DEAN’S DISTINGUISHED GRADUATES

Undergraduate

This year, 15 graduating seniors in the College of Liberal Arts were designated as Dean’s Distinguished Graduates, based on high achievements in scholarship, leadership, and service to the College.

Avi Ackermann

Plan II, Linguistics

Avi Ackermann is a Linguistics and Plan II major with a history minor. His linguistic research has focused on typology and language contact, while his honors thesis is on the West’s relation to Islam. Inside and outside UT, he has been heavily involved in Uyghur human rights advocacy. After graduating, he will begin a career in journalism as a Tarbell fellow.

Jenny Ainsworth

Government (Special Honors, Liberal Arts Honors), Health and Society (Special Honors)

Jenny Ainsworth is a double-major in Government and Health and Society. She served on the Election Supervisory Board all four years, overseeing campuswide elections. Jenny was involved in research at UT, exploring everything from bioethics to student success, wellbeing, and belonging. She closed this chapter by writing two honors theses.

Jeremiah Baldwin

Government (Liberal Arts Honors), African and African Diaspora Studies, Rhetoric & Writing

Jeremiah Baldwin is a civil rights-driven scholar graduating with triple majors in African and African Diaspora Studies, Rhetoric and Writing, and Government and double minors in LGBTQ+ Studies and Educational Psychology. After graduation, Baldwin will pursue a career as a civil rights lawyer who equips disenfranchised communities with legal resources.

Roosh Bhosale

Plan II, History

Hrishabh ‘Roosh’ Bhosale is a Forty Acres Scholar majoring in History and Plan II Honors. He has served in leadership roles in the Tejas Club, the Plan II PreMedical Society, and Texas 4000 for Cancer. In the summer, he will matriculate to McGovern Medical School.

Lesly Ann Chávez-Valencia Sociology (Special Honors); Race, Indigeneity, and Migration; Mexican American and Latina/o Studies

Lesly Chávez-Valencia is a first-generation Latina pursuing majors in Sociology; Race, Indigeneity, and Migration; and Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. Inspired by firsthand experiences, her academic and research interest include education policy, race, policing, immigration, and stratification. With the hope of representing her community, Lesly intends to pursue a Ph.D. in sociology.

Thomas Huy Dang Health and Society (Special Honors)

As a Health and Society honors student, Thomas has explored public health systems by researching in the U.S. and Mexico; interning with national organizations in Washington, D.C.; and serving in clinics in Texas and New York. His mission is to advance health equity for all people as a future physician-leader.

Daniela Echavarria Sustainability Studies, Latin American Studies

Daniela Echavarria is a Sustainability Studies and Latin American Studies double major from McAllen, Texas. After graduation, she will use the knowledge she’s gained through her classwork and experience to give back to her community by working with Community Action Corporation of South Texas.

Emma Gueorguieva Psychology (Special Honors)

While at UT, Emma’s passion for understanding the psychology behind language heavily involved her in research and teaching. Some of her accomplishments include presenting at the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists and serving as a Spence Fellow. Post-graduation, she’ll stay at UT to pursue her Ph.D. in social psychology.

Abdalmoamen Keshlaf International Relations and Global Studies (Special Honors)

Raised in Libya, France, and the United Arab Emirates, Abdalmoamen has pursued a concentration in security studies focused on foreign interventions in the greater Middle East. He plans to attend law school to further his studies in languages and international law with the goal of working at the International Court of Justice.

Phong Le

Women’s and Gender Studies; Sociology; African and African Diaspora Studies; Race, Indigeneity, and Migration

Phong Le is a senior pursuing majors in African and African Diaspora Studies; Sociology; Race, Indigeneity, and Migration; Women and Gender Studies; and a certificate in LGBTQ Studies. They are motivated by the necessity of caring for one another. Outside of class, they enjoy reading about complicated women, finding new recipes, and loving on their friends and family.

Jacqueline Magno Rhetoric and Writing (Liberal Arts Honors)

Jacqueline Magno is a Rhetoric and Writing student passionate about storytelling, design, and college culture. She works in social media for the College of Liberal Arts, where she produces the digital interview series, People of Liberal Arts. She is also the designer of the college’s inaugural mascot, Theo the Turtle.

Gregory Phea Plan II

Greg Phea is a senior from Cedar Park, Texas dual-majoring in Plan II Honors and Corporate Communications. His extensive research and passion for government transparency initiatives, intellectual property law, and legal equity topics have led him to contribute impactful analysis to world-class public policy organizations, including The Brookings Institution and Dream.org.

Amy Shreeve History, Rhetoric & Writing

To nobody’s surprise, Amy Shreeve is the oldest of five children. She spent her time at UT studying history and rhetoric, programming, making maps, correcting engineers, napping in her hammock, writing in her diary, reading long novels, learning Yiddish, upcycling dumpster furniture, collecting National Geographic, and missing the mountains.

Eva Strelitz-Block Plan II

Eva Strelitz-Block is a Plan II Dedman Scholar and Anthropology minor with certificates in Spanish and the Bridging Disciplines Program. An RA at TxPEP and medical programming associate for One Good Turn, Eva has honed her global health interests, completing independent research in Chile and an NSF-funded REU in Rwanda.

Samara Zuckerbrod Sustainability Studies (Liberal Arts Honors), English

Samara Zuckerbrod is a Liberal Arts Honors student majoring in Sustainability Studies and English. She is the former Director of the Campus Environmental Center. As a Marshall Scholar, Samara will pursue a Sustainability Planning and Policy MSc at Cardiff University, leveraging her knowledge of language, science, and policymaking to mitigate climate change.

Graduate

This year, 5 graduates in the College of Liberal Arts were designated as Dean’s Distinguished Graduates, based on high achievements in scholarship, leadership, and service to the College.

Michelle Eilers Sociology

As a sixth-generation Texan, my research stems from experiences learning about intimate relationships in church and abstinence-only sex education. Completing my Ph.D. at UT-Austin and near family was a privilege. I am excited to continue this research with support from my feline coworkers, Gato and Ruth, and my partner, Seth.

Ruth Herenia Matamoros-Mercado

Latin American Studies, Native Americana and Indigenous Studies

Ruth Matamoros-Mercado is an Indigenous Miskitu researcher, lawyer, and activist for the right to self-determination of Moskitia (Miskitu Nation). She received a master’s degree and is now receiving a PhD degree from the Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. Her work focuses on Indigenous Peoples’ land rights and earth politics.

Kaitlyn Farrell Rodriguez English

Kaitlyn Farrell Rodriguez is doctoral candidate in English who studies portrayals of pregnancy, motherhood, birth control, and reproductive agency in twentieth-century American drama. Her scholarship has been published in Modern Drama and The Eugene O’Neill Review. Her ongoing commitment to servant leadership sustains her teaching, research, mentorship, and service work.

Sara Schroer Psychology

Sara Schroer is a developmental psychologist studying how infants explore their world and learn their first words. While at UT, she also worked on DEI initiatives to improve the training of undergraduate and graduate students. After graduation, Sara will be a postdoctoral researcher at UT Austin’s Center for Perceptual Systems.

Tiana Unique Wilson History

Tiana U. Wilson is an intellectual historian of Black women’s internationalism. Her dissertation has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, Center for Engaged Scholarship, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center, and others. After graduation, she will join the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.