Echols in the News

For the second time in four years, Echols Scholar Ashwanth Samuel graduated from UVA this spring (this time with a Masters in Data Science).

“But then – and here’s the remarkable part – when you get to know Ashwanth well (and this takes time, because he doesn’t brag about himself), you realize that this guy is talented in just about everything: music, student organizations, Greek life, sports, you name it,” says Ken Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics.

Echols Scholar Chelsea Li won a Goldwater Scholarship for her work on neuron populations and pathways.

John Campbell, an assistant professor in biology says, “Outside the lab, Chelsea makes time to support her community, from being a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician to doing science outreach at local elementary schools, to serving as vice chair on UVA’s Diversity Engagement Committee. Somehow she manages to do all this while maintaining dean’s list status.”

Lucas Frye was awarded a Beckman Foundation Scholarship for his work to understand how chemistry can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"I’d like work as a scientist to develop catalytic technologies that reduce the risks climate change poses to human health and productivity,” says Frye. 

Echols Scholar Matthew Farwell graduated this spring from UVA. Particularly remarkable is that Matthew originally enrolled at UVA nearly 20 years ago. He dropped out, joined the army, served in Afghanistan, and after many highs and lows made it back to UVA to complete his degree. Also he wrote a critically acclaimed book. We are grateful for Matthew, his perseverance, and his voice.

Jessica Harris used the Echols Interdisciplinary Major to empower others. She founded a non-profit program for arts education using theatre before even starting at UVA, which now serves more than 150 students.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have artistic experiences that I think are meaningful and have been able to bring my passion for social justice to the arts world.”

On top of completing a double major in Leadership and Public Policy and the Distinguished Major in History, Madeleine Mayhew helped lead UVA's squash team achieve a No. 11 ranking. 

“I’ve always felt like a true scholar-athlete here, not an athlete-scholar,” Mayhew said. “I’m at school for school, and squash has actually been what’s supported me in school. I always do better in school when I have squash.”

Before Med School, Dan Xia is going to embark on a two-year, self-planned, self-funded trip around the world to volunteer at health clinics and hospitals.

"As I'm traveling around the world, music will be playing a very big part in how I connect with other people," Dan says in this interview.

You can follow Dan’s travels!

Dove-Anna Johnson is helping us understand how neural circuits work together to regulate weight gain and loss with the p75 molecule.

“Research requires a lot of critical thinking,” Johnson said. “Although I love to succeed, research often results in many failures on the way to success. I have learned to accept failure, because it will eventually lead to success.”

Go behind the scenes at the Tom Tom Festival with Virginia Chambers.

“It's incredibly rewarding to go to random events around Cville and see people I met at a City Council meeting or through Tom Tom. It makes me feel like a real resident of the city, not just a student at UVA.”

Harrison Award winner Joyce Cheng is helping determine which factors are most imperative in influencing the quality of life for homebound individuals.

“I would especially like to have a career that focuses on assisting and empowering disadvantaged and marginalized communities that do not receive adequate health care, such as minority groups, elderly populations, impoverished people or communities affected by environmental injustice,” says Cheng.

2017 Echols Alum, Sam Campbell, was awarded a Luce Scholarship for his work on African and Asian wildlife conversation.

“I trust him to have the right mix of courage, care and intelligence to do the work well. It won’t be easy," says David Edmunds, director of the interdisciplinary global development studies program. "Sam is a really good student, writing and reasoning very clearly, but his true strengths are in working with others across cultural and social differences, on matters of consequence.”

Deja vu? Echols 2018 Alum, Madeline Rita, was awarded a Luce Scholarship last year to pursue her work on reproductive health in Phnom Penh.

International best-selling author, editor-at-large for The New York Review of Books, and Echols Alumnus, Daniel Mendelsohn, returned to grounds to present three lectures in this years’ Page-Barbour series.

“I’d say that the most important role that UVA played in my later life was the model of intellectual cosmopolitanism that I was exposed to here,” says Mendelsohn.

Echols Scholar Derrick Wang was elected to the UVA Board of Visitors.

"You need to hear that broad, diverse range of opinions and viewpoints, because I don’t necessarily understand the experience of every student," Wang said in his interview with UVA Today.

Kristen Barrett is the president of Paul Robeson Players, a group of students that wrote, directed, rehearsed, and performed two plays in honor of African American History Month – in half a day – as part of their “12-Hour Play Project”.

Barret says, "I think it really gave me an opportunity to discover what being black means to me, and what my personal identity is as a black woman, but also as Kristen Barrett."

Intrigued by the world of competitive cooking? Addicted to the Food Network? Meet Echols Scholar Veronica Seguin, who was the Teen ‘Chopped’ Champion.

“I was just a regular old teen cook. It definitely gave me more creative liberty, because I felt like I could mess up and still have fun -- and I did mess up. I burnt a lot of dishes, and in the first five minutes of the first round I cut my finger twice,” says Seguin.

Five Echols Scholars have received Fulbright Scholarships this year: Mariana Brazao will go to Brazil, where she will continue her analysis of “The Indigenous Benches of Brazil.” Madison Hecht will research the increased risk of sexual victimization experienced by autistic adolescents in Australia. Claire Hungar is headed to Romania, where she will be teaching English and working with the deaf community.  Sam Powers will be studying Rwanda’s plan to meet the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Matthew Shih will be researching the life and work of composer Julian Schloss in Austria and teaching English.