SPRING 2022
PRESIDENT'S SCHOLARS PROGRAM ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
GREETINGS FROM THE HILLTOP! I hope summer is treating you well! The Spring 2022 semester was an especially fun one for the President’s Scholars, as we saw a return to large group gatherings, study abroad programs, and even our annual President’s Scholars Program retreat (delayed until the spring semester, but hey, we made it happen!) In the pages that follow, you’ll get a peek into our semester, learn more about the incoming Class of 2026 President’s Scholars, and get a sneak peek into what’s to come in terms of the President’s Scholars Alumni world. Pony Up, and we all hope to see you on campus soon! Dr. Lindsay Davis Assistant Dean for Scholars Programs
WHAT'S NEW?
The President’s Scholars had an awesome time at a local escape room this spring semester! All three groups escaped, and one group event broke the record for the escape room by several minutes.
Students continued to attend Tate Lectures, a favorite on-campus activity! Here, a group of President's Scholars enjoyed hearing from Kenda Scott.
President's Scholars love supporting each other's work with campus organizations, like this group of students attending the Asian Council Gala!
WHAT'S NEW?
This semester, the President's Scholars enjoyed attending the Folsom Leadership Awards Dinner together, a long-awaited retreat to the Texas Hill Country, impromptu fun during snow days and ice cream runs, and a chance to celebrate the amazing Class of 2022. The pace of our group events has finally picked up again!
SCHOLARS ABROAD
Study Abroad is back! Students enjoyed programs in London, Rome, Paris, Bali, Spain, and Copenhagen during Jan Term, Spring, and Summer 2022!
MEET THE CLASS OF 2026
We cannot wait to welcome 20 amazing new President's Scholars to campus in August! William Addington (Dorset, VT), Faith Bellamy (Texarkana, TX), Miles Chen (Beaverton, OR), Zahra Chowdhury (Cordova, TN), Andie Earl (Montclair, NJ), Gabby English (Naples, FL), Miriam Hagen (Lemont, IL), Ruth Kinyua (Mesquite, TX), Anna Leo (Carrollton, TX), Shivani Modadugu (San Antonio, TX), Neema Mwangi (Leander, TX), Rylan Robb (Maputo, Mozambique), Denise Rodriguez (Irving, TX), Julian Seghers (Houston, TX), Nastya Shyvilka (Grodno, Belarus), Natalia Silvera (Ancon, Panama), Crystal Smith (Baytown, TX), Ariana Sokhi (New York, NY), Jada Spriggs (Washington, D.C.) Ariana Ybarra (Donna, TX)
FEATURED ALUMNA ANJULIE PONCE Class of 2008 Undergraduate Majors: Bachelor of Science in Economics, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, and Bachelor of Arts in International Studies Hometown: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Current Location: Dallas, TX Photo Credit: Erin Schreyer/Dallas Doing Good
Where did you live when you lived on campus? I lived in Virginia-Snider back when it was the nicest dorm on campus and not the one that was most in need of renovations, which is what I hear from current students now! Thinking back to your time on campus, what were some of your favorite places to hang out? Life back then seems like a blur. I would say, being in the dorms or at the dining hall is what jumps out to me. Adulting is hard, and you get wistful for the conveniences of having your friends right down the hall from you and being able to have food whenever you want. I have lots of fond memories in both of those places. I also worked for conference services over the summer my first two years at SMU. We had a war room in the basement of McFarlin Auditorium; it was a gathering ground for all these lost items and random things that ended up there. We had our desks down there, and there was the rattiest old couch. We spent a lot of time in that space. I love it because every time I walk by McFarlin, I think back on those times. What was one of your favorite campus activities or traditions? So much of my time at SMU was intertwined with being a President’s Scholar, so most of my favorite SMU experiences are related to that. Every year I'd make time to go to Taos for the retreat. I even arranged my study abroad schedule so that I could go to Taos in the fall and Madrid in the Spring. I loved every minute of it.
FEATURED ALUMNA My husband and I actually went to Taos for vacation a few years ago, and it was really cool to show him the campus. There’s something about the campus and Taos, in general. It’s so magical. I can’t imagine going through college without those retreat experiences. Tell me about one of your favorite memories of the President’s Scholars Program. My sophomore year collectively. My roommate was a PS, my two suitemates were PS's, and our other best friend - also a PS - lived just a couple floors down. I have so many memories of us hanging out in our room for hours on end, having these very deep, profound conversations about life; but then also having just ridiculous ones as well. What are you doing now? I run Leadership Forward Mentoring Program, an education nonprofit that increases access to higher education and well-paying career paths for high school students in Dallas. We work with students from low-income households, most of whom will be first generation college students. We provide high school and postsecondary mentoring centered on helping our students achieve their higher education and career goals and dreams. Which part of your job brings you the greatest joy? Hearing from our students! We just wrapped up our school year and got to hear from a lot of our students about the impact their mentors have had on their lives. That's always powerful to hear. I'm also fortunate to be able to work with a group of our students who are in college right now. It’s really fun to be able to help guide them on their journey, but also to hear about their amazing accomplishments. That's been rewarding, too, and something I never thought I would be doing. I never thought I'd be working with high school and college students, but it's been incredible to be surrounded by that type of positivity and growth. Which lessons did you learn at SMU that are most impactful today? The education I got was first rate and very much shaped how I think and how I see the world. But when I think about what impacted me most it’s the relationships I made. The benefit of getting to be around so many phenomenal individuals is that it made me understand how much better life can be when you surround yourself with interesting people who challenge you and push you to be your best. This has led me to be a lot more intentional about the relationships I form and keep and where I invest my time. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? My husband and I have an amazing three-and-a-half-year-old, and we love taking her for donuts, ice cream, and other fun things like that. I also love catching up with my friends when we can find those moments to connect. Lastly, practicing yoga. I try to start off every morning I can practicing yoga to help keep me centered and power me through my day.
FEATURED ALUMNA Tell me about your involvement with the President’s Scholars alumni group? I’m really excited to be working with a terrific group of alumni to create a more structured alumni network. Over the years, there has been a lot of interest in alumni connecting, but without a formal structure that has been difficult. Basically, we want to build a sustainable entity that won't live and die with any particular person, but will be there into the future. What are your goals in bringing together President’s Scholar alumni? It's amazing to me how many President’s Scholar alumni are out there who don’t know each other. Our alumni form one of the most eclectic, amazing groups of humans out there. So, providing the opportunity for alumni to find each other and form those relationships has been cool to see so far, and we want to see more. For example, when we started our Facebook group a few years ago, people were posting where they lived. There were so many alumni living in the same cities as each other outside of Dallas. It would be great if we could help foster those connections so that they can get to know each other better. Also, we want to be able to form connections between the alumni and the students, so that both groups can benefit from and learn from each other in order to have an increasingly large network. The organization and structure piece, as well as those engagement opportunities, are the most important things to me. I have a lot of fun working on this! What is one thing you hope to accomplish (personally or professionally) in the next 365 days? I want to get our PS alumni committee off the ground and plan different opportunities, both for the alumni group on its own and for students and alumni. We have a lot of exciting ideas, so I look forward to seeing them take shape!
Thank you, Anjulie, for allowing us to feature you! We loved learning about your experiences as a President's Scholar at SMU and your goals for the alumni group in the future. We can't wait for more opportunities for everyone to connect!
ALUMNI UPDATES GET INVOLVED
We would love for you to join the efforts of Anjulie and others to build a robust network of President's Scholar alumni! You can start by updating your contact information here and by emailing psalumni.smu@gmail.com if you'd like to be involved in planning events, building connections, and more.
STAY CONNECTED
Big move? New job? Working on a cool project you'd like to share? Please reach out! We are always looking for alumni to feature and stories to share. This newsletter will continue to include an alumni spotlight, so please let us know if you're interested! Additionally, please join the President's Scholars Program Program group on LinkedIn and follow the President's Scholars Program on Instagram.
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