Outstanding Graduate Students Honored
Chris Cvikota, a technical specialist at Northwestern University and graduate of the Master's in Higher Education Administration and Policy (MSHE) program, received the SESP's Outstanding Leadership Award.
Cvikota, who studied theater design and production as an undergraduate, provides technical support for events through the Norris University Center and seven satellite venues, including Cahn Auditorium. He supervises a team of student workers and coordinates with campus partners.
“Chris's leadership style focuses on fostering partnership, transparency, and support in pursuit of common goals,” said Christopher Burpee, assistant director of event production and an MSHE alum. “Chris knows that it isn't his title that makes him a leader, but the behavior he models and the compassion he shows for others.”
Read more about our outstanding graduate students:
Claire Sampson (left), who is pursuing her Master of Science in Education, won a Knowles Teaching Fellowship, an intensive five-year program that supports early-career, high school mathematics and science teachers. Knowles Fellows engage in nearly 100 hours of professional development each year. She is SESP’s eighth consecutive winner and the tenth in the last 11 years. Previous winners include: Rosalie Shyu (2022), Emily Salzman (2021), Amber Luczak (2020), Bradley Smith (2019), Rohan Prakash, (2018), Mason Rocca (2017), Dan Voss, (2016), John Holcomb (2014), Liz Smith (2013) and Elizabeth van Es (PhD04) (2008).
Angel Bohannon’s article, Correction to: Cascading webs of interdependence: Examining how and when coordinated change happens in a district central office partnership was published in the Journal of Educational Change. It was coauthored by Cynthia Coburn. Bohannon is a PhD candidate in the Human Development and Social Policy program.
Cassandra Francisco, who is pursuing a Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change, won the Kathleen Feeney Hiemstra Scholarship, which helps Alpha Phis pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Fortunate Kelechi Ekwuruke, a doctoral student in the Human Development and Social Policy program, was one of six scholars to receive $4,000 each for predissertation research as part of Northwestern’s Graduate School’s 2022 Dissertation Proposal Development program.
Matías Martinez (left), a doctoral student in the Human Development and Social Policy program, received the DevSci Graduate Student Fellowship to further his research looking at how schools can prevent bullying and helping kids cope with peer victimization.
Nicki McDaid Morgan will be joining the faculty at the University of California Los Angeles as assistant professor in environmental justice education.
Andrew Stein was accepted into the highly competitive SSRC Dissertation Proposal Development program. His project is “Straight” As: Achievement, Abstinence, and Absent Knowledge in U.S. Educational Policy, 1977-2002.”
Karla Thomas, a graduate student in the Human Development and Social Policy program, was selected as a 2023 Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Inductee. This national honor society pays homage to Edward Bouchet, the first African American doctoral recipient in the US.
Doctoral candidates Claire Mackevicius, R. Josiah Rosario and alumna Alexis Gable (BS15) of Harvard University won National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowships.
The dual-degree Master of Science in Social and Economic Policy program graduated its first cohort of 43 students. Students received their Master of Science in Social and Economic Policy degree diplomas after a 17-month journey that included ten months at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and seven months at Northwestern in Evanston. They're now based around the world, applying their talent and knowledge across all industries and sectors as trailblazers and leaders.
Award winners included:
- Academic Excellence Award: Ruihan Liu
- Academic Excellence Award: Jiayi Xie
- Distinguished student service award: Jinqing Xu />
- Distinguished student service award: Chunyu Peng
- Excellence in Professional Development Award: Suyash Mohan
Mohan, now working for Alumni Ventures, venture capital firm, was named to Forbes 30 U30 Class of 2023: Social Impact for co-founding Breer, Hong Kong-based food upcycling startup that turns bread waste into local craft beer.