Graduate Student Awards and Milestones
Meaningful change is slow, collective and often outlasts the people who fight for it, Zoe Lewis-Woodson said during her 2026 convocation graduate student remarks. And that's OK.
Using water as a metaphor, she urged her peers to persist in the face of injustice even when they won't live to see results.
“Technology arrives looking like progress. Like jobs. Like opportunity," said Lewis, who studied how to keep children safe online. "It is also a weight in our neighborhoods, schools, and homes. It's OK not to see the rock become sand. You can still be a part of what makes it happen. Just keep flowing."
Lewis-Woodson, one of the first students to receive a degree from the new Master’s in Technology, People, and Policy program, is now a double purple alumna after earning her bachelor's from SESP last year. She will work with SparkShop, a nonprofit that brings hands-on materials to fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms.
Others graduating members of the inaugural cohort include Junyi Han, Michaiah Ligon (BS25), Lily Ng (BS25), Brendan Ogden, Zachary Rosenblum (BS25), Lucas Wesonga, Yang Yang and Yunyun Zhang.
More graduate student highlights:
- Jackson Carsello was the first graduate of the Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics (MOD) program, designed for recent college graduates who want to become leaders in learning, change, and innovation across complex workplaces.
- Ozivel Ecford was inducted into the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate. Ecford, a teaching artist with a background in music, theatre, and multimedia design. He is the fifth School of Education and Social Policy graduate student to receive the award since a Northwestern chapter was established in 2017. Previous recipients include Tre Wells (2025), Karla Thomas (2023), Julissa Muñiz (2019), and Krystal Villanosa (2018).
- Tochukwu Eze, a doctoral student in computer science, was recently recognized as one of the 100 Most Impactful Education Personalities in Africa based on his research in professor Marcelo Worsely’s lab. The recognition reflects Eze’s contributions to learning analytics and collaborative learning research, as well as his efforts to support the adoption of educational technologies in Nigeria
- Peri Green, a doctoral candidate in learning sciences received the Presidential Award , the most prestigious fellowship awarded to graduate students by the university. Green’s research investigates how young people engage in informal learning across both physical spaces, such as libraries, parks, and museums, and digital spaces, like social media.
- Yinmiao Li, a PhD student in the Computer Science and Learning Sciences doctoral program was named a 2025-26 Outstanding Teaching Assistant for exemplary service to the computer science department. Her research looks at understanding the connection between metacognition, emotion, and motivation in introductory computing education, and helping students overcome negative experiences while programming. She's advised by Professors Eleanor O'Rourke and Michael Horn.
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Natalie Araujo Melo won the 2026 Network of the Learning Sciences in Canada Doctoral Dissertation Award for Excellence.
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Doctoral students Andrew Stein, Karla Thomas (now a postdoctoral scholar) and alumnus Corey Winchester received highly competitive NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowships to support their research and career development.
- Karla Thomas (PhD26) and briana rodríguez were named winners of the 2026 National Academy of Education /Spencer Research Fellowship. The new and distinctive fellowship, designed to help with career pivots, provides recent doctoral graduates with one year of support to advance their research and career searches amid a disrupted academic job market.
- Fourteen doctoral students participated in the third annual robing ceremony. The ceremony recognized graduates from SESP's three doctoral programs — Human Development and Social Policy, Learning Sciences, and the joint Computer Science and Learning Sciences program. Each was among the first of its kind in the nation and continues to inspire innovation in education and research.