The 2026 Graduate Student Awards Ceremony was held on Monday, April 27, 2026 in Copley Formal Lounge, in-person and virtually.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!
Spirit of Georgetown
2025-2026 Winner:
- Maroof Zaman, Cybersecurity Risk Management
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Bo Belotti
- Brandon Hernandez
- Caleb Johnston
- Ernesto Encarnacion
- Jake Al-Haffar
- James Hickey
- Joshua Herrera
- Joy Lin
- Keaton Ballard
- Kevin Padilla
- Madison Lommen
- Makenna Sansotta
- Maroof Zaman
- Michael Pasimio
- Olivier Backx
- Priscila Putzulu
- Ricky Barrios
- Sarah Craig
- Sebastian Grajales
- Shedrack Osuji
- Staci Maiers Woods
- Tina Brooks
- Yvonne Wong
Distinguished Staff Award
2025-2026 Winners:
- Dr. Toshihiro Higuchi, Associate Professor of History
- Guadalupe Ramirez, Public Relations and Events Manager
- Joel Todoroff, J.D., Adjunct Lecturer in Applied Intelligence
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Evelyn Addo-Wallace
- Guadalupe Ramirez
- J.R. Osborn
- Joel Todoroff
- Lucy Zipf
- Lydia Davis Giuseppe
- Michael Macovski
- Nicholas Scrimenti
- Sarah Reynolds
- Toshihiro Higuchi
Gerald M. Mara Faculty Mentoring Award
2025-2026 Winners:
- Dr. Friederike Eigler, Professor of German
- Dr. Mark Gray, Research Associate Professor
- Dr. Sarah Reynolds, Simulation and Lab Director
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Bill Morris
- Brodie Riordan
- Friederike Eigler
- Jean Stanford
- Mark M. Gray
- Michael Ferreira
- Sarah Reynolds
- Tania Gentic
- Tess Renker
Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Award
2025-2026 Winners:
- At-Large: Hasan Jashari, Foreign Service
- Humanities: Elisabeth Macias, History
- Sciences: Luke K. Shafik, Chemistry
- Social Sciences: Antonia-Laura Pup, Government
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Alexia Guo
- Antonia Laura Pup
- Arunaditya Ghosh
- Carmine Miklovis
- Chao Yan
- Daniel Castro Bonilla
- Darshini Solanki
- Devika Tiwari
- Elisabeth Macias
- Felicity Loveland
- Hasan Jashari
- John Murphy
- Luke K. Shafik
- Luke Shafik
- Magda Smith
- Marina (Mina) Cooper
- Nadya Hayasi
- Patrick Grey
- Peiqi(Peggy) Wang
- Phoebe Chambers
- Rosie Click
- Sadik Huseyin Gul
- Samirah Jaigirdar
- Satyajeet Nagargoje
- Shahriar Khosravi
- Shea Smith
- Shea Smith
- Vibhavari Desai
Graduate Student Teaching Award
2025-2026 Winners:
- At-Large: Hannah Fedder Williams, Linguistics
- Humanities: Samar Saeed, History
- Sciences: Urshila Choubal, Mathematics and Statistics
- Social Sciences: Naomi Nero, Psychology
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Benjamin Baah Konadu
- Caleb Johnston
- Daniel Holtzman
- Duc Vinh Le
- Ethan Weisbaum
- Eunae Kim
- Hannah Fedder Williams
- Katherine Miller-Purrenhage
- Kibum Moon
- Maggie Dunlap
- Naomi Nero
- Ronin McCobb
- Sally Simpson
- Samar Saeed
- Satyajeet Nagargoje
- Seyoung Kim
- Shea Smith
- Tom Duc-Le
- Urshila Chobal
- Varun Biddanda
- Yash Dhuldhoya
Exceptional Master’s Student Award
2025-2026 Winners:
- At-Large: Monica Davila, Cybersecurity Risk Management
- Humanities: Brandon W. Ledford, Artificial Intelligence Management
- Sciences: Jennifer Daley, Clinical and Translational Research
- Social Sciences: James Wang, Foreign Service
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Alba Jeronimo
- Albina Yildiz
- Antoine Brimbal
- Bo Belotti
- Bobbi Barr
- Brandi Fitzmaurice
- Brandon Amacher
- Brandon W. Ledford
- Brett Benedict
- Briana Sparacino
- Caliyah Freeman
- Christopher Cao
- Colin Nemeth
- Colleen Edwards
- Corbin Griffiths
- Dana Hashem
- Devin Skinner
- Elizabeth Burton
- Ella Kozel
- Emma Markiewicz
- Fenia Lamprianidou
- Fidel GomezTorres
- Garrett Music
- Gavin Rui Jin
- Grace Bolander
- Hanna Allen
- Irene Zaborowski
- James Mae
- James Wang
- Jared Salcedo
- Jennifer Daley
- Jermayne Le
- Joshua Herrera
- Kamran Damick
- Lauren Kourey
- Libby Burton
- Lidya Woldeyesus
- Liqian Cui
- Marcos Capote
- Marie Vaughan
- Maritsa Odabashian
- Maroof Zaman
- Michaela “Mika” Gelfond-Gross
- Monica Davila
- Nabiha Haroon
- Nicholas Cuevas
- Nik Murano
- Priscila Putzulu
- Ricky Barrios
- Ryan Lillestrand
- Samarth Patel
- Seyoung Kim
- Shangxuan Ying
- Shay Poppers
- Similoluwa Filani
- Staci Maiers Woods
- Thomas Maximilian Schmidtke
- Tianyu Zhao
- Tierra Scott
- Waad Alsulami
- Yusuf Saleh
- Yuyan He
Dr. Karen Gale Exceptional Ph.D. Student Award
2025-2026 Winners:
- At-Large: Julie Brooke Jehle, Liberal Studies
- Humanities: Zyanya Doniz Ibanez, Spanish and Portuguese
- Science: Gregory Grumbar, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Social Science: Ruqaya Abdirahman, International Relations
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Charles Ochonma
- Gregory Grumbar
- Hyun Min
- Julie Brooke Jehle
- Lorna McCarron
- Ludovico Picciotto
- Rachel Singer
- Ruqaya Abdirahman
- Sherie Gayle
- Varun Biddanda
- Yesun Kim
- Zachary Colon
- Zyanya Doniz Ibanez
Graduate Global Citizen Award
2025-2026 Winner:
- Elisabeth Point Du Jour, Global Health
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Alexander Pinggera
- Alexandra Jones
- Amarachi Obialo Aku-Belem
- Elisabeth Point Du Jour
- Joshua Laquis
- Liqian Cui
- Nicholas Cuevas
- Ricky Barrios
- Shangxuan Ying
Cura Personalis Award
2025-2026 Winner:
- Staci Maiers Woods, Public Relations & Corporate Communications
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Adan Younus
- Alexandra Jones
- Ankushi Mitra
- Caleb Johnston
- David Marsh
- Deona Hatley
- Fidel GomezTorres
- Jacqueline Juffer
- Jennifer Daley
- Josahn Oginga
- Lidya Woldeyesus
- Margie Delao
- Priscila Putzulu
- Ricky Barrios
- Sara Louise Hines
- Seyoung Kim
- Staci Maiers Woods
- Yenny Yang
Outstanding Graduate Student Organization Award
2025-2026 Winner:
- Student Advisory Board of Real Estate (SABRE)
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Georgetown Graduate Consulting Club (GGCC)
- Georgetown Graduate Run Club (GGRC)
- Georgetown University Cybersecurity Society (GUCS)
- National Defense Policy Initiative (NDPI)
- SFS Korea Policy Club
- Student Advisory Board of Real Estate (SABRE)
- The Beer Appreciation Society (BAS)
Outstanding Student Leader in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Service Award
2025-2026 Winner:
- Jared Salcedo, Artificial Intelligence Management
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Ilse Ramon
- Jared Salcedo
- Jordan Murphy
- Yeon Sik Jang
Outstanding Student Leader in a Graduate Student Organization Award
2025-2026 Winner:
- Josahn Oginga, McCourt Policy in Practice & AfriKa
2025-2026 Nominees:
- Aaron Maiolo
- Claire Wootton
- David L Henderson
- Josahn Oginga
- Joshua Laquis
- Keaton Ballard
- Maroof Zaman
- Mimi Evans
- Nalin Chopra
- Sachi Khemka
- Samarth Patel
- Sarita Evans
- Sidoine Cadelor Bao
- Yohan Moon
Three Minute Thesis
2025-2026 Winners:
Thesis
- Winner: Sary Valenzuela, Foreign Service
- First Runner-Up: Gareth Francis, Tumor Biology
- T-Second Runner-Up: Zil Joyce Dixon Romero, Policy Management
- T-Second Runner-Up: Deona Hatley, Business Administration
Dissertation
- Winner: Tianyu Ma, Chemistry
- First Runner-Up: Carleigh Turner, Pharmacology & Physiology
- Second Runner-Up: Luke Shafik, Chemistry
Please contact gradteachingawards@georgetown.edu with any questions about the awards or the nomination process.