Several IEP students received prestigious awards this year, including one David L. Boren Award, a Fulbright Scholarship, a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, and a total of nine Beatrice S. Demers Fellowships between the IEP, IBP and ICSP.
Boren Award
Brandon Yeh ’24
The David L. Boren Awards are among the most prestigious study abroad awards offered to American college students. The National Security Education Program, a federal initiative to expand the pool of American citizens with foreign language and international skills, sponsors the awards. In exchange for funding, recipients agree to work for the federal government for at least one year. URI has produced 44 Boren Scholars since the inception of the award program.
This includes IEP’s own Brandon Yeh ’24, a fourth year student in the Chinese IEP from Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is majoring in Chinese and electrical engineering, with minors in math and robotics engineering. His federal career ambition is to work as an electrical engineer for the Department of Defense.
Seven URI students will be traveling abroad this summer thanks to Critical Language Scholarships and Boren Awards, both of which support foreign language and cultural study as a way to promote greater understanding between nations. These two highly selective federal government scholarship programs will enable students to study in Taiwan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan.
Fulbright Scholarship
Heather DiFazio ’23
The Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Fulbright U.S. students are graduating seniors, alumni, or graduate students representing various areas of study, selected for their leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement, and a commitment to service. Recipients are provided the opportunity to conduct research, study, and teach English overseas.
Heather DiFazio ’23, a recent graduate of the German IEP with majors in biomedical engineering and math, will conduct research at the University of Bern, Switzerland, relating to the development of an artificial intelligence module for a surgical intraoperative diagnostic device that can differentiate between tumors and healthy tissue. The AI module would generate a patient-specific profile, allowing surgeons to perform with greater precision and improved outcomes. DiFazio’s work will enable her to participate in the development of medical devices as well as the surgical outcomes, through a partnership with the Bern University Hospital. DiFazio is a graduating senior in URI’s International Engineering Program, majoring in biomedical engineering and German. She is from Cranston, Rhode Island.
A total of four University of Rhode Island students and alumni have been selected to receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board this year. URI has had 30 Fulbright student scholars since 2011. Notable national Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and 41 who have served as a head of state or government.
Goldwater Scholarship
Aidan Kindopp ’24
Three University of Rhode Island students have been selected to receive 2023 Goldwater Scholarships, the most prestigious national scholarship for undergraduate students studying and planning research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. Among them is Aidan Kindopp, a dual chemical engineering and French major in his fourth year as part of URI’s five-year International Engineering Program.
Kindopp, from West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, has worked on nano-bio engineering research in URI’s Roxbury Lab. He would like to earn a Ph.D and conduct oncological research, likely in the field of targeted drug delivery, for a pharmaceutical company or national laboratory, developing delivery techniques for cancer treatments. Kindopp is an NCAA Division I student-athlete, competing in three seasons of varsity cross country and track and field and earning a number of athletic awards and Honors.
Professor Samantha Meenach, who mentors Kindopp, referred to him as the type of student you work with only a few times in a career, and said, “He stands out from his peers on multiple levels, and has demonstrated brilliance … and the ability to be both analytical and to work well with others. I have no doubt that he will make significant scientific contributions and will rise to be a leader in whatever path he pursues.”
“This honor is not only a testament to the University’s dedication to providing exceptional opportunities in undergraduate research with direct faculty mentorship, but for these three promising students, it bolsters their ambitions to pursue their dreams and to truly make a lasting impact in their chosen fields,and on the world,” said Kathleen D. Maher, director of URI’s Office of National Fellowships & Academic Opportunities.
Kindopp and his two peers are among 413 recipients of the scholarship this year from a pool of more than 5,000 applicants. URI has had 27 Goldwater Scholarship awardees since the program’s inception in 1989.
2023 Demers Fellows
Twenty-one members of the University of Rhode Island community – 19 students, a faculty member and a staff member – have been named 2023 Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Fellows by the Rhode Island Foundation. Nine of the awardees are participants in the International Engineering, Business and Computer Sciences Programs.
Sara Hamada Mohamed ’24
This fall, Spanish IEP and biomedical engineering student Sara Hamada Mohamed of Swampscott, Massachusetts will head to Santander, Spain for her IEP year abroad, looking to achieve fluency in Spanish and fully immerse herself in the culture.
“The Demers Fellowship means so much to me,” said Hamada Mohamed, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering and Spanish. “The ability to fully focus on my studies abroad without financial worries is something I am extremely grateful for and I cannot thank the Rhode Island Foundation enough. This opportunity to study at the Universidad de Cantabria for a semester and complete a six-month internship at a biotechnology company is truly an experience I will never forget and will learn so much from.”
Hamada Mohamed, a first-generation college student and first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Northern Africa in the 1990s, was attracted to URI by its International Engineering Program (IEP) and the opportunity to study abroad. Her choice of biomedical engineering was because of her father.
“A year after I was born, he was in an accident that left him wheelchair bound for life,” she said. “As a child, I was always hopeful that there could be something to help him stand up again, or that I could create a solution to improve his situation.”
Leslie Ortiz ’25
Leslie Ortiz, of Newport, a junior in computer science, art and Japanese, will make her first trip to Japan in the fall, thanks to the Demers grant. She, too, was attracted to URI and the idea of learning a language and pursuing a STEM degree.
A first-generation Guatemalan-American college student, Ortiz became hooked on web development in high school. At URI, Ortiz, a student in the International Computer Science Program, has combined her interests in STEM and art through visual design and programming. But she’s also been amazed by the work being done by fellow students and professors. She is assisting a computer science professor with research to better understand and address the challenges faced by marginalized individuals when using technology.
“Truly, getting this fellowship means ensuring that I will be able to learn and work abroad without any fear of financial burden, something I initially believed to be nearly impossible given my experience growing up in a low-income family,” Ortiz said. “Earning this fellowship has shown me it is possible to study abroad and there are resources available to make that dream come true.”
Additional IEP/IBP/ICSP Recipients
Owen Hefferman ’25 of Lexington, Massachusetts, a major in mechanical engineering and German member of the International Engineering Program, will pursue his year abroad in Germany.
Ethan Jedson ’25 of West Greenwich, Rhode Island, a major in finance and Spanish and member of the International Business Program, will spend the academic year in Spain.
Aidan Kindopp ’24 of West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, a major in chemical engineering and French IEP student, will study in France.
Jorge Menachio Aliaga ’25of North Providence, a major in civil engineering and German IEP student, will study for a year in Germany.
Patrick Raczkowski ’25 of Attleboro, Massachusetts, a major in mechanical engineering and German IEP student, will study for a year in Germany.
Oskar Schnippering ’24 of Barrington, a major in electrical engineering and German IEP, will be studying in Germany.
Gianni Smith ’25 of Pawtucket, a major in electrical engineering and German IEP student, will spend a year in Germany.
Interested in Applying for These Scholarship Opportunities?
Current URI students interested in applying for the Critical Language Scholarship Program, a Boren award, a Goldwater scholarship or a Demers fellowship should contact the URI Office of National Fellowships and Academic Opportunities (ONFAO). To apply for a Fulbright, rising URI seniors, recent graduates, and graduate students interested in applying for the next round of scholarships are encouraged to visit URI ONFAO’s website for more information. For those interested in a Demers fellowship, the program is open to all Rhode Island residents and also non- resident students who attend a Rhode Island college or university. Preference is given to URI applicants, including alumni, faculty and staff. The URI ONFAO website includes information on this program as well.
This article has been adapted from a series of articles written by Tony LaRoche and Tracey Manni this spring about URI’s many fellowship and scholarship winners.