OURS National Scholarships

Dan Zhu (‘23, Data Science/Business Administration) has been selected to join the 2026 cohort of Knight-Hennessy Scholars, a fully-endowed, multidisciplinary leadership development program for graduate students at Stanford University. Scholars, who come from around the globe, receive up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at any of Stanford’s seven schools while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders capable of taking on the world’s most difficult challenges. Dan will be pursuing an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business and

We would like to wrap up the 2023–2024 academic year by congratulating all of the current Cal Bears and recent alums who received nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships this academic year, as well as those who submitted strong applications for the more than 30 scholarship programs our office supports. Astronaut Scholars – Clara Hung (’25) and Cooper Jacobus (’25) Beinecke Scholarship – Danielle Tran (’25) Critical Language Scholarship – Sara Ahlich (’24), Fraser Byers (’25), Charlie Kim-Worthington (’26), Ava Ratcliff (’26), David Villani (‘24), and Valerian Weinzweig (’25) Gates Cambridge Scholarship –

We would like to wrap up 2022–2023 by congratulating all of the current Cal Bears and recent alums who received nationally competitive scholarships this academic year, as well as those who submitted strong applications for the more than 30 scholarship programs our office supports. This year’s recipients are: Astronaut Scholars – Nitish Dashora (‘24), Cooper Jacobus (’25) Beinecke Scholar – Bryce Wallace (’23) Boren Scholar – Benjamin Davis (’25) Critical Language Scholars – Sara Ahlich (’24), Julian Martinez-Garcia (’23), Clio Smith (’23), Kyle Terrizzi (’23) Goldwater Scholars – Samuel Alber

In Fall 2021, Bryce Wallace (’23, English & Linguistics) was still stunned that he had gotten into Cal as a transfer student from Irvine Valley College, when more UC-related honors started pouring in. He has since received the merit-based Sharer and Gilman Scholarships and was granted a College Corps Fellowship for his strong commitment to community service, especially in the areas of literacy and DEI work on campus. He has participated in URAP and was recently named a Haas Scholar. Then, last month, Bryce gained national recognition when he was

Two Berkeley undergraduates – Nitish Dashora (EECS, ’24) and Arun Johnson (CBE, ’23) – have received the prestigious Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) award for STEM majors who have demonstrated exemplary academic performance and have completed substantial work in their chosen fields outside of the classroom. The honor comes with $15,000, an accomplished mentor, and membership in the ASF network, which includes alumni, astronauts, and leaders in academic, technical research, and corporate leadership. Sophomore Nitish Dashora, from Columbus, Ohio, is interested in machine learning algorithms for general intelligence, namely those concerned

Mrunali Manjrekar (Bioengineering/EECS, ’23) has been awarded a $7,500 Goldwater Scholarship, a program established in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. She is one of 417 recipients from across the U.S. who were nominated by their universities and then selected by the Goldwater Foundation this year. Mrunali, a Bay Area native, became interested in genetics in middle school, intrigued by the idea that the logic and simplicity of sequences could hold

Sophia Young (’25, Cognitive Science & Data Science) has been selected to join the inaugural cohort of Lafayette Fellows, a graduate scholarship program that supports up to 30 American students with an interest in addressing global challenges in a French-American context. The Fellowship offers full funding for one year of master’s-level study in France as well as leadership training. A native of Oakland, California, Sophia graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. While at Berkeley, she worked as a Cognitive Science peer advisor, ran the Transfer Student Living and