University Names 2024-25 Remembrance Scholars

Thirty-five students have been chosen as the 2024-25 Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars.

The scholarships, now in their 35th 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 application evaluation 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 35th year. The scholarships are jointly funded by Syracuse University and the Lockerbie Trust. Cameron Colville and Anna Newbould were recently selected as the 2024-25 Lockerbie Scholars.

“Remembrance Scholars represent Syracuse University at its best through their academic achievements, their leadership skills and their contributions to the University,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. “They reflect the talent and promise of those students whose memories they honor. We are very proud to call them 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 2024-25 Remembrance Scholars, their hometowns, majors and schools and colleges are the following:

• Alba Aljiboury of Syracuse, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), an information management and technology major in the School of Information Studies and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Linda Baguma of Iowa City, Iowa, a double major in international relations and political science in the Maxwell School and A&S and member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Adam Baltaxe of Arlington, Virginia, an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a Spanish major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Tanner Boshart of Jackson, New Jersey, an economics major and history major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a finance major in the Whitman School of Management and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Danis Cammett of Washington, D.C., an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S, applied data analytics major in the School of Information Studies, a member of the Crown Honors Program and a member of the University’s Army Reserve Officer Training Program;
• Natalie Dolenga of Lincolnshire, Illinois, an international relations major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Charlotte Ebel of Urbana, Illinois, a public relations major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, a women’s and gender studies and German major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Luke Elliott of Leesburg, Virginia, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School, a public relations major in the Newhouse School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Mason Garbus of Hannibal, New York, a music education major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and the School of Education;
• Joshua Garvin of Houston, Texas, a music industry major in VPA;
• Tabitha Hulme of Saratoga, California, a public health major in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and health humanities major in A&S;
• Abigail Jones of Mashpee, Massachusetts, a public relations major in the Newhouse School, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Rajan Joshi of Dallas, Texas, an economics major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Sierra Kaplan of New York, New York, a health humanities major in A&S; a political science major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Kelsey Leary of Mahopac, New York, an art photography major in VPA;
• Nadia Lyngdoh-Sommer of Singapore, a sociology major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a law, society and policy major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Sophia Moore of Burbank, California, a television, radio and film major in the Newhouse School, a sociology major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Zachary Murray of Kingston, Jamaica, a political science and policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a modern foreign languages major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Ryan Myers of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, a public relations major in the Newhouse School, a psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Mark Nzasi of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Cheryl Olanga of Nairobi, Kenya, a computer science major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS);
• Adya Parida of Odisha, India, a computer science major in ECS and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Jenna Poma of Queens, New York, a policy studies 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;
• Tia Poquette of Brooklyn, New York, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S:
• Alekhya Rajasekaran of Visalia, California, a biotechnology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Olivia Reid of Richmond, California, a policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Mason Romero of Olathe, Kansas, a music education major in VPA and the School of Education, a music history and cultures major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Alie Savane of Bronx, New York, a biology major in A&S;
• Abigael Scott of Plattsburgh, New York, a neuroscience and biology major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Yifan “Ivan” Shen of Shanghai, China, a student in the School of Architecture, a music history and cultures major in A&S, and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Justine Smith of Somerville, New Jersey, a political science and policy studies major in the Maxwell School and A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Joshua Spodek of Wayne, New Jersey, a history major in the Maxwell School and A&S, a social studies education major in the Maxwell School and the School of Education and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Alyssa Sutherland of St. Louis, Missouri, a public health major in the Falk College; a women’s and gender studies major in A&S and a member of the Crown Honors Program;
• Evelina Torres of Houston, Texas, a political science 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; and
• Leondra Tyler of Cicero, New York, a neuroscience and psychology major in A&S.