2020 GRADUATES

Nolan Brill graduated with Collegium V honors and a degree in political science. He will pursue a master’s degree in social work at the University of Houston. Brill was a peer leader at the Student Success Center, where he worked as a tutor in the Communications Lab for five semesters and as team leader his senior year. He participated in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College program in Nanjing, China.

Nianhuan Chen graduated summa cum laude in December with a degree in computer science. Chen served as treasurer of Women Who Compute, promoting more female leadership in technology. She was a Hobson Wildenthal Honors College peer advisor and in charge of exchange students from Nanjing, China who visited UTD. She is a member of the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Chen works as an associate technical account manager at Tanium, a cybersecurity and systems management company.

Ryan Clanton graduated in December 2020 with a degree in applied mathematics. Clanton was involved in numerous Terry service events and also learned to play bass guitar and cook during his four years. He is an avid hiker who loves puzzles and solving problems concerning data sets and equations of real-world scenarios. Clanton plans to work in banking.

Frances Dagohoy graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and will pursue her master’s degree at UT Dallas as part of the Professional Program in Accounting. Dagohoy will work as a tax associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers beginning the summer of 2021. She was active in the Davidson Management Honors Program and traveled to Croatia and Peru. Dagohoy worked in the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s advising office, was council leader for the school’s undergraduate Dean’s Council, and was marketing officer for the Undergraduate Accounting club.

Toya Darden graduated magna cum laude in speech pathology and audiology. A 2019 transfer scholar, Darden maximized her time as a Terry Scholar, graduating in record time. She is a member of Tau Sigma National Honor Society for transfer students, Golden Key, as well as the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. Darden will pursue a master’s degree in Communication Disorders. 

Rida Fatima graduated with a degree in healthcare management and will work as a digital specialist at IBM. Fatima served as service coordinator for the Terry Scholars Organization and spearheaded the annual Terry 5K. She also was an ambassador and volunteer coordinator for the Healthcare Management Association. Fatima competed in the Healthcare Case Study Competition and Big Idea Competition in the Naveen Jindal School of Management and achieved finalist awards with her team both years.

Chris Fogel graduated cum laude with degrees in historical studies and visual and performing arts, with a focus in communications. Fogel is pursuing a degree in museum studies at Baylor University this fall. He participated in the VIVA Volunteer project and helped with The Texas Ramp Project. Fogel also served as the director of Camp Kesem his junior year, was active in Terry intramurals, and played for Woof, the ultimate frisbee team. He studied abroad in Australia the summer before his senior year.

Lirit Fuksman graduated summa cum laude with Collegium V honors and degrees in computer science and biochemistry, along with a minor in mathematics. Fuksman was on the Dean’s List each semester. She interned at RealPage as a software developer intern and has co-authored a paper based on her work in Dr. Jie Zheng’s lab. Fuksman will continue as a doctoral student in statistics at UT Dallas. She was inducted in the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Sandra Girgis graduated with Collegium V honors and a degree in neuroscience. Girgis was selected for the prestigious Green Fellowship in spring 2019. She then spent the fall of 2020 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where she taught English to children in addition to taking classes and loved it so much she returned within months. She served as a peer advisor and student ambassador for three years. Girgis is an avid traveler and photographer and went to Nanjing, China with the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College. She is pursuing a master’s degree at UT Dallas in applied cognition and neuroscience.

Katia Gounou graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. A 2017 transfer scholar, she served for two years as a transfer mentor and was also the transfer enrichment coordinator. Gounou participated in UT Dallas’ Engineers in Residence and, with her mentor from TI, won two of the four awards. She started her own business, “Katia’s Kloset,” to promote female education and empowerment. Gounou studied abroad with the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College to Nanjing, China and was an intern in Madrid, Spain.

Sam Grader graduated with a degree in business administration. Grader is pursuing a master’s degree in management science through the fast track program with a concentration in business analytics and will graduate in May 2021. A 2017 transfer scholar, Grader juggles a full-time career, family, and course load. He currently works for the Collin County Health Department.

Jojo Henderson graduated in December with a degree in healthcare management. During her time at UTD, she played volleyball with the intramural Terrydactyls and was president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, focusing on scholarship, sisterhood, and service. Henderson is an active volunteer at Habitat for Humanity. 

Broderick Johnson graduated with Collegium V honors while earning a degree in mathematics and a minor in political science. Johnson will attend Yale Law School. He was chosen as the 2020 recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award. Johnson played on the men’s basketball team and studied in Switzerland. He was a peer advisor, a member of the Moot Court team, president of the John Marshall Pre-Law Society, and interned at the U.S. Supreme Court as a prestigious Archer Fellow.

Chrisi Mantchev graduated magna cum laude with a degree in speech language pathology and audiology and Collegium V honors. Mantchev served as the Terry peer advisor and studied child development in Copenhagen for a semester. She was active in HOSA, competing at the state level and the International Leadership Conference three years in a row, and repeatedly placed first. Mantchev will pursue a master’s degree in communication disorders at UTD.

Amber Nguyen graduated magna cum laude with a degree in molecular biology and a minor in neuroscience. She served as a biology teaching assistant and a Peer Led Team Leader for organic chemistry. Nguyen worked in Dr. Nicole De Nisco’s lab, researching antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections. She studied wildlife conservation and sustainability in Costa Rica during her senior year. Nguyen is applying to graduate schools as a PhD candidate in molecular biology.

Basir Noory graduated summa cum laude in December with a degree in information technology and systems with a concentration in cybersecurity. He served as a pro-bono consultant with 180 Degrees Consulting helping resolve business challenges of local non-profits. Noory interned in Australia with a regional security firm. He is a member of the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Noory is pursuing a master’s degree in management at UTD and will work for Grant Thornton. 

Itzel Ramirez graduated cum laude in December with a degree in computer science. She worked with over fifteen first-generation LatinX students, won the 2018 Google Hispanic Heritage Month ‘Pay It Forward Challenge’ and was active in Women Mentoring Women in Engineering. Tapia was selected for a 2018 National Science Foundation REU and was the first female CS student selected for the prestigious Green Fellowship. She was a UT Dallas Goldwater nominee and will pursue a master’s at UT Dallas with a concentration in machine learning and neural networks. 

Angel Roberson graduated with a degree in biology. Roberson was active in the Terry Scholars Organization and served as an enrichment advisor and as the first social chair. She was also active in Camp Kesem, serving as counselor, coordinator, and twice as director. Roberson is continuing to work with Camp Kesem and with the pandemic has decided to continue as a medical scribe at Parkland Hospital.

Hulon Sherard graduated magna cum laude with Collegium V honors and degrees in cognitive science and mathematics. Sherard received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Cognitive Science and is pursuing a PhD in cognition and neuroscience at UT Dallas. He served as president of the Terry Scholars Organization and president of the student organization For Autistic Empowerment, supporting high school and college students. Sherard studied in Scotland and worked as a research assistant in the Development of Social Cognition Lab.

Emma Tharp graduated magna cum laude with a degree in neuroscience and a minor in philosophy. She presented her work in developmental neurolinguistics at the Society for the Neurobiology of Language in Quebec. Tharp was a neurolinguistics research assistant at the Collier Center for Communication Disorders all four years. She founded Dallas’ first philosophy program at a local hospice and homeless shelter and was nominated for the 2020 Outstanding Undergraduate Award. Before medical school, Tharp will teach biology in Punjab, India.

Alisia Tumac graduated cum laude with a degree in biochemistry and will attend medical school. A 2018 transfer scholar, Tumac devoted much of her time to working in Dr. Jeremiah Gassensmith’s lab researching virus-like particles and presenting at the two regional conferences. Tumac received the distinguished presenter award at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and is author on a paper for her research. She studied abroad in Spain and Portugal during summer 2019.

Matthew Vazquez graduated with degrees in actuarial science and mathematics. Vazquez was vice president of the Actuarial Student Association, vice president of the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, treasurer of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and academic coordinator for the Terry Scholar Program. He served as a mentor in the Academic Bridge Program and Men Arriving Ready for Success. Vazquez worked as a math and CS tutor and interned with Hub International and Prudential Financial. He is pursuing an MBA at UT Dallas.

Cori Weaver graduated with a degree in molecular biology and a minor in psychology. She served as vice president of the Terry Scholars student organization and as an enrichment advisor. Weaver served for two years as co-operations coordinator for Camp Kesem. She works in genetic counseling as operations coordinator for Metis Genetics and is acknowledged in an article in the American Journal for Clinical Pathology. Weaver studied abroad in Copenhagen and Vienna.

T.Z. Zerom, a 2017 transfer scholar, graduated summa cum laude with a mechanical engineering degree. He graduated with a master’s degree in systems engineering and management. Zerom participated on the CometX accelerator program for early entrepreneurs and several startup projects. He was inducted into the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Zerom will be working for Texas Instruments as an equipment engineer while he completes his master’s degree.