Avery Hirschfield won the Undergraduate Alumni Leadership Award.
Northwestern University’s Avery Hirschfield received the School of Education and Social Policy’s Alumni Leadership Award for her work as president and co-director of the Global Engagement Summit, a student-led conference uniting entrepreneurs across the world.
Hirschfield, of Glencoe, Ill., studied learning and organizational change and minored in psychology, Before assuming the director role, she was part of the media and marketing committee and served as chair of the operations committee.
“Avery has a wonderful mix of intelligence, initiative and personal warmth,” Patrick Eccles, senior associate director of global engagement programs wrote in a letter of recommendation. “I’ve seen her drive to serve the community and continue to develop professionally and personally.”
Hirschfield, who plans to relocate to New York City, was one of dozens of SESP undergraduates who received awards and accolades this year. Read about more of our outstanding students in our annual round up.
Kaylyn Ahn, who studied social policy and legal studies, won a Truman Scholarship and was named to the Sidley Prelaw Scholars Program which supports high-performing college students with need during the law school application process. She is also part of the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation Pipeline Fellowship Program, which fosters international networking and policy discussions.
Genni J. Bogdanowicz (social policy, legal studies) is joining the New York City Urban Fellows Program, which introduces high achieving college students and graduates to local government and public service.
Kathryn Bowman (social policy, global health studies, environmental policy and culture) and Neva Celeste Legallet (social policy, political science and Latin American and Caribbean Studies) was named to the San Francisco Fellows program in 2023. The program prepares recent college graduates and young professionals for roles in public service and administration.
Alivia Britton, who co-chaired Northwestern’s annual Pow Wow for the second year in a row, delivered the Land Acknowledgement during convocation. “Northwestern is still home to over 100,000 tribal members in the state of Illinois,” Britton said. “The University needs to continue to build relationships with its Native American community, the greater Chicago Native American community, as well as the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes,” said Britton, who is pursing a master’s of education on an accelerated track.
Britton and second year Grace Lee (human development in context, psychology) received Gilman Scholarships to study abroad. Britton will study in Denmark; Lee will travel to Italy.
Anthony Engle, who is studying human development in context, global health and business institutions while also earning his master’s in public health, was executive director of the UNITY Fashion Show.
Lilian Fu won “best presentation” in her panel at Northwestern’s Undergraduate Research & Arts Expo for her talk “Acceptance Takes Practice: Emotional Acceptance and Parasympathetic Activation in Older Adults”
Third year Lilah Goldberg was awarded an International Senior Thesis Research Grant and will be heading to Paris and Rome this summer.
Louis Lee (social policy, global health studies) and Aimee Resnick (social policy, art history) were selected for the Public Policy Leadership conference in Cambridge, Mass.
Second year Anya Mateu-Asbury received the Clark & Hinman Foundation Fellowship which supports
Anya Mateu-Asbury won the Clark & Hinman Foundation Fellowship
unfunded summer activities for those who dedication to strengthening the principles of civil society. The award will support Mateu-Asbury's unpaid internship with The Fortune Society, a New York–based nonprofit that helps incarcerated people reintegrate into society and promotes alternatives to jails.
Eden Moore took third in the social sciences category at the Undergraduate Research & Arts Expo for her work examining the influence of high school mentor relationships on Black Women’s success in college.
Anna Smith was the undergraduate student speaker for SESP’s 2024 convocation ceremony.
Anna SmithRead her remarks.
Lauren Walcott (social policy, American studies, environmental policy and culture), received the James Dunn Fellowship, which gives recent college graduates a chance to learn about Illinois state government and general governmental structure. In 2023 she joined the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute and studied at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
SESP honors students Yiyang Liu, won top poster in sociology, anthropology and psychology and Anna Wittcoff won top poster in the social justice division at the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium. Read more about undergraduate research presenters.
Noelle Robinson, Joey McGarry, Zachary Lewis, and Yasmeen Mohammed Rafee discussed the course “AI, Equity and Public Education as part of TEACHx conference, which showcases innovative approaches to teaching and learning with technology.
Senior honors students includedAnna Chen, Kayla Gehrling, Nicole Hebert, Hannah Kim, Yiyang Liu, Eden Moore, Kate Rooney,andAnna Wittcoff.
