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Alumni Spotlight

Alumni from the Emerging Scholars Program are successfully pursuing careers in a variety of fields. Here are a few of their recent achievements.

  • Aliah Lawson (CWR ’21, political science and psychology), a second-year student at Temple University Beasley School of Law, obtained a summer 2025 internship at Wawa, Inc., through the Greater Philadelphia Association of Corporate Counsel.
  • Terrence Mathis (CWR ’17, mechanical engineering) is a senior mechanical engineer at McNeilus Trucks and Manufacturing.
  • Briana Sealey, PhD (CWR ’17, biology) is an environmental consultant at Ramboll, a global architecture, engineering and consultancy company. Briana earned her doctorate in ecology, evolution, and behavior at the University of Texas at Austin in May 2024.
  • Allan Willmon (CWR ’21, anthropology) is an intervention specialist at North Shore High School in Garfield Heights.
  • Brianna Moore (CWR ’20, theater) has been promoted to MSW Care Coordinator at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. Brianna earned a Master of Social Work degree, with a concentration in aging and health, from The Ohio State University in May 2023.
  • Justin Creary (CWR ’24, biology) has been promoted to Research Technician II at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.
  • Kristen Sanford (CWR ’21, GRS ’24, psychological sciences) has earned a master's degree in development psychology from CWRU, with a graduate certificate in early intervention services. She is now a psychometrist at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
  • Jeremiah Ukwela (CWR ’23, GRS ’24, biomedical engineering) is a research engineer at the MetroHealth Center for Rehabilitation Research.
  • JD Harrison (CWR ’23, philosophy) is a site coordinator for College Now Greater Cleveland, guiding students at John Marshall High School through the college application process.
  • Tevin McDowell (CWR ’21, computer science) is a data analyst at ArrowStream, helping clients in the foodservice industry streamline their supply chain operations. 
  • Stefani Garcia (CWR ’24, communication sciences) is an AmeriCorps College and Career Guide at College Now Greater Cleveland.
  • 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.
  • Aniya Martinez (CWR ’21, communication sciences) completed her master's degree in speech-language pathology at Hampton University. 
  • Ali Mahmoud (CWR ’15, biology) completed his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Toledo's College of Medicine and Life Sciences and was accepted into Toledo's residency program in radiology. 
  • Keniece Gray (CWR ’17, MGT ’17, accounting) joined Morrison and Foerster as an associate attorney after graduating from Georgetown Law Center in May 2023.
  • Arik Smith (CWR ’19, computer science) has joined Meta as a software engineer.
  • Amber See (CWR ’24, communication sciences) is a first-year graduate student in Case Western Reserve University's master's program in speech-language pathology.
  • Junlong Kwan (CWR ’23, Japanese studies) has been awarded an English teaching assistantship in Kyoto by the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. 
  • Kristina Bowdrie (CWR ’17, communication sciences and psychology) received the 2023 Rising Star Award from Vanderbilt University’s Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, where she presented an invited lecture last fall. Kristina earned her clinical doctorate in audiology (AuD) from The Ohio State University in May 2023 and was awarded a VA Quality Scholars Fellowship at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center for 2023-24. She is also on track to complete a PhD in audiology at OSU.
  • Laniece Thomas (CWR ’17, psychology) is a Clinical Research Coordinator II for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine unit at MetroHealth in Cleveland. Laniece earned a Master of Public Health degree in health education and communication from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. 
  • Brittany Rabb (CWR ’20, SAS ’20) is Director of K-12 Initiatives at the William Julius Wilson Institute at Harlem Children's Zone in New York City. In this role, she supports efforts to improve education in disadvantaged communities across the country. 
  • Israel Hill (CWR ’17, computer science) has joined the Core Data Science and Engineering team at Netflix.
  • Zhara Edwards (CWR ’23, anthropology) was awarded a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship for 2023-24. During summer 2023, she completed an internship with the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health in Washington, D.C. 
  • Nichola Bomani Gonzalez (CWR ’20, biochemistry and Spanish; MED ’23) began an OB/GYN residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in summer 2023.
  • Aylisa Grenald (CWR ’21, NURS ’22) is a behavioral health nurse at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
  • Obasi Ndukwe (CWR ’20, sociology), a second-year student at CWRU School of Law, was awarded a summer 2023 clerkship at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur through the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's Minority Clerkship Program. In addition, Obasi was elected vice president of the Black Law Students Association and 2L Senator for the Student Bar Association for the 2023-24 academic year.
  • Johnathan Hicks (CWR ’21, biomedical engineering) has been promoted to the role of Supplier Engineer II at Boston Scientific.
  • Omar Mahmoud (CWR ’20, chemistry) has entered the pilot training program at Southwest Airlines.
  • Robert Herd (CWR ’17, biomedical engineering) is a biomedical engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Robert earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University.
  • Yvonne Chappell (CWR ’19, psychology and communication sciences) graduated with a Master of Arts degree in education from the University of Massachusetts Boston. She teaches fifth grade at Henry Grew Elementary School in Boston. 
  • Akwasi Duah (CWR ’21, civil engineering) has been promoted to assistant engineer at Turner Construction Company.
  • David Carter (CWR ’21, psychology) is a human resources talent acquisition associate at Wingspan Care Group, the nonprofit parent company of four Cleveland-area agencies providing mental health services, social services and education to children, adolescents and families.
  • Javon Colvin-Hatchett (CWR ’21, computer science and economics) is a software engineer at INSIGHT2PROFIT, a consultancy firm specializing in pricing and profit strategies.