This semester, three St. John’s students received honorable mentions in the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, a nationwide award that attracted entries from more than 1,000 mathematics, science and engineering students.
The Goldwater Scholarship is an award in the field of science and mathematics.
St. John’s junior Kainaat Javed, sophomore Hannah Martin and junior Sedelia Dominguez were all nominated by Associate Professor and Director of the Africana Studies Program, Dr. Konrad Tuchschere, along with other SJU staff that take part in the nomination process.
The scholarship is strictly for rising juniors and seniors. Aimed at awarding scholarships to students that are interested in, the scholarship was created about 30 years ago in honor of senator Barry Goldwater.
These three students gained honorable mentions for being chosen to represent St. John’s; a notable accomplishment in the science department.
The winner of the Goldwater Scholarship wins up to $7,500. This year, there were around 1,150 applicants according to the program’s official website.
Mrs. Peggy Goldwater Clay, Chair of the Board of Trustees announced that there were 252 scholarships for the 2016-2017 school year, with 250 other scholars that are named honorable mentions.
“I was glad that I took the opportunity to apply and felt proud of myself to have stood out among so many applicants,” said Dominguez.
The application process is very thorough, as it contains an online application, a personal statement and three letters of recommendation that needed to be submitted by January.
One of the nominees, Javed, 20, grew up in Queens, NY. She studies biology with a minor in chemistry. Javed found out about the scholarship from her principle investigator, Dr. Matteo Ruggiu.
She wishes to apply to MD/PhD programs this summer.
“I am passionate about doing research. I have done research at Hunter College and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center over the summer,” she said.
Javed plans on attending medical school and is going to take the MCAT in about three weeks, hoping to apply to MD programs this summer as soon as her scores come in.
“I am very interested in attending an MD program here in NY and one day, I hope to go into surgery,” Javed said.
Martin, 19, is from Chicago with a double major in biology and chemistry. Since she is a sophomore she is able to re-apply next year.
“It’s impressive that St. John’s, generally not a research-intensive university, got three honorary mentions for a scholarship that awards research motivation,” Martin said.
She was very happy to receive honorary mention and felt that it reinforced her commitment to and motivation for research as it approved of her past work and her goals for future work.
Added Martin, “Also, it’s a nice gold star for your resume.”
Dominguez, 21, is from California and is also a biology major with a minor in chemistry.
Although she cannot be nominated next year, she is happy that she was picked as an honorable mention from St. John’s.
Looking toward the future, plans to attend graduate school for immunology and to get her degree to work for the Center of Disease Control (CDC).
“I would encourage other[s] who are underrepresented of first year college students who want to pursue a graduate degree to apply,” said Dominguez.
