Jefferson Scholars Foundation Awards Fellowship to 35 Graduate Students

The Rotunda at the University of Virginia

The Jefferson Scholars Foundation has announced the names of 35 exceptional graduate students selected to receive Jefferson and National fellowships.

Thirty-two of this year’s recipients were awarded Jefferson Fellowships, the premier graduate fellowship offered at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and School of Engineering and Applied Science. Three were awarded National Fellowships, which support outstanding scholars at leading higher education institutions completing dissertations in United States politics, emphasizing historical and institutional analyses of politics, public policy, and foreign relations. 

Selected based on their potential as scholars, teachers, public servants, and business leaders, Jefferson Fellows receive full financial support to attend the University for the fellowship period. National Fellows receive support for up to two years of dissertation research and writing and are paired with a renowned senior scholar in their field, who serves as a mentor to the student.

Both Jefferson and National fellows contribute to the intellectual life of the University and have use of the foundation’s 40,000-square-foot facility in Charlottesville, which includes multifunctional spaces for research presentations, conferences, lectures, and individual study.

Thirty-two Jefferson Fellows and three National Fellows representing 41 universities will join the Foundation community this fall.

Jefferson Fellowship Recipients

  • Kathryn BabineauGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Sociology)
  • Diego BrionesGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Economics)
  • Frederik BrondstedGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Chemistry)
  • Wesley BrownDarden School of Business
  • Johanna ChajesGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Psychology)
  • Veronica CollinsDarden School of Business
  • Emma CookGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Chemistry)
  • Cam CopelandDarden School of Business
  • Jason EvansGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Religious Studies)
  • Kayleigh GranvilleGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Environmental Sciences)
  • Elizabeth HarperGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (French)
  • Alice KingGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (History)
  • Ekim KocaSchool of Engineering and Applied Science (Systems and Information Engineering)
  • Cherrie KwokGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (English)
  • Lauren MandavilleDarden School of Business
  • Ellie MarshDarden School of Business
  • Matthew MartelloGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (English)
  • Keegan McBrideDarden School of Business (Darden)
  • Lauren MehfoudGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Spanish, Italian and Portuguese)
  • Jirayu MongkolkiattichaiGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Physics)
  • Meghan O’DonoghueGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (French)
  • Hannah RichsteinGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Astronomy)
  • Chris RobinsonGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Biology)
  • Sean SawayaSchool of Engineering and Applied Science (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)
  • Yaolong ShenGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Mathematics)
  • Marina StamDarden School of Business
  • Justin StecGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (English)
  • Drew ThedeSchool of Engineering and Applied Science (Biomedical Engineering)
  • Tracey WangGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (English)
  • Kate Hughes WatkinsDarden School of Business
  • Lingyu YangGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Physics)
  • Eben YonnettiGraduate School of Arts & Sciences (Religious Studies)

National Fellowship Recipients

The National Fellowship supports outstanding scholars at leading higher education institutions, including UVA, who are completing dissertations in U.S. politics.

  • William Robert Billups, Emory University (History)
  • Syrus Solo JinUniversity of Chicago (History)
  • Sam SchirvarUniversity of Pennsylvania (History and Sociology of Science)