne Hartnett
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Yaa Kornne
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Betty Kromah
School of Social Work
Stacey Ngo
Swanson School of Engineering
Nicholas Pho
Swanson School of Engineering
Roland Snyder
School of Business
Rae Templeton
Swanson School of Engineering
Kellen Weidman
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Sikai Zheng
School of Business- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is designed to help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
Santiago Cane
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Winner
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Heather Phillips
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Winner
Swanson School of Engineering
Samarth Chopra
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Swanson School of Engineering
Sarah Lindley
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Aaron Winchell
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences- Voyager Scholarship for Public Service
This is a two-year, leadership development and scholarship program for students who have a passion for helping others, experience serving in or building community, and an expansive view of what’s possible through public service.
Erin Lancaster
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Anjolaoluwa Oludayo
School of Pharmacy
Internal Merit-based Scholarship Recipients
- Chancellor's Scholarship
The scholarship is one of the most prestigious and competitive awards available at the University of Pittsburgh. These scholars are changemakers committed to making the world a better place by working across academic boundaries, and they are defined by their intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, and their desire to work for the public good.
Lauren Beck
Swanson School of Engineering
Livia Daggett
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Connor Diaz
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Joanna Fan
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Aaryn Mathias
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Owen May
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and College of General Studies
Semira McFarlane
School of Business
Thana McLain
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Lilly Nelson
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Nij Patel
School of Computing and Information
Dominique Thomas
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences- Robert Lavelle Scholarship
For students who have demonstrated academic excellence and the potential for scholarly contributions to the University who are admitted to the College of Business Administration.
Sydney Sparks
School of Business- Helen Faison Scholarship
For students who have demonstrated academic excellence and the potential for scholarly contributions to the University.
Sesen Gidey
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences- Nordenberg Leadership Scholars
Named after Chancellor Emeritus Mark A. Nordenberg, the program rewards the best and brightest student leaders from high schools in Pennsylvania who have demonstrated excellent leadership skills, innovative thinking, intellectual curiosity, and community involvement.
Caleb Buzard
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Morgan Madison
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Olivia Terry
School of Computing and Information
Gal Yovel
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Grace Zellers
School of Business- The Stamps Scholars
This program, with the support of benefactors E. Roe Stamps and his late wife Penny Stamps, rewards top student leaders for their outstanding academic and leadership accomplishments.
Melina Bradley
School of Business
Jake Lorenz
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Kayla Moitui
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Niosha Parvizi
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Ramsey Smith
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and Swanson School of Engineering
Winners for the following awards will be announced during the event. Candidates for the award are listed within each dropdown section.
- The Emma W. Locke Memorial Award
Established in 1946 by Charles A. Locke as a tribute to his mother, for whom the award is named. The undergraduate school deans each nominate one candidate for their high scholarship, character, leadership, and devotion to the ideals of the University of Pittsburgh. The winner of this award will be announced at the Senior Distinguished Awards Convocation.
Candidates:- Ashawnti Buckner, College of General Studies
- Nicole Chiu, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
- Samarth Chopra, Swanson School of Engineering
- Mackenzie Evans, School of Social Work
- Emily Janosko, School of Education
- Carson Mello, School of Pharmacy
- Brandi Ramboobeer, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Abigail Soskil, School of Nursing
- Surina Vellody, School of Business
- Ethan Wells, School of Computing and Information
- The Omicron Delta Kappa “Senior of the Year” Award
This award recognizes a student for meritorious leadership and extracurricular activities; exemplary character; leadership, service; scholarship; and who has developed as member of the Pitt community and as a prospective contributor to the greater world. The winner of this award will be announced at the Senior Distinguished Awards Convocation.
Candidates:- Stephany Andrade, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Janet Kim, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Gabriella Lombardi, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
- Brandon Sia, Swanson School of Engineering
- Isabel Sichlau, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; David C. Frederick Honors College
- Ramsey Smith, Swanson School of Engineering; Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; David C. Frederick Honors College
- Simon Wang, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, David C. Frederick Honors College
- Gal Yovel, Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, David C. Frederick Honors College