“We seek to be a leader in leveraging public health research and education to create the greatest impact on global health,” says Department Chair and Professor David Larsen. “Our students make achieving this vision possible!”
The Department of Public Health recognizes the outstanding work of the following students:
Undergraduate Awards
Falk College Scholar
Falk College Scholars represent undergraduate students in Falk College who display academic excellence, exceptional campus and community engagement, and personal integrity.
Recipient: Nicole Shanguhyia
Achievements:
- Honors thesis (advisor Associate Professor Bhavneet Walia): The Impact of Sociodemographic Factors on Pregnancy Intention: An Overview of Women’s Health in America. Poster presentation at the SOURCE Research Symposium.
- Publication: Predicting attitudes toward mitigation interventions and social distancing behaviors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine.
Capstone Internship:
Allyn Foundation, Syracuse, New York, Assessing Unintended Pregnancy Services in the United States with Regard to Racial and Ethnic Minorities.
What’s next:
MPH Global Health with a certificate in Maternal and Child Health (Emory University, deferred to Fall 2026).
Academic Excellent in Public Health
This award is given to the graduating senior from the Department of Public Health with the highest cumulative GPA in public health core courses.
Recipient: Shelby Fenton
Achievements:
- Chancellor’s Merit Scholarship.
- Vice-President-Fundraising, Global Medical Brigades.
- English Conversation Facilitator, Syracuse University Center for International Services.
- Research Assistant, Project Engage (mentor Senior Associate Dean for Research and Administration and Professor Katherine McDonald).
- Student Editor and Teaching Assistant, Healthy You.
Capstone Internship:
St. Mary’s Hospital, Amsterdam, New York, Becoming Baby Friendly: Improving Breastfeeding Rate in Rural Amsterdam.
What’s next:
MPH Global Health at Syracuse University.
Excellence in Public Health Practice
This award is given to a graduating senior who demonstrates superior knowledge and skill in public health practice.
Recipient: Eniola Festus
Achievements:
- Double major: BS Public Health and Environment, Sustainability, and Policy.
- Research Assistant: Biopsychosocial Processes of Aging in Racialized Communities (mentor Assistant Professor Catherine García).
- Leadership and Practice: Student Co-Director, Syracuse Sustainability; UG student representative, Syracuse University Senate; Chief Data Officer, Student Government Organization; W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute, Princeton University; Population Health Intern, Syracuse University Lerner Center.
Capstone Internship:
Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion & Population Health, Syracuse University, Addressing Black Maternal Mortality Disparities: The Role of U.S. Policy and Leadership in Advancing Health Equity.
What’s next:
M.S in Information Systems, Syracuse University School of Information Studies.
Public Health Leadership Award
This award recognizes a graduating senior whose leadership role within Syracuse University organizations, volunteer service, or campus departments has greatly impacted the campus the larger community level.
Recipient: Grace Brashears
Achievements:
- Double major: Public Health and Human Development and Family Science.
- Leadership Work: President, OttoTHON (major fundraiser for Golisano Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network); Student Orientation Leader; Co-Founder, Project Sunshine, Syracuse University Chapter; Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority Executive Board.
Capstone Internship:
UMH, Golisano Children’s Hospital, The Role of School-Based Mental Health Programs on Mental Health Outcomes of Middle and High School Students in the United States.
What’s next:
M.S. Child Life and Family Centered Care, Boston University.
Research Award for Public Health
This award is given to a graduating senior who advanced population health through research.
Recipient: Penelope Lee
Achievements:
- Research Assistant: Does increased exposure to COVID-19 increase pandemic-related family stress? (mentor Associate Professor Brittany Kmush). Funded through Syracuse University Bridge SOURCE Award and manuscript in preparation.
Capstone Internship:
Syracuse University Center for International Services,
International Students Experience with Race-Based Discrimination at U.S. Colleges and Universities.
What’s next:
Undecided; interested in data analytic employment positions.
Public Health Social Justice Award
This award is given to a graduating student whose volunteer work, research, and career goals focus on the elimination of inequalities in health.
Recipient: Alyssa Sutherland
Achievements:
- Columbia Public Health Scholars Internship Program.
- CDC John R. Lewis Scholar, Understanding Participation and Enrollment Trends at the PHS Sunset Park, Brooklyn WIC Center Between 2020 to 2022 (in partnership with Public Health Solutions). Presented at the Lewis & Ferguson CDC showcase, runner-up, 2023 Williams-Hutchins Health Equity Award.
- Community engagement: Barnes Center Peer Educator, leading initiatives to prioritize harm reduction, mental health, and sexual health access for Syracuse University students; co-developed pop-up Heath Hubs for Syracuse University students; 2024-25 Remembrance Scholar given in recognition of impactful community work.
Capstone internship:
SIT India (mentor Women’s and Gender Studies Department Chair and Professor Chandra Talpade Mohanty), Bridging the Gap: Assessing Contraceptive Access and Sexual Education for Disabled Women in Rural India.
What’s next:
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Population and Family Health, concentration in Sexuality, Sexual & Reproductive Health.
Class Marshal
The Undergraduate Class Marshal is a student who exemplifies the spirit of the senior class and has excelled during their time at Syracuse. Campus and community engagement and services are additional considerations for this award.
Recipient: Sashana Kinghorn-Bodley
Achievements:
- Major/Minor: BS Public Health, minor Psychology.
- Community Engagement: Emphasis on maternal/infant health; Sexual and Reproductive Health Advocate, Allyn Foundation.
- Leadership: Mentor, Syracuse University HEOP and Dimensions; Event Coordinator, Friends of MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières); member of the Rebecca Lee Pre-Health Society, Women in Science and Engineering, and Black Pre-Medical Society.
Capstone Internship:
Reach CNY, Syracuse, Maternal and Child Wellness: The Effectiveness of Home Visit Programs on Health Outcomes.
What’s next:
MPH at Cornell University.
Graduate Awards
Excellence in the Public Health Graduate Program
This award recognizes an outstanding student in the public health graduate program and is based on academics, quality of internship outcomes, and impact at the campus or larger community level.
Recipient: Collins Annor
Achievements:
- Near perfect cumulative GPA.
- Research projects and publications/presentations: (1) Challenges of delivering cardiology care via telehealth: A systematic literature review (Current Cardiology Reports, under review); (2) Cost-consequence evaluation of a radio campaign to improve full vaccination coverage among children under five in Ethiopia (BMC Public Health, under review); (3) Risk Factors for Injuries in College Football: A Systematic Review (Scientist Special Issue, under review); (4) Growing dependence on physician assistants: Balancing access & quality (in preparation); (5) Managing sickle cell disease with hydroxyurea, herbal medicines, and nutrition: A content analysis of African newspapers (in preparation).
Leadership:
Program Review & Assessment Committee (student member);
Student Engagement in Assessment, SU IEA mini-grant recipient (with Assistant Professor Bernard Appiah); Program Assessment Tools–One Sentence Summaries (OSS).
What’s next:
Ph.D., University of Memphis.
Class Marshal
The Graduate Class Marshall is selected for their achievement in scholarship, academic honors, student organization involvement, leadership, and collegiality, as well as campus and community engagement and service.
Recipient: Iaya Mohamed
Achievements:
- Leadership: Co-President of the Graduate Student Association for Public Health (GSAPH): building a culture of service, GSAPH; organized volunteer activities at the Rescue Mission, A Tiny Home for Good, and the Samaritan Center.
- Public Health Practice: AmeriCorps Graduate Public Health Fellow.
What’s next:
Pursuing employment.