Alumni and University Distinguished Scholars Incoming Class of 2022 Announced

June 14, 2022

EAST LANSING – Every year, Michigan State University offers Alumni and University Distinguished Scholarships to some of the top incoming first-year students. 

This year, twenty-one future Honors College students have been awarded scholarships to cover full tuition, room and board and a stipend for up to eight semesters of undergraduate study. 

The newest Alumni Distinguished Scholars and University Distinguished Scholars hail from across the country and internationally, coming from Michigan, West Virginia, Nebraska, New York, Maryland, Arkansas, Indiana, California, New Mexico, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Germany. 

The scholars are all planning to attend one of the following colleges: James Madison College, College of Arts and Letters, College of Natural Science, Lyman Briggs College, College of Engineering, Broad College of Business or the College of Social Science.

"We are thrilled to welcome this year's cohort of Alumni and University Distinguished Scholars as they begin their journey at MSU,” said MSU Honors College Dean, Chris Long. “These young scholars have already demonstrated the highest level of excellence in one of the most challenging scholarship competitions in the nation. We look forward to supporting their ongoing success as they join the Honors College community at MSU in our efforts to empower all of our students to make a meaningful difference in the world."

The scholarships are valued at about $130,000 for in-state students and approximately $230,000 for out-of-state students.

“GENERATION WILL…Michigan State University is pleased to have these young global scholars join our community to begin the work of developing their skills for the next level work that will impact the world,” said MSU Director of Admissions, John Ambrose. “This class represents a more diverse set of scholars that collectively we expect will change our campus community as they join us for the next step in their journey to solve or heal or repair or create exactly what our world needs to thrive. Our Alumni and University Distinguished Scholars represent the best in the world. They are legacy Spartans whose generation will change how we live and I can’t wait for them to arrive!”

 

Alumni Distinguished Scholars were selected from some of the top high school seniors who applied to MSU, participated in interviews and took an intensive general knowledge exam this past winter. 

The Alumni Distinguished Scholars are:

  • Ahmed Amir of Beckley, West Virginia. Amir plans to join James Madison College. 
  • Malerie Birkel of Omaha, Nebraska. She plans to major in Humanities – Prelaw. 
  • Erik Brodsky of Cortlandt Manor, New York. Brodsky is planning to major in Mathematics, Advanced. 
  • Harshil Chidura of Okemos, Michigan. Chidura plans to join James Madison College. 
  • Sarah Davis of Warwick, New York. She plans to major in Environmental Biology/Plant Biology.
  • Alexander Garcia of Royal Oak, Michigan. Garcia plans to join James Madison College.  
  • Ania Grodsky of Clarksville, Maryland. She plans to major in Lyman Briggs College.  
  • Maxwell Joyce of West Bloomfield, Michigan. He is planning to major in Mechanical Engineering. 
  • Marissa Malleck of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She plans to major in Lyman Briggs College.  
  • Hayden Monk of Indianapolis, Indiana. Monk plans to major in Astrophysics.
  • Arhan Mulay of Santa Clara, California. He plans to major in Computer Science.  
  • Duy Nguyen of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He plans to major in Marketing. 
  • Toluwani Oshin of Midland, Michigan. Oshin plans to major in Computer Engineering. 
  • Aaron Philip of Los Alamos, New Mexico. Philip plans to major in Physics. 
  • Nadia Schoenherr of Trenton, Michigan. Schoenherr plans to major in Plant Biology. 
  • Kylie Todd of Harrison, Ohio. Todd plans to major in Biological Science Secondary Education. 

 

University Distinguished Scholars were selected from the MSU applicant pool by the director of admissions and the dean of the Honors College based on high school programs, achievements, and interviews with the finalists.

The University Distinguished Scholars are:

  • Connor Croft of Ellicott City, Maryland. Croft plans to major in Lyman Briggs College. 
  • Evelyn Gomez Recinos of Fort Smith, Arkansas. Gomez Recinos plans to major in Genomics and Molecular Genetics. 
  • Kinza Hasan of Berlin, Germany. Hasan plans to major in Physics. 
  • Elise Moorman of Corona, California. She plans to major in Management. 
  • Syed Masrur Tehzib of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He plans to major in Economics.