HAMID ABUWARDA
University of California-Irvine; Biology
Fun Fact: I enjoy coffee and playing outside under supervision since I'm prone to accidents. I also wear socks almost all the time and must pick the leaves of any bush I pass.
PHILIP ADEJUMO
University of Maryland-Baltimore County; Biochemistry
Fun Fact: I am a professional swimmer and am working towards representing Nigeria at the upcoming Olympic Games
PATRICIA BUNDA
University of California-Los Angeles; Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
Fun Fact: I love to buy stamps and send postcards. My favorite is the 2017 Solar Eclipse stamp that transforms into an image of the moon from the heat of a finger.
DANIEL COLÓN-RIOS
University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Campus; Chemistry
Fun Fact: I was born and raised in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. If I’m not at the beach, going out with friends or relaxing at home, I’m probably on a plane excited to discover a new place. I've traveled to 20 countries (aiming to reach 25 countries before I turn 25) and some of my favorite travel stories include zip-lining across the Viñales Valley in Cuba, celebrating New Year's in Berlin, getting lost in Brussels, and spending the night at the Sahara Desert!
JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Computer Science and Engineering; Mathematics
Fun Fact: In my free time, I like to make stuff -- particularly projects that make life easier. I am currently working on a personal assistant (a la Siri / Alexa). It is not going well.
RUBEN DE MAN
State University of New York at Stony Brook; Biochemistry
Fun Fact: I am originally from Belgium and speak Flemish (a dialect of Dutch) as a first language. Whenever I can, I make an effort to fly to Europe to visit my family there. In general, I love to travel and I am very passionate about cycling, alpine skiing, and soccer.
ANDIN FOSAM
University of Pittsburgh; Biology; History and Philosophy of Science
Fun Fact: I am a first-degree black belt!
RUCHI GUPTA
Rice University; Chemistry
Fun Fact: I am an amateur (emphasis on the amateur) cartoon/line drawing artist
OMAR HAFEZ
Johns Hopkins University; Neuroscience
Fun Fact: I have played double bass since the fourth grade and love listening to classical music. I am also an enthusiastic mock trial competitor and have argued cases at tournaments with my team every year in high school and college.
NIKKI KHATTAR
George Washington University; Biomedical Engineering
Fun Fact: I have a puppy named Mushu, and we spend our time going on long walks and eating copious amounts of peanut butter together.
LAUREN KILLINGSWORTH
Stanford University; Biology with Honors
Fun Fact: I did my Masters in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, where I studied 19th-century cholera maps in the archives of the British Library. While in the U.K. I also travelled to the Isle of May in Scotland to photograph wild puffins, which was amazing! I’m from Mill Valley, California and I love getting outdoors and hiking with my dog when I’m back home (pictured here!).
CYNTHIA LO
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Materials Science and Engineering
Fun Fact: I was born in the very far away land of New Haven, although I grew up in other states so I have no recollection of New Haven for the most part! Before coming to Yale, I graduated with a material science degree. After that, I worked in 3D printing at Formlabs, specifically on developing Surgical Guide, a dental/medical photopolymer material. Nowadays, I enjoy taking classes in improv, challenging my cooking skills by making dishes on the fly, and watching wholesome Disney movies! For the PhD part of my MD/PhD, I plan on getting my degree in the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program.
JOVAN LOPEZ
Stanford University; Chemistry
Fun Fact: My name is Jovan Lopez. I love to identify as a chemist but that's only because I'd get odd looks if people knew I thought alchemy was cool. I enjoy baking, cooking, and bartending, not just because these are practical forms of chemistry but also because I enjoy crafting gifts for others - and who doesn't love a nice dinner and cocktail with a side of tiramisu?
DAN MCQUAID
Yale University; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Fun Fact: I took two gap years after graduating college to work in a laboratory doing cancer research. However, I also took a gap year after high school to work in a cancer biology laboratory as well. While I am originally from Ossining, NY, the lab was located in Cleveland, Ohio, and I moved there on my own at 18 to work full-time before beginning undergrad. This year was transformative for me and a big reason I had my sights set on MD/PhD training from a young age.
IJEOMA NWABUDIKE
University of Chicago; Biological Sciences
Fun Fact: During the last few months, I have been traveling the world through film. My goal is to watch at least one movie from/about every country in the world before August 10, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey so far.
NORA O'NEILL
Harvard University; History and Science
Fun Fact: I hold a ton of pride as a Washington, DC native, born and raised. However, my childhood home is right next to Maryland, and one of the original 1791 boundary stones that determined the city limits sits in my backyard. When I was in high school, I did a lot of work advocating for DC statehood so ask me about it!
BEN REEVES
Yale University; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Fun Fact: I’m a dual citizen, US and UK.
AMY RUSHING
Vanderbilt University; Biomedical Engineering
Fun Fact: For as long as I can remember, I have been “the poet.” I often prefer to express myself in rhyme. Every birthday card to a friend includes a haiku. A sonnet written for my grandmother’s funeral now hangs in family members’ living rooms. Even my high school valedictorian speech was a poem! In college, I began to use my writing to address certain social issues from my perspective. My freshman year, I won the Vanderbilt First-Year Writing Competition in Poetry and performed my poem on the difficulties of growing up in an under-resourced area of the rural South. This experience opened my eyes to how I could use poetry to give myself voice. Since then, I have taken opportunities to share pieces advocating for mental health awareness, sharing struggles of my spiritual journey, and revealing my path to coming out as a sexual minority.
AKIN SOGUNRO
Johns Hopkins University; Molecular & Cellular Biology
Fun Fact: I'm very passionate about music. In college, I ran a mini music festival featuring student musical performances and fire shows.
STACY UCHENDU
Wesleyan University ; Chemistry
Fun Fact: I am a self-proclaimed phytophile (plant-lover) in general and a dendrophile (tree-lover) in particular. I've kept myself quite busy during quarantine by identifying the interesting flowers and trees during my daily walks through East Rock Park. My favorite trees in East Rock Park are the European Copper Beech and the American Elm.
A YouTube video of the White Coat Ceremony that took place on August 28th can be found here: https://youtu.be/rX1dX8jY0Ik