April 8, 2019 | Kelly Homan Rodoski

Dina Eldawy, Crystal Letona, Danielle Schaf, and Nathan Shearn were among the twelve seniors named as the 2019 Syracuse University Scholars, the highest undergraduate honor that the University bestows.

University Scholars will represent the entire graduating class at the May 12 Commencement ceremony. On Wednesday, May 8, the scholars will be honored at a reception at the Chancellor’s House hosted by Chancellor Kent Syverud and Dr. Ruth Chen, at which they will receive special medallions to be worn at Commencement. The scholars will also be honored at the One University awards ceremony on Friday, April 12, in Hendricks Chapel.

The Syracuse University Scholars Selection Committee, a University-wide faculty committee, selected the 2019 scholars using criteria that included academic achievement, evidence of independent research and/or creative work, evidence of intellectual growth and/or innovation in their disciplinary field, contributions to the academic environment and endeavors of the University, a personal statement and faculty letters of recommendation.

The 2019 Syracuse University Scholars are the following:

• Santita Ebangwese, a bioengineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and a member of the volleyball team;
• David Edelstein, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Dina Eldawy, an international relations major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, a citizenship and civic engagement major in the Maxwell School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Hendrik Hilpert, a senior finance major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and a member of the men’s soccer team;
• Yongna Lei, a biochemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Crystal Letona, a communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, a women’s and gender studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a policy studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School;
• Saniya More, a broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Martina Morris, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Frank Richardson, an aerospace engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Noelle Rowe, a human development and family science major in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
• Danielle Schaf, an anthropology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, a forensic science and writing and rhetoric major in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program; and
• Nathan Shearn, an anthropology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program.