The Emerging Scholars Program is open to Cleveland-area students pursuing any undergraduate major at Case Western Reserve. As a result, our alumni include graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences, Case School of Engineering, the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Weatherhead School of Management. About 80% of our alumni have majored in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or the social sciences.
Here is a partial, rotating list of our graduates:
Physicians and Medical Students
- Joseph Mims (CWR ’15, psychology; GRS ’15, bioethics; MED '19) is a physician at the University of Utah School of Medicine, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.
- Nichelle Ruffin (CWR ’16, biology; MED ’20) is Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine and Community Health at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
- Suhib Jamal (CWR ’18, biochemistry; MED '22) is a pediatric resident at University Hospitals Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.
- Nichola Bomani Gonzalez (CWR ’19, biochemistry and Spanish; MED '23) is a resident in OB/GYN at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
- Ali Mahmoud (CWR ’15, biology) is a resident in radiology at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
- Ogoegbunam Okolo (CWR '18, biology) graduated from Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in May 2024 and is now a resident in the Otorhinolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery program at Penn Medicine.
- Wilmel Cosme Aguilar (CWR '18, anthropology) is a student at Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico.
- Tessa Askew (CWR '19, biology) is a student at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
- Jessica Pham (CWR ’20, chemical biology) is a student at CWRU School of Medicine.
- Angela Whittsette (CWR '20, nutritional biochemistry and metabolism) is a student at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She completed a master of science degree in physiology at CWRU School of Medicine in Spring 2022.
- Eduardo Williams-Medina (CWR '22, nutritional biochemistry and metabolism) is a student at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
- Lily Kwiatkowski (CWR '23, chemical biology) is a student at CWRU School of Medicine.
- Danyel Crosby (CWR '24, nutritional biochemistry and metabolism) began her studies at CWRU School of Medicine in summer 2024.
Nichelle, Suhib, Nichola, Jessica, Lily, and Danyel are recipients of the Joan C. Edwards Scholarship, which supports graduates of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District as they pursue bachelor’s and medical degrees at Case Western Reserve.
Nurses
- Mackenzie Dunn (NUR ‘15) is a nurse at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital
- Amber Strickland (NUR ’15; NUR ’21, adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner) is an oncology nurse at Seidman Cancer Center, University Hospitals of Cleveland.
- Ja’Nae Morris (NUR ‘16) is a nurse at Cleveland Clinic.
- Elizabeth Reyes (NUR ’17) is a nurse at MetroHealth Medical Center.
- Denasia Wagner (NUR ’20) is a cardiac stepdown nurse at Cleveland Clinic.
- Vanezza Alvayaro (NUR '23) is a nurse at Cleveland Clinic.
- Aylisa Grenald (CWR '21, MSN '22) is a nurse at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital.
Engineers
- Spencer Boyd (CWR ’16, mechanical engineering) is an exterior design engineer at Nissan Motors.
- Santiago Chabrier (CWR ’17, chemistry and chemical engineering) is a plant operations manager at JTM Products.
- Terrence Mathis (CWR ’17, mechanical engineering) is a senior mechanical engineer at McNeilus Trucks and Manufacturing.
- Yousef Mahmoud (CWR ‘17, computer science) is at Amazon.
- Dominique Owens (CWR ’18, computer science) is at OverDrive.
- Miles Booker (CWR ’20, chemical engineering) is a systems engineer at RoviSys Building Technologies.
- Johnathan Hicks (CWR ’20, biomedical engineering) is a supplier II engineer at Boston Scientific.
Computer science students at CWRU can choose between a bachelor of science from Case School of Engineering and a bachelor of arts from the College of Arts and Sciences. Arik Smith (CWR ‘19), who earned a BA, is a software developer at ThoughtWorks.
Advanced Degree Students
- Kristina Bowdrie (CWR ’17, psychology and communication sciences) is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Speech and Hearing Science, with a concentration in Hearing Science, at The Ohio State University, where she completed a Doctor of Audiology (AuD) degree in May 2023.
- Obasi Ndukwe (CWR '20, sociology) is a student at CWRU School of Law.
- Kristen Sanford (CWR '21, psychological sciences) is a master's student in developmental psychology at CWRU.