Wall of Scholars

The academic achievements of more than 60 exceptional USC students — many from USC Dornsife —took center stage at the annual Wall of Scholars recognition ceremony on May 16. The names of these high-achieving Trojans will soon be added to the wall in Leavey Library.

The graduates gathered with their family members, friends and professors in the library’s Weingart Reading Room, surrounded by the names of past honorees. USC President C. L. Max Nikias, USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan, and Skull and Dagger Society President Jerry Papazian joined the crowd in congratulating the students.

Nikias hailed the students’ inclusion on the wall as “a wonderful tribute to their exceptional intellectual gifts, and to their remarkable devotion to the pursuit of knowledge.”

The president invited the graduating students to return as alumni to the library.

“When you do, you can proudly show your friends and your families and even your own children or your own grandchildren that you have a special place in the history of the University of Southern California,” he said.

Noting that many of the graduates had spent long hours studying there, Quinlan highlighted the essential role of the USC Libraries in the students’ academic success.

“These walls represent the tremendous accomplishments that are possible when we bring together dedicated students, accomplished USC faculty and researchers, and the research resources of our great libraries,” she said. “It is impossible to have a great university without a great library, and I am proud that within our great libraries at USC we have created this monument to your scholarship and creativity.”

The Skull and Dagger Society, USC’s oldest honor society, created the Wall of Scholars in 1995. Each spring, the names of students who have been awarded a national or international scholarship, or who have earned certain USC academic accolades, are etched on glass panels in the library’s first-floor reading room.

This year’s Wall of Scholars honorees are:

Andrew W. Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship: Ashley Harlow, Evelyn Larios, Rikiesha Pierce, Daniel Rios, Jayme Tsutsuse, Monica Valencia, Charnan Williams

Arnold S. Dunn Renaissance Scholarship for the Sciences, Arts and Humanities: Mackenzie Postel

Boren Scholar: Jason Finkelstein

Dean Joan Metcalf Schaefer Scholarship: Kelly Belter, Megan Bernstein, Samantha Coxe, Fan Fan, Samuel Fein, Kathryn McVay, Rosalie Murphy, Daniella Newman, Andrew Novak, Andres Park, Sara Worth

Discovery Scholar: Troy Armstrong, Jasneet Aulakh, Alexander Fullman, Christopher Hanke, Devon Mott, Julian Pegram, Roza Petrosyan, Abhinav Prem, Russell Stewart, Ka Ming Margaret To

Emma Josephine Bradley Bovard Award: Shelby Bachman, Katherine Fu, Olivia Lassoff, Julia Mangione, Sara Meghji, Aadrita Mukerji

Fulbright Graduate Study and Research Abroad Grant: Jasneet Aulakh, Juan Espinoza, Travis Glynn, Andrew Ju, Ana Lee, Molly Levine, Megan Rilkoff, Joshua Rivkin, Jonathan Truong

Global Scholar: Sarah Choi, W. Scott Fairbanks, Jenny Ham, Janet Lee, Myles Lock, Julia Mangione, Meaghan Pohl, Anu Ramachandran, Jayme Tsutsuse, Eve White

J. Wesley Robb Endowed Scholarship in Human Values: Josephine Lim

Luce Scholar: Tamara Shogaolu

Marshall Scholar: Alexander Fullman

Rockwell Dennis Hunt Scholastic Award: Kenisha Strong

Salutatorian: Alexander Fullman, Julia Mangione

Steven and Kathryn Sample Renaissance Scholar: Christie Amrein, Marguerite Bowen, Karen Fang, Arielle Gillman, Janice Kitchen, William McGarey, Sara Meghji, Aadrita Mukerji, Robert Rosencrans, Brandon Wolfe

Truman Scholar: Travis Glynn

University Trustees Award: Alexander Fullman, Walker Hollrah, Jeffrey Sakamoto

Valedictorian: Katherine Fu

The names have also been added to the USC Libraries’ virtual Wall of Scholars. The site provides the physical location for all the names on the wall.