University Announces 2023-24 Remembrance Scholars

Syracuse University’s Remembrance Scholar Selection Committee has chosen the 35 students who will be the 2023-24 Remembrance Scholars.

The scholarships, now in their 34th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through Syracuse University who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Those students 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; by The Syracuse Association of Zeta Psi in memory of Alexander Lowenstein; and by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation.

Selection Process

Remembrance Scholars are chosen in their junior year through a competitive selection process. Applicants submitted an essay and a reflective response in multimedia, artistic, musical or written format as part of a comprehensive application. The selection committee is composed of University faculty and 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 34th year. The scholarships are jointly funded by Syracuse University and the Lockerbie Trust. Joshua Halliday and Tristan Woolley were recently selected as the 2023-24 Lockerbie Scholars.

“The Remembrance Scholars represent the future while honoring the past, which is both a great privilege and a great responsibility,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Gretchen Ritter. “This year’s students, who have demonstrated strong leadership skills and a commitment to service, are up to the task. As with those who were tragically lost nearly 35 years ago, we are proud that these students are members of our University community.”

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 2023-24 Remembrance Scholars, their hometowns, majors, and schools and colleges are the following:

• Nicole Aponte of Franklin Square, New York, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
• Christian Bevilacqua of Norwich, Connecticut, a social studies education major in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and School of Education, a geography major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and A&S and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.
• Nina Chen of Palo Alto, California, a fashion design major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).
• Dominic Chiappone of Miami, Florida, a history major in the Maxwell School and A&S and broadcast journalism major in the Newhouse School.
• Sophie Creager-Roberts of Charlottesville, Virginia, an environmental, sustainability and policy major and history major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Daniela Dorado of Bogotá, Colombia, an advertising major in the Newhouse School and creative writing major in A&S.
• Mia-Marie Fields of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a biomedical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS).
• Guerdyna Gelin of Westchester, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Alison Gilmore of South Abington Township, Pennsylvania, a sport analytics major in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
• Miguel Guzman of Lima, Peru, a biotechnology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Ka’ai I of Nu’uanu, Hawaii, a policy studies and international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S.
• Benjamin Nicholas Johnson of Stafford, Virginia, a computer engineering major in ECS and a member of the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps.
• Kyle Joseph Kalmar of Fort Collins, Colorado, a student in the School of Architecture.
• Beizhou Li of Jiangsu, China, a political science and economics major in the Maxwell School and A&S.
• Lucio Maffei of West Orange, New Jersey, a political philosophy and ethics major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Grant Maxheimer of Linden, Michigan, an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Mitchell Mazza of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Aiden McGorry of New York, New York, a student in the School of Architecture.
• Jovanni Mosca of Corinth, New York, a computer science major in ECS and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Aidan O’Connell of Manchester, New Hampshire, a political science major in the Maxwell School and A&S.
• Motolani Oladitan of Lagos, Nigeria, a psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Sofia Rodriguez of Miami Gardens, Florida, a communication and rhetorical studies major in VPA.
• Emily Saad of Allentown, Pennsylvania, a finance major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, a creative advertising major in the Newhouse School and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Katarina Sako of Buffalo, New York, a neuroscience and biology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Elliot Salas of Houston, Texas, an electrical engineering major in ECS.
• Mary Schieman of Mentor, Ohio, an environmental engineering major in ECS.
• Emily Jo Shuman of Durham, New Hampshire, a human development and family science major in the Falk College.
• Hannah Skelton of North Caldwell, New Jersey, a political science major in the Maxwell School and A&S and citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School.
• Hannah Starorypinski of Emmaus, Pennsylvania, a political science major in Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Otto Sutton of Corning, New York, a political science, history and political philosophy major in the Maxwell School and A&S.
• Anna Terzaghi of Sydney, Australia, an anthropology and international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Madison Wallace of Bedford, New Hampshire, a biochemistry and neuroscience major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Emily M. Weaver of Mount Morris, New York, an Earth and environmental sciences and forensic science major in A&S, an anthropology major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program.
• Xibo Xu of Jiangsu, China, an applied data analytics major in the School of Information Studies and an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S.
• Zhiyun (Alita) Zhang of Shanxi, China, a psychology and linguistic studies major in A&S.