From skill-building to networking to funding, fellowships can aid students navigating the complex terrain of higher education by providing a direct pathway to various professional fields. This semester, 147 Seawolves applied for such awards, and 35 winners were awarded a total of 39 awards from 11 awarding bodies.
In December, The Graduate School at Stony Brook University celebrated 145 Seawolves at the I Hit Submit! event, recognizing the accomplishment of applying applied for such awards. On May 6, the External Fellowships unit of The Graduate School honored 35 different winners who were awarded a total of 39 awards from 11 awarding bodies with a Wall of Honor reception in the Charles B. Wang Center. The ceremony recognized undergraduate and graduate students who have been awarded competitive, merit-based fellowships and scholarships this year.
“Having you here with your families and being able to applaud the work you’ve done is the icing on the cake for us,” said Celia Marshik, dean of The Graduate School. “We’re so happy to see you distinguish yourselves on the national and international stage. Submitting a fellowship application is an important process in itself, but it’s nice to recognize you today and celebrate the amazing travel, research, teaching and other experiences that are enabled by these fellowships and awards.”
In addition to recognizing the awards, Marshik noted the important example it sets for younger students.
“You might not see your place in the bigger picture of these prestigious awards, but when the students who come up behind you look and see people like them who received these awards, it helps open doors for people you’ve never met,” she said. “Secondly, you are distinguishing Stony Brook on a world stage. When we have national and international award bodies looking at these pools of applications and Stony Brook students rise to the top, that’s a clear signal about what we do here and the quality of the students that we have and develop.”
Marshik thanked Ashley Staples, director of external fellowships and scholarly development, and Vernon Caldwell, assistant director of external fellowships, for their efforts in helping students achieve these awards. Throughout the year, the team provides support and resources for students applying for external awards through workshops and advising appointments.
“It’s hard work doing the applications, but this success rewards all the hard work you do day in and day out in your studies,” Staples told awardees. “I’m excited to see you recognized on a national and international stage.”
Stony Brook Provost Carl Lejuez credited The Graduate School with building a model that facilitates confidence that translates to future success.
“You show what you value by where you put your budget,” said Lejuez. “As leaders, we have to make some hard decisions and sometimes we make mistakes. But that does not happen in the Graduate School. They’ve invested in places that are so important to who we say we are in university, and events like this let us see the results of those investments. It takes courage to believe in yourself and put yourself out there. There is no greater value or connection as a discipline of solving problems, and there is no better example of our professional schools and what it means to see problems in society and want to be the solution to them. I give my appreciation to everyone that helped make this happen.”
David Rubenstein, associate professor of biomedical engineering and associate dean for academic and student affairs at The Graduate School, also spoke of the effort it takes to pursue fellowships and scholarships.
“It’s not just putting the time and effort into this, you have to turn that into actual work that someone has to review,” he said. “And that’s a hard thing to predict. You put the work in and hope somebody believes in it. The fact that you’ve gotten these awards, that you’ve gotten someone to say ‘Yes, you deserve this award,’ is really impactful for your careers and the work you’ve done. The exercise of doing this right, and the professional development that you gain by going through this process is something that you will be doing for the rest of your careers. We’re proud that you’re part of Stony Brook’s Wall of Honor community, and we look forward to hearing about the successes you achieve during your fellowship period.”
Rubenstein also challenged students to meet the moment these opportunities represent.
“I want to charge you to take a piece of the wall with you and bring what you learn back into our Stony Brook community,” he said. “Think about who gave you the moment that inspired you to go for it. You have the opportunity to be that for someone else here on campus, and that’s one of the most important things that you could do.”
“We want to celebrate the things you accomplish that are enabled by these awards,” echoed Marshik. “The story doesn’t stop when you get the award. In many ways, it’s just starting.”
— Robert Emproto
2026 Wall of Honor Recipients
Brian Chen (Political Science), Senior – Critical Language Scholarship & Semi-Finalist, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Alternate
Devorah Hewitt (Biochemistry), Freshman – Critical Language Scholarship Alternate
Kylie DiMatteo (Arts and Sciences), Sophomore – Critical Language Scholarship Recipient
Gino Elia (Philosophy), PhD student – DAAD Research Grants to Germany Recipient, Fulbright Study / Research Award Finalist
Ronan Tiu (Physics, Mathematics), Junior – Goldwater Scholarship and DAAD-RISE Finalist
Anthony Murphy-Neilson (Marine Science, SoMAS), Master’s student – Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Open Study / Research Award Finalist
Emmi Lu (Linguistics – TESOL, AMS), Senior – Fulbright U.S. Student Program Open Study / Research Award Finalist
Jeryl Johnston (Music), PhD student – Fulbright Study / Research Award Finalist
Nicolas Allen (History), PhD student – Fulbright Study / Research Award Finalist
Heshwin Singh (Biology BS, Psychology BS), SBU Alum – Fulbright Study / Research Award Finalist
Oliver Navin-Roda (Political Science), Senior – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award Semi-Finalist
Shivani Shah (Biology/Psychology), Senior – Fulbright Study / Research Award Semi-Finalist
Brian Chen (Political Science), Junior – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award Semi-Finalist
Carrie Wang (Biology), Junior – Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award Alternate
Christina Marie Mariani (Journalism, Asian / Asian-American Studies undergrad), SBU Alumni ’24 – Fulbright Study / Research Award
Anuva Wardah (Political Science, Sociology), Senior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
Shanice Dorzilor (Psychology), Junior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
Frankie Yang (Accounting), Junior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
KJ Fung (Human Evolutionary Biology), Junior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
Lana Gouda (Political Science, Economics, Philosophy), Senior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
Lia Marie Romano (Psychology, Women’s and Gender Studies, Film and Screen Studies), Junior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
Rey Jackson (Business Management, Finance and Operations Management Specializations), Senior – Gilman Scholarship Recipient
Spiros Manolas (Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Mechanical Engineering minor), Junior – Goldwater Scholarship Recipient
William Lancer (Physics, Mathematics), Junior – Goldwater Scholarship Recipient
Behrgen Smith (Biochemistry and Structural Biology), PhD student – Hertz Fellowship Finalist
Nicolas Allen (History), PhD student – Mellon / ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Recipient
Jediael Peterson (History), PhD student – Mellon / ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship Recipient
Colista West (Neurobiology and Behavior), PhD student – NIH F31 National Research Service Award Recipient
Ashley House (Geosciences), PhD student – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient
Ciara Woellhof (BME), Master’s student – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient
Evelyn Li (Neuroscience), PhD student – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient
Julianna Gerold (Psychology, Integrative Neuroscience), PhD student – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient
Kavya Menke (IDPAS), PhD student – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient
Sean Krivitsky (Biochemistry), Senior – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention
Yuxuan Lin (Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology), PhD student – NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Recipient
Joseph Hillesheim (Clinical Psychology), PhD student – Point Foundation Scholarship Semi-Finalist
Kate Blackwell (Ecology and Evolution), PhD student – Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship Recipient
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