University Scholar Alesandra Temerte ’23 Carries on Legacy of Notable Blackstone LaunchPad Alumni

For the fourth year, a Syracuse University Libraries student employee and Blackstone LaunchPad Global Fellow has been selected as one of 12 Syracuse University Scholars. Alesandra “Sasha” Temerte ’23 was selected for this year’s prestigious honor. Temerte, who graduated this month, majored in economics in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and in writing and rhetoric in the College of Arts and Sciences and minored in Spanish and strategic management. She is a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, a Coronat Scholar, a Remembrance Scholar and a Luise and Morton Kaish Fellow.

During her tenure at Syracuse, Temerte was very engaged with the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries and the libraries in general, working as a Global Fellow and as Hult Prize campus director. She served as a mentor, helped organize events and tutored for the Center for Learning and Student Success as a peer facilitator. Additionally, she co-founded Pathway Prep, an international education company that paves the road for students around the world to attend U.S. universities.

As a student researcher, Temerte’s work focuses on the role cross-cultural identity plays in the life of an individual and the negotiation that comes with being in-between cultures, drawing from her own personal experiences. Born in Uzbekistan and growing up in rural Pennsylvania, she negotiated cultural identities while becoming fluent in several languages. Temerte also participated in several Syracuse Abroad programs—as a Discovery Scholar in Madrid and a semester studying in Florence. She serves as a global ambassador for Syracuse Abroad.

As a University Scholar, Temerte follows in the footsteps of:

• Saniya More ’19, former LaunchPad Global Fellow and founder of the Globalists and now head of content at SEDA in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Nick Barba ’20, former LaunchPad Global Fellow and LaunchPad program manager, now program manager at Future Founders in Chicago
• Patrick Linehan ’21, former LaunchPad Global Fellow and founder of The Out Crowd, Syracuse University’s LGBTQIA magazine (which also operated out of the LaunchPad), now an investigative journalist for ABC News in New York City

Syracuse University Libraries helps students pursue pathways as successful innovators and entrepreneurs. This honor reinforces that students like Temerte are also student scholars, launching ventures, lives and careers from the Libraries. LaunchPad alumni go into the world intent on making a difference, equipped with unparalleled academic and experiential opportunities that are unique to Syracuse University.

Story by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, strategic initiatives advisor for Syracuse University Libraries and founder of the LaunchPad