University Announces 2022-23 Remembrance Scholars

Syracuse University’s Remembrance Scholar Selection Committee has chosen the 35 students who will be the 2022-23 Remembrance Scholars.

The scholarships, now in their 33rd year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the 35 students who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Those students, who were returning from a semester of study in London and Florence, were among the 270 people who perished in the bombing. The scholarships are funded through an endowment supported by gifts from alumni, friends, parents and corporations.

Significant support for the Remembrance Scholarships has been provided by Jean Thompson ’66 and Syracuse University Life Trustee Richard L. Thompson G’67 in memory of Jean Taylor Phelan Terry ’43 and John F. Phelan, Jean Thompson’s parents; by Board of Trustees Chairman Emeritus Steven Barnes ’82 and Deborah Barnes; and by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation.

Selection Process

Remembrance Scholars are chosen in their junior year through a rigorous, competitive process. Applicants submitted an essay and a reflective response in multimedia, artistic, musical or written format as part of a comprehensive application, and finalists were interviewed by members of the selection committee, composed of University faculty, staff and current Remembrance Scholars. The $5,000 scholarships are awarded on the basis of scholarship, leadership and service to the community.

Additionally, two students from Lockerbie come to Syracuse each year for one year of study through the Syracuse-Lockerbie Scholarships, also in their 33rd year. The scholarships are jointly funded by Syracuse University and the Lockerbie Trust. Zack Blackstock and Natasha Gilfillian were recently selected as the 2022-23 Lockerbie Scholars.

“The Remembrance Scholars take on a great responsibility. They represent the legacy of each student lost in a horrific tragedy, looking back to ensure that they are remembered and honored. Along with the Lockerbie Scholars, they act forward by participating in leadership, scholarship and service activities that leave a lasting impact on our community and on their lives after Syracuse,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “These 2022-2023 scholars represent a broad spectrum of disciplines, personal backgrounds and career aspirations. What brings them together is the desire to make the world better through leadership and service.”

The Remembrance and Lockerbie scholars plan the Remembrance activities held at the University each year. The scholars will be recognized during a convocation in the fall.

The 2022-23 Remembrance Scholars, their hometowns, majors, and schools and colleges are the following:

• David Barbier Jr. of Miami, Florida, a television, radio and film major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, an international relations major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Diane Benites of New Providence, New Jersey, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Mira Berenbaum of Los Angeles, California, an accounting major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, a public relations major in the Newhouse School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Olivia Budelmann of Fayetteville, New York, a mathematics and Spanish languages, literature and culture major in the College of Arts and Sciences; an environment, sustainability and policy major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Emma Dahmen of East Wenatchee, Washington, an economics major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences; a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School; a Spanish language, literature and culture major in A&S and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Cori Dill of San Diego, California, a political science major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and public relations major in the Newhouse School;
• Ronald Ditchek of Brooklyn, New York, a music education major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the School of Education;
• Dara Drake of Highland Park, Illinois, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Fabryce Fetus of Brooklyn, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and a public health major in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics;
• Karina Freeland of Burke, Virginia, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Kinley Gaudette of Salisbury, New Hampshire, a public health major in the Falk College, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Riya Gupta of San Ramon, California, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Jaime Heath of Bridgeton, New Jersey, a policy studies and political science major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School;
• Sifan Hunde of Washington, D.C., an international relations major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences, a psychology major in A&S and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Amanda Lalonde of Baldwinsville, New York, a psychology and forensic science major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Adam Landry of Nashua, New Hampshire, a civil engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science;
• Ivy Lin of New York, New York, a creative writing major in the College of Arts and Sciences, a history major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Julianna Mercado of Holbrook, New York, a biochemistry and forensic science major in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Jenna Merry of Overland Park, Kansas, a student in the School of Architecture and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Josh Meyers of Livingston, New Jersey, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the Newhouse School;
• Ofentse Mokoka of Pretoria, South Africa, an economics major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and writing and rhetoric major in A&S;
• Riley Moore of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, a communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, a political science major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences and a creative writing major in A&S;
• Nadia Nelson of Suffern, New York, a policy studies and political science major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Janice Poe of Atlanta, Georgia, a chemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Mackenzie Quinn of Fredonia, New York, a political science and sociology major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Maggie Sardino of Syracuse, New York, a writing and rhetoric major in the College of Arts and Sciences, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Brielle Seidel of Hillsborough, New Jersey, a public health major in the Falk College;
• Car Shapiro of Lake Worth, Florida, an entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major in the Whitman School;
• Aidaruus Shirwa of Syracuse, New York, a policy studies and economics major in the Maxwell School and the College of Arts and Sciences;
• Louis Smith of Seneca Falls, New York, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Emily Steinberger of Burlingame, California, a photojournalism major in the Newhouse School, a management major in the Whitman School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Taylor Stover of Amherst, New York, an international relations and history major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Alesandra “Sasha” Temerte of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, an economics major in the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), a writing and rhetoric major in A&S, and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Amreeta Verma of Green Brook, New Jersey, a student in the School of Architecture; and
• Jared Welch of Endicott, New York, an electrical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.