Honoring outstanding students

April 23, 2020

UIC is recognizing more than 250 students across 16 colleges for their engagement on campus and in the community.

Together, these students have logged 3,270 hours of volunteer service and have actively participated in more than 400 student organizations.

They have volunteered in community hospitals and clinics, served meals at local homeless and women’s shelters, tutored and mentored Chicago-area children, volunteered as crisis counselors, and more.

These students are recipients of the Chancellor’s Student Service Award, Eugertha Bates Memorial Award, Jane Addams Distinguished Service Award, President’s Volunteer Service Award and Activities Honorary Society. UIC also recognizes outstanding student groups with Student Organization Awards.

Here are the winners:

Student Organization of the Year Award: American Marketing Association
Student organizations are the hub of student activity on campus. They provide opportunities for students to enrich their campus life. We are fortunate to have a diverse group of student organizations that spend numerous hours volunteering, not only at UIC, but also in the Chicagoland community. They conquer new horizons through innovative planning, resourcefulness, determination, and steadfast commitment. The Student Organization of the Year Award allows us to honor their efforts and thank them for their contributions.

Commitment to Diversity Student Organization Award: Alternative Spring Break
The University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the most diverse campuses in the country and we are fortunate to have a wealth of cultures represented within our community. Students attend a university that seeks to foster an environment where social development and cultural learning opportunities can occur. The Commitment to Diversity Award recognizes an individual, event, or organization that provided a forum for cultural awareness, understanding, and/or education to flourish. The recipient of this award will have displayed a commitment to diversity by extending an opportunity for our students to be culturally enlightened and enriched.

New Student Organization of the Year Award: American Medical Women’s Association for Pre-Health Students
Annually, 20–30 new student organizations join the university community. These new student organizations work to establish themselves as student leaders, while creating opportunities for their peers to grow and develop and contribute to UIC. The nominees demonstrate outstanding potential for growth and development of its members and leaders to create a vibrant UIC experience. This award recognizes one student organization each year that has demonstrated true excellence among its peers within UIC’s community.

Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award: Dr. Som Ale UNICEF at UIC
Advisors are the unsung heroes of many student organizations. It is their selfless dedication to assisting student groups as they achieve their goals that makes advisors a valuable resource. Whether it is by attending meetings, organizing events, or simply providing a listening ear, advisors play a vital role within student organizations. Since 1981, Center for Student Involvement has awarded the Advisor of the Year Award to the individual whose exemplary service has not only benefited the students with whom they work, but also the UIC campus and surrounding community.

Eugertha Bates Memorial Award
The Eugertha Bates Memorial Award is given in recognition of a student whose volunteer and leadership activities in a campus and/or community setting demonstrate a significant level of caring, dedication, and selfless commitment to others. Nominees for this award must have made an exceptional contribution to the humanitarian needs of others.

Reham Awad, College of Pharmacy
Deisy Carvalho Fernandes, College of Engineering*
Leigha Sommer, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Catherine Tran, College of Nursing

Jane Addams Distinguished Service Award
The Jane Addams Distinguished Service Award is given to a student whose volunteer activity substantially addresses a distinct need in the community. Individual recipients must be involved in the creation of a new project or service to address such a need, demonstrate the highest level of dedication and selfless commitment to volunteer service, and inspire others to engage in volunteer service.

Jacob Dachman, College of Dentistry
Lazma Deeb, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Cory Reiter, College of Medicine
Deborah Salami, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

President’s Volunteer Service Award
Nationally, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation was established in 2003 to recognize the valuable contributions that volunteers make in our communities and to encourage others to serve. UIC is pleased to partner with the President’s Council to recognize our students whose work, service, and community contributions merit recognition with this award – as we believe it can set a standard for service, encourage a sustained commitment to civic participation, and inspire others to make service a central part of their lives. This award is presented to students whose volunteer service matched or exceeded at least 100 hours of service work since the beginning of the school year.

Nuria Asad, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 127 hours
Onella Athnaiel, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 114 hours
Mahnoor Baig, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 100 hours
Travis Brones, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 102 hours
Noor Chaudhry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 280 hours
Lazma Deeb, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 453 hours
Nicole Dziedzic, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 980 hours
Ram Koganti, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 184 hours
Ashma Pandya, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 116 hours
Jay Paras, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 230 hours
Samhitha Rai, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 160 hours
Mare Ralph, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, 117 hours
Ahmad Suleiman, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences*, 111 hours
Summer Tan, College of Applied Health Sciences, 112 hours
Teddy Zaremba, College of Engineering*, 160 hours
Kelly Zebell, College of Business Administration, 113 hours

Activities Honorary Society
The Activities Honorary Society (AHS) was chartered in 1950 at the University of Illinois Undergraduate Division of the University of Illinois when it was housed at Navy Pier. The intent of its founders was to recognize undergraduate students who demonstrate broad and deep involvement in co-curricular activities. This 70-year-old honorary society is one of the oldest traditions at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and its purpose remains the same today.

Students selected for induction into AHS have served in at least three diverse organizations and/or in a diverse set of activities within them. Nominees must be in good academic standing (minimum of 2.5/4.0 grade-point average) with at least 72 academic credit hours completed by the end of the spring term in which they are nominated. These individuals serve as examples to their fellow students who aspire to similar levels of involvement for the betterment of the campus.

Nominations are made by faculty members, advisors, mentors, staff, and students, and are subjected to a rigorous selection process in which the student’s contributions to the University are evaluated in terms of demonstrated leadership qualities, level of involvement, administrative skill, and overall contributions to the student experience at UIC. The selection is made by a committee of alumni, some of whom have previously been inducted into AHS, thus making the honor unique among other UIC student awards. No more than 15 inductees are selected each year.

Chancellor’s Student Service Award
Since 1973, the Chancellor’s Student Service Award (CSSA) has honored students who have made an outstanding contribution to the University through campus and community service. Student recipients must contribute a significant amount of time, effort, and creativity to one or more campus and/or community service projects. Students must be enrolled during the academic year in which the award is received, be in good academic (at least a 2.5 GPA) and judicial standing, have volunteered in a campus and/or community service organization, and must have made a significant contribution to an organization. The service activities of our students vary greatly each year as they contribute to both the university and community. Some examples of their contributions are:

Volunteering in community hospitals and health clinics
Serving meals and educating children at homeless and women’s shelters
Tutoring at various educational and public service institutions
Planning and coordinating academic and service conferences
Organizing students to lobby on behalf of environmental concerns
Serving on search, advisory, scholarship, and ad-hoc University committees
Educating and mentoring students
Volunteering as crisis counselors
Fundraising for medical, political, and educational causes
Organizing and volunteering at cultural events
Providing guidance and resources to UIC students

A
David Abugaber, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Olaide Adeniran, John Marshall Law School
Aashi Agarwal, College of Business Administration
Jennifer Aguilar, College of Business Administration
Hana Ahmed, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Malake Alazmah, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Jordan Alcantar, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Alex Alcantar, College of Business Administration
Sammi Alvarez, College of Business Administration*
Jomarie Arban, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Crissel Marie S. Arban, College of Pharmacy*
Nuria Asad, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Onella Athnaiel, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Reham Awad, College of Pharmacy

B
Vidya Babu, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Mrinal Bageshwari, College of Business Administration
Nikolas Ballut, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
May Barakat, College of Medicine
Chrissy Barber, Jane Addams College of Social Work
Jenna Beardsley, College of Applied Health Sciences
Amber Bennington, College of Medicine
Tova Bergsten, College of Medicine
Manpreet Bhalla, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Hrishikesh Bhaththiwala, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Jyotsna Bitra, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Tara Bolar, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Allison Bondele, College of Business Administration
Beatrice Braimah, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Jocelyn Bravo, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Travis Brones, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Patrycja (Patty) Budzyk, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Kendall Burton, School of Public Health

C
Samantha Carter, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Deisy Carvalho Fernandes, College of Engineering*
Evelyn Castanon, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Enrique Ceppi, College of Medicine
Darby Chamness, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Chasen Chau, College of Applied Health Sciences
Noor Chaudhry, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Neeraj Chawla, College of Medicine
Perla Chebli, School of Public Health
Sun Choi, College of Pharmacy
Manuela Conte, College of Applied Health Sciences
Sandra Coronel, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Sheldon Cotts, College of Engineering
Camila Crausaz, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Victoria Crowley, College of Nursing

D
Hardik Dabas, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Jake Dachman, College of Dentistry
Uddy Dahiya, College of Business Administration
Alivya Dantuluri, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Karen Davila, College of Applied Health Sciences
Lazma Deeb, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Freddy Dib, College of Business Administration
Thien Diep, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Tingting Ding, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Daniel Dittmer, College of Applied Health Sciences
Ben DiVito, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Monse Dominguez, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Shamali Dusane, College of Applied Health Sciences

E
Esraa Elkossei, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Asma Elsabbagh, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Renae Encinas, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Sydney Erlikh, College of Applied Health Sciences
Estefania Escudero, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Erick Evans, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Sarrah Ezzi, College of Applied Health Sciences

F
Eram Fatima, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Matin Firas, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Zach Florek, College of Business Administration

G
Anna Galang, College of Nursing
Krinal Gandhi, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Jason Garcia, College of Medicine
Danalyn Garcia, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Joe Geraghty, College of Medicine
Payal Gokaldas, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Jeffrey Gonzalez, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs*
Angelika Goscinski, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Iwona Goscinski, College of Business Administration*
Aayush Gupta, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Sonya Gupta, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Michael Gyang, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

H
Laura Habeeb, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Sesil Hadzhieva, College of Business Administration*
Yasmeen Hassoun, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Kendall Hastings, College of Nursing
Kennedy Hayes, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Lenny Hong, College of Medicine
Gianni Hrobowski, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Brooke Hudson, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Mayra Hurtado, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Jibreel Hussain, College of Business Administration*

I
Shukri Ideis, College of Pharmacy
Alex Infante, College of Pharmacy
Zarak Islam, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Ose Ituah, School of Public Health
Rama Izar, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

J
Sara Jessica Izquierdo, School of Public Health
Makenzia Jackson, College of Education*
Shreyash Jain, College of Business Administration
Dhruv Jain, College of Business Administration
Mechiya Jamison, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Guadalupe Jimenez-Gonzales, College of Business Administration

K
Shrinidhi Kadkol, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Liz Kalata, College of Medicine
Sai Kare, College of Engineering
Aishwarya Katiki, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Danijela Kaurin, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Quinn Kelly, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Alina Khalid, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Hareem Khaliq, College of Business Administration
Salma Khatab, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Salaam Khater, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Hyungkyung Kim, College of Nursing
Aiden Kim, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Bokyung Kim, College of Pharmacy
Wasan Kumar, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Tim Kuschel, College of Engineering

L
Sivaraman Lakshmipathy, College of Engineering
Cheryl Leong, College of Engineering
Maya Lerner, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Paul Lesley, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Tiffany Lin, College of Applied Health Sciences
Hao Ling, College of Engineering
Katie Liu, College of Nursing*
Kristy Liu, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Justine Lozada, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Tyler Lung, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

M
Biswajit Maharathi, College of Engineering
Vaneeza Malik, College of Business Administration
Dana Malo, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Steffi Manalo, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Eryn Marble, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Bethany Marshall, College of Applied Health Sciences
Anupriya Matthews, College of Engineering
Izayo Mazehualli, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Carter McCormick, College of Pharmacy
Riva Mehmood, College of Applied Health Sciences
Natasha Mehta, College of Medicine
Alexis Melton,College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Christine Mendoza, College of Medicine
Jocelyn Moreno, College of Education
Michael Angelo Moreno, College of Applied Health Sciences
Kassandra Morfin, John Marshall Law School
Nadezh Mulholland, School of Public Health
Lucas Myint, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

N
Nadia Nabulsi, College of Pharmacy
Talih Nadeem, College of Medicine
Mirielle Nauman, College of Pharmacy
Emely Navarro,College of Business Administration
Jen Neely, College of Nursing
Susan Nelson, College of Business Administration
Annie Nielsen, College of Medicine
Genesis Nieves, College of Medicine
Nooreen Nisa, College of Applied Health Sciences
Kay Nisbett, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Ndallah Njongmeta, College of Engineering
Lissi Nunez, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Vanessa Nutakor, College of Applied Health Sciences*

O
Chrystian Ochoa, College of Engineering
Ernest Ofori, College of Applied Health Sciences
Abby Olsen, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Timothy Oommen, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

P
Adrian Pagulayan, College of Applied Health Sciences
Medede Palouki, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Susan Panek, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Riya Parikh, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Marina Pascual, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Raj Patel, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Nandini Patel, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Janaki Patel, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Ivana Pavlovic, College of Engineering
Isidro Pedroza, College of Applied Health Sciences
Laura Phan, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Samuel Phara, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Rohan Pisharody, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Michael Podgurski, John Marshall Law School
Jill Prough, College of Applied Health Sciences
Karolina Ptaszek, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Q
Bendita Qian, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Muryem Quadri, College of Business Administration*
Maha Qureshi, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

R
Samhitha Rai, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Mare Ralph, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Golam Rasul, College of Engineering
Alannah Ray, College of Architecture, Design & the Arts*
Pavel Rehak, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Cory Reiter, College of Medicine
Benjamin Richardson, College of Dentistry
Jorge Rivera, College of Medicine
Shawn Rizvi, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs
Zoha Rizvi, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Danielle Roe, College of Applied Health Sciences
Briana Ross-Williams, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Sarah Russel, College of Medicine
Hailey Russell, College of Applied Health Sciences

S
Alvaro Sahagun, College of Engineering*
Deborah Salami, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Jorge Sanchez, College of Engineering
Timothy Sargis, College of Medicine
Sara Sarmalkar, College of Business Administration*
Vikram Saudagar, College of Engineering*
Bob G. Schultz, College of Pharmacy
Logan Schwarzman, College of Medicine
Lena Searcy, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Hiba Shaikh, College of Public Health
Hanna Shekari, College of Applied Health Sciences
Shraddha Shetty, College of Architecture, Design & the Arts
J.R. Signe, College of Applied Health Sciences*
Kim Silva, School of Public Health
Julia Sim, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Jiggy Sim, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Victoria Soliz, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Alex Soltys, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Leigha Sommer, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Milen Spegar, College of Business Administration*
Chuck Stack, School of Public Health
Apaar Suri, College of Business Administration
Hiba Syed, College of Applied Health Sciences
Nisa Syed, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

T
Ezgi Takmaz, College of Engineering
Gianna Mae Tan, College of Nursing*
Aira Tantoco, College of Applied Health Sciences
Greta Taraseviciute, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Bruna Tavares, College of Business Administration*
Parnika Telagi, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Holden Thomas, College of Architecture, Design & the Arts*
Sophia Thongsakounh, College of Applied Health Sciences
Mia Tornatore, College of Applied Health Sciences
Giulianna Torres, College of Applied Health Sciences
Selam Totonchi, College of Dentistry
Catherine Tran, College of Nursing
Elaine Trinh, College of Pharmacy

V
Kavya Vaitla, College of Pharmacy
Sara Valdivia, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Hannah Van, College of Applied Health Sciences
Manny Velasco, College of Engineering
Samprithi Vilvasigamani, College of Engineering
Nancy Vuong, College of Nursing

W
Courtney Washington, College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs*
Shakia Williams, College of Business Administration
Tyler Win, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

Y
Connie Yan, College of Pharmacy
Moriam Yarrow, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*

Z
Monay Zayed, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences*
Eason Zheng, College of Engineering
Ashwini Zolekar, College of Pharmacy

*denotes Honors College

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