During the 2025-2026 school year, the Undergraduate Fellowship Office (UFO) supported many highly motivated undergraduate students and recent Ohio State graduates in their pursuit of competitive fellowships. We are proud to announce many awardees, finalists, and nominees for awards for transformative fellowship opportunities and recognize partnerships with many programs, departments, schools, and other groups that helped support this work.
The group of incredible students listed below represents the College of Arts and Science; College of Engineering; Fisher College of Business; College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences; John Glenn College of Public Affairs; College of Public Health; and College of Medicine. On campus, they are student representatives on the Board of Trustees, Pelotonia Scholars, Undergraduate Student Government representatives, Buckeye Leadership Fellows, Stamps Eminence Scholars, Honors and Scholars students, founders of student organizations, first generation college students, and more. Representing the best of Buckeyes, their aspirations include advanced degrees such as MDs, PhDs, and JDs as well as careers in quantum technologies, aging and health policy, human-centered design, education, medicine, and others. From rising sophomores to recent graduates, these Buckeyes will undoubtedly continue to make Ohio State proud through their service, research, career, and educational pursuits.
Reflecting on the 2025-2026 school year, program director for high impact practices Claire Sweigart reflected on the impact of the fellowship process. Sweigart stated, “Each year ambitious and talented students come to the Undergraduate Fellowships Office for support, likely expecting to receive a few writing suggestions and application tips. Our staff is always impressed by the diligence these students bring to what they encounter instead – a challenging process of self-discovery and intentional reflection. Seeing students develop not just compelling applications, but also skills that are transferable well beyond any application process, is the most fulfilling part of our work”.
During the 2025-2026 school year, UFO supported students and recent alumni on over 200 applications. We now celebrate the following students for their achievements:
- Dedié Adissem, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Annika Albrecht, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Majd Al-Marrawi, Churchill Scholarship, Nominee; Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Cindy An, Goldwater Scholarship, Awardee
- Aneetej Arora, Marshall Scholarship, Nominee
- Patrick Arp, Truman Scholarship, Awardee
- Vidhi Bakshi, Astronaut Scholarship, Awardee
- Samantha Bernholtz, Critical Language Scholarship, Awardee
- Manasa Boppudi, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Srethsa Chattopadhyay, Goldwater Scholarship, Awardee
- Aniket Chaudhari, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Campbell Clarkson, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Alternate
- Lilah Conway, Udall Scholarship, Nominee
- Mariana Correia, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Danielle Crittenden, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Fardowsa Dahir, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Chloe Dawson, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Moira Donovan, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Kaleb Duarte, Truman Scholarship, Nominee
- Anais Fernandez Castro, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Calista France, Udall Scholarship, Nominee
- Kale Fuller, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Jaleea Gamble, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Paul Gonciulea, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Everett Helm, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Maya Hill, Udall Scholarship, Nominee
- Mia Huber, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Stella Hughes, Truman Scholarship, Finalist
- Elnaz Jamshidi, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Ananya Kamalakannan, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Iker Keseroglu, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Kendyll Lee, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Alternate
- Shing Lin, Marshall Scholarship, Finalist
- Alden Lippman, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Isabella Luk, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Emma Maher, Gaither Junior Fellowship, Nominee
- Bethany McCloud, Fulbright, U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Ruby Mitchell, Goldwater Scholarship, Awardee
- Michael Murawski, Critical Language Scholarship, Awardee
- Manas Nair, Astronaut Scholarship, Nominee
- Arón Olegnowicz-Cruz, Schwarzman Scholars, Awardee
- Radha Pareek, Critical Language Scholarship, Alternate
- Dakshin Pisini, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Olivia Putnam, DAAD-RISE, Awardee
- Aatmaj Rajesh, Goldwater Scholarship, Awardee
- Zahra Ramakdawala, Critical Language Scholarship, Awardee
- Grace Reynolds, DAAD-RISE, Alternate
- Clara Rudy, Marshall Scholarshp, Nominee
- Michael Sarkis, Gaither Junior Fellowship, Nominee
- Dalal Shalash, Marshall Scholarship, Nominee; Rhodes Scholarship, Nominee
- Rachel Simroth, Marshall Scholarship, Nominee, Rhodes Scholarship, Nominee
- Reya Singh, Truman Scholarship, Nominee
- Anitvir Taunque, Rhodes Scholarship, Finalist
- Andrew Theiss, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Semi-finalist
- Cordelia Van der Veer, Marshall Scholarship, Nominee
- Jaden Zelidon, Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Awardee
- Nancy Zhu, Udall Scholarship, Nominee
To earn their nominations or awards, the students worked with staff in the Undergraduate Fellowship Office. Students attended information sessions, drafted application essays, compiled resumes, and sought letters of recommendation from mentors on and off campus. Through multiple rounds of revisions to their materials, applicants benefited from feedback from UFO staff, as well as from their peers and mentors. Partners from across campus, and even some dedicated alumni, assisted with student referrals, campus nomination committees, and mock interview panels. Some applicants won the awards they were seeking, and all students, whether they earned the award or not, grew through the application process as they reflected on their unique stories, their Ohio State experiences, and how they will continue to have impact as engaged leaders in their fields in the future.
Please join us in celebrating these students. Follow us on Instagram, visit our website, or email us at fellowships@osu.edu for more information about UFO programming and for profiles of many of our awardees!
