Meet Our Students

When Payal Patel started college as an engineering major, she missed tutoring and teaching – so she decided to make education her career.

Great classes and research experience, a professional co-op and a cybersecurity competition are preparing Grace Chin for professional success.

Sofia Savoca chose UMass Lowell for the opportunity to be in the Honors College and to study civil engineering. She’s found a dozen new opportunities since arriving on campus.

Honors College student Daphne Shakira Naut was already fluent in two languages and had started on two more by the time she finished high school. Here at UML, she’s picked up a fifth language and studied abroad three times – all while supporting herself.

Maxwell Aaronson is pursuing international experiences and languages, with the goal of working in the Foreign Service.

Marine Corps veteran Daryle LaMonica is on the fast track to becoming a doctor through the UMass Medical School Baccalaureate to M.D. Pathway Program.

Emmy Misail won an Honors College creativity fellowship to draw comic strips under the guidance of an art professor.

Sophie Combs knows her research is going somewhere: into the online Library of New England Immigration.

Mina Lam added “Japanese Student Association founder” to her already busy schedule.

Honors College student Jennifer Dossantos is majoring in business because she’s inspired by her mom.

Veyli Ortiz Solis earned a B.S. in criminal justice in just three years – with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Flore Stécie Norcéide won an Oprah Winfrey Scholarship to study computer engineering here.

Dana Ibrahim chose UMass Lowell for its peace and conflict studies program, which lets her combine classes across the social sciences and humanities to suit her goal: to become a diplomat and aid refugees.

So far, Honors College student Nancy Chac has signed up for three honors classes every semester. It could be a record.

A class in cognitive psychology inspired Melissa DiPano to do research with two professors and aim for a Ph.D.

Hannah Casey signed up for the Model U.N. and Mock Trial teams and student government. She interned with a congressional candidate and a defense attorney. Now she’s student body president.

Isabella De Souza has won two scholarships that will allow her to study Spanish abroad, so she can bring multiple languages to her future nursing career.

Mateo Rull Garza immersed himself in research – and published in a leading scientific journal.

Teerth Patel had to pinch himself after landing a manufacturing engineering internship at Tesla — just after his internship at Procter & Gamble.

Honors student Edina Hirt faced hurdles from learning English to battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma while working toward her degree. Still, she won an award for her dedication to community service.

Shanice Kelly is a leader in multiple campus clubs because she wants to get more students of color involved in STEM, especially space science programs.

Nicholas Trunfio immersed himself in history while studying abroad.

Greg Reimonn found a faculty mentor to help him research microplastics in waterways, thanks to an honors fellowship.

Pablo Ruiz returned to school for a second bachelor’s degree, and he’s going on for his master’s degree, too.

Melisa Hussain’s experience as a visibly Muslim teenager inspired her honors thesis.

Debby Fernand says the River Hawk Scholars Academy has introduced her to friends and faculty mentors – and turned her into a leader herself.

The Honors Program at Middlesex Community College helped Andrea Patino Galindo master English – and transfer to the Honors College at UMass Lowell.

Karam Alafandi is studying history on his way to becoming a doctor.

Kyle Mehan began researching nutrition when trying to heal his own injuries. Now he promotes a plant-based diet.

Honors mechanical engineering major Scott Penfield has traveled extensively on two continents besides North America – and hopes to add a fourth before long.

Justin Baez Peguero is studying business, working three jobs and serving in student government.

Kelsey Gonzalez cares for asylum seekers as program manager for Global Disaster Response and Humanitarian Action at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Global Health.

Wonder Ahiatsi chose UMass Lowell for its B.S. in quantitative economics.

Tim Murphy says his experiences at UMass Lowell have increased his confidence along with his expertise.

Student-athlete Megan Salsinha credits her honors research project and academic coursework for preparing her for medical school.

Janelle Christopher started studying at UMass Lowell at the same time as her mom, Lorraine.

Business administration major Josiah Gennell loves music and gaming. He hopes that by becoming an information technology consultant, he’ll have the flexibility to pursue those interests and turn them into a career.

Benedicta Agyemang-Brantuo won the 2021 MLK Service Award for starting a club to address health disparities – amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ever since moving to Lowell from the Philippines with his mom as a child, Andre Ragel has embraced a sink-or-swim attitude – one that carried the business administration major through a busy first year on campus.

Pratibha Gautam’s job at a medical device incubator inspired her to pursue a career in health economics.

A 2011 tornado that ripped through her hometown got Jamie-Lyn Cavallon interested in meteorology.

SoarCS, a summer program for incoming computer science majors, helped shape Ariana Brown’s college experience.

Abby Mastromonaco’s passion for sustainability led to a Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy fellowship and research experience in a plastics engineering lab.

Inspired by his mother’s careers in health care and business, Emmanuel Idehen-Ovabor is working toward a master’s in health care administration while also pursuing his dream of becoming a pediatrician.

Eric Roy started doing meteorological research on campus the summer after his freshman year – and then won two research internships with government agencies.

Jeurys Santiago credits his entrepreneurship classes and experiences with helping him launch his networking and marketing company, Minds With Purpose.

Grace Hansen chose UML for its lacrosse culture and science education excellence.

Yrvanie Joseph is grateful for alumni scholarships because they confirm the value of her hard work and academic achievements.

An Honors College student fellowship gave Marbella Leal a chance to work with at-risk students and do research with a professor.

Vanessa Chen likes computer science because it’s both logical and creative.

Juana Guerrero came to UML with strong academic credentials. A support program helped boost her confidence and leadership skills, too.

An introduction to research helped Noah Mason find his passion.

Her experiences in the Honors College and in a college readiness program, Let’s Get Ready, helped Marilyn Saha get a job at Raytheon Technologies.

Lawreta Kankam is passionate about public health. She plans to go on to medical school so she can provide both care and preventive health programs for underserved groups.

Honors student Stephanie Guglielmo is all about studying abroad.

Madison Reed works as a research assistant with Plastics Engineering Prof. Ramaswamy Nagarajan in the UML Fabric Discovery Center.

Varsha Perkins loves both her teaching and honors classes.

Brianna Atwood came to UMass Lowell to study plastics engineering – but she’s done so much more. The honors student started a volunteer program that connects UML students with a local school. She has also participated in the professional co-op program, working on fire-resistant seals for airplanes.

As a sophomore, Matthew Clancy designed a small satellite with a vital mission: getting children and teens excited about their STEM studies and aerospace careers. Now he’s developing his LEARNsat for NASA launch.

Honors student Franchesca Arias is passionate about studying abroad after completing a summer program in Valencia, Spain.

Army veteran and business major Brendon Aylaian is working on a solar energy project in Haiti for his Honors College capstone.

Maddy Roop transferred to UMass Lowell as a business student looking to launch a music career. But along the way she’s become president of the Student Society for Sustainability.

Christina Han’s work with Multicultural Affairs, her club leadership and her studies in criminal justice converged in her honors capstone: running a “Support Space” for Asian American and Pacific Islander students during a surge in hate crimes.

Cora Casteel says mathematics will help her with a career in policing and criminal justice policy.

Rachel Jordan says that discovering the chair of the Economics Department was a woman helped convince her to come to UMass Lowell.

Honors student Rachel Record won a full scholarship to law school, thanks to the Legal Studies Program and research and practical experiences.

David Rosario says his professors help him to stay focused and motivated.

Inspired by a summer program, Carolina Reyes is determined to become an English teacher at Lawrence High School.

Kylie Letendre, who struggled in school due to ADHD, wants to help children with learning disabilities.

By participating in the virtual UML Launch! Summer Program, Khadija Mir felt better prepared to begin college remotely during the pandemic.

Coral Gonzalez set her sights on becoming a nurse after she was hospitalized in middle school. The Honors College student won one of the first Oprah Winfrey Scholarships to help her succeed.

An honors seminar led Joshua Walsh to design a drinking water system and solar grid for a center in Haiti.

Catherine de Groot enjoys using her marketing skills to help nonprofits in Lowell.

Mya Neary won an honors fellowship to learn more about running an urban farming nonprofit. Now she’s volunteering with Mill City Grows while developing her own business plan.

Douglas Correa Ospina plans to combine his studies in psychology and economics to help immigrants and others from marginalized groups become more financially secure.

Honors student Malcolm Schrafft studied his twin passions: music and theater.

Nazeli Acosta won a State Department Scholarship to study rural health care in the Dominican Republic.

Honors student Hannah Allgood came to UML for undergraduate research opportunities.

Twisha Mohapatra says her experiences in the River Hawk Scholars Academy and the Honors College have boosted her confidence, taught her leadership skills and set her up for academic success.

Duc Vu discovered his ability to teach in high school, so he signed up for the UTeach program in STEM education.

Elinor Mayo has lofty dreams, and Air Force ROTC is helping her find her way to the cockpit.

Jared Socolow turned his own struggles into a research project that he will present at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science.

Sonakshi Chaudhary came to UML planning to transfer. She stayed after falling in love with everything the campus has to offer.

A staff accountant internship at Novogradac confirmed business major Heer Patel’s interest in auditing — and opened the door to her becoming just one of 32 college students from across the country selected for its new Building Opportunities mentorship program.

Brigid Archibald always wanted to be a superhero. Now the editor of the student newspaper, The Connector, she sees journalists as today’s heroes.

Sarah Elizabeth McDermott is grateful for scholarships that are helping her to graduate debt-free, because in the future she won’t have to say “No” to any opportunities.

Honors College Student Fellow Sunilda Frias is studying biology to help subsistence farmers improve their soil.

Sid Iyer has taken advantage of internships, research opportunities, the DifferenceMaker program and more to pursue his goal: a career in biomedical research and development.