Biennially, the Office of Graduate Education honors a cohort of Graduate Women of Excellence at the Celebration of Graduate Women.
Honorees are nominated and selected in a process based on their leadership and service contributions at the Institute, their dedication to mentoring, and their drive to make changes to improve the student experience.
In a celebration held on April 29, 2019 at the Samberg Center, honorees shared information about their path to MIT, their work and involvement in the MIT community, and their vision for the future through an informal poster presentation with a group that included nominators, department heads and other faculty, staff, students, friends, and family.
The evening’s program was uplifting, as Senior Associate Dean Blanche Staton welcomed the assembly and turned the floor to keynote speaker Danielle Wood, Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and former Graduate Woman of Excellence. Prof. Wood’s inspirational words spoke to the bumps in the road to her current position, and the importance of seeking help to overcome inevitable challenges and of maintaining a deep authenticity. She invited those gathered to share their joy “in being who I am” through a participatory “call and response” chant.
Many of the honorees generously provided a window not only into their backgrounds, but into challenges they had overcome and important aspects of their lives.
“Growing up,” one woman recalled, “I moved, a lot. Like, every three to six months. We would move without any notice. I would lose friends and have to start over and over again. Somehow, though, perpetual change allowed me to feel like loss was something I could overcome. It showed me that the disruption of change was temporary. It also showed me the only way to make friends again was to try. It armed me with the ability to calm chaos and feel comfort in ambiguity.”
Valuable guidance and inspiration were imparted to the attendees through the posters and in person. “Many of the issues we face are institutional, and deeply rooted; it’s easy to get discouraged,” one honoree observed. “While the larger problem may seem insurmountable, remember that you do have an impact on those around you. Encourage others to do the same, foster a community, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.”
Another honoree urged her fellow students, “Make sure you make time for yourself… It takes a lot of commitment to make time for yourself, but it’s so important.”
“No one can do it alone,” maintained another, “Build and maintain friendships — now and for the rest of your life.”
A third woman advised, “Don’t compete with your peers, collaborate with them. My father often says, ‘the only way to move up in life is to teach others what you know.’ People waste a lot of energy protecting their turf, which they could spend developing their ideas.”
Looking forward, the 2019 honorees unfolded various plans for the road ahead, envisioning paths that included public service, academia, and industry.
“I have learned a lot about how teaching and mentoring can impact young scientists,” said one, “particularly those who are not well represented in STEM. I hope that as a teacher I can work to reduce barriers to STEM education and serve as a role model to female scientists.”
Another shared: “I envision a world whose culture is built on compassion and understanding, where science is done out of curiosity and a desire to improve the condition of all living creatures… I hope to use my knowledge and position to contribute what I can, and convince others to do the same.”
The Graduate Women of Excellence celebration is organized by the Office of Graduate Education and made possible by the work of three Graduate Community Fellows.
2019 Honorees
| Nicole Aponte Santiago Scarlett Barker Carina Belvin Sarah Bening Jennifer Braly Agnes Cameron Geeticka Chauhan Huili Chen Irene Chen Karen Cruz Paula do Vale Pereira Margaret Dunne Amanda Facklam Allena Goren Huma Gupta Shalini Gupta Christina Hernández Shayna Hilburg Megan Jackson Summer Jackson Grace Johnson Emily Kehne Akshata Krishnamurthy Kristin Kurianski Karen Leopold Cunningham | Devora Najjar Yael Nidam Shalmalee Pandit Cadence Payne Azucena Ramos Kara Rodby Beth Semel Gabriela Serrato Marks Emilia Simison Raspberry Simpson Elena Sobrino Maya Stokes Kavya Vaghul Clara Vandeweerdt Claudia Varela Malvika Verma Lisa Volpatti Joyce Wang Zi Wang Caroline Werlang Elise Wilcox Randi Williams Xijia Zheng Rebecca Zubajlo Emiko Zumbro |
2017 Honorees
| Giulia Agostinelli Sahar Ali Dar Ariel Anders Raichelle Aniceto Marjorie Cantine Jenny Chen Jane Choi Alicia Chong Arolyn Conwill Claire Duvallet Ariel Ekblaw Veronica Foreman Sarah Goodman Tsehai Ariane Grell Lisa Guay Olivia Hentz Julia Hopkins Olivia Huang Fatima Hussain Caroline Jaffe Amanda Kedaigle Rebecca Kleinberger Ina Kundu Erica Lai Emily Lindemer | Michelle Macleod Mariana Matus Garcia Gwen McKinley Carolyn Mills Julie Monda Priya Moni Kelsey Moore Kelly Moynihan Amaka Nneji Kathryn Olesnavage Angela Phillips Novalia (Nova) Pishesha Elizabeth Qian Candace Ross Shreya Saxena Sarah Schwettmann Natasha Seelam Sunanda Sharma Akshita Sivakumar Emily Tow Emily Truelove Jessica Weber Natasha Wright Judy Qingjun Yang Ying Daisy Zhuo |
2015 Honorees
| Nancy Aggarwal Lena Andrews Maria Paula Angarita Fonseca Jessica Asly Artiles Monika Avello Renee Blackburn Jennifer Brophy Stephanie Buscher Rebecca Canter Jane Chui Bianca Datta Melissa Deas Irene Dedoussi Sema Ermez Niaja Farve Xiaojing Fu Mia Goldwasser Alexis Hope Gottlieb Genevieve Gould Alex Guo Maha Haji Sahar Hashmi Laurel Heckman Abby Jaques Mina Kojima Krista Loose | Sarah Luppino Jennifer Ly Katie Maass Emily Mackevicius Katerina Mantzavinou Elena Mendez Escobar Heena Mutha Andriani-Ioanna (Nina) Panagiotidou Marzieh Parandehgheibi Izarys Rivera Mareena Robinson Emma Sedivy Elizabeth Setren Danya Sherman Michelle Sing Laura Stoppel Sarah Tasker Julie van der Hoop Cecilia Viggiano Isabel Vogt Jenny Yi Wang Ling (Kelli) Xu Nataly Youssef Zhao (Amy) Yu Yangying Zhu |
2013 Honorees
| Ingrid Bonde Akerlind Allison Anderson Ambika Goel Bajpayee Pamela Basto Whitney Bernstein Emily Chang Yi (Ellen) Chen Emily Clements Christine Curella Kendra Desrosiers Elizabeth George Marzyeh Ghassemi Lindsey Gilman Qinxian (Chelsea) He Sophie Horowitz Christina Ignarra Wardah Inam Leyla Isik Shelby Kimmel Bonnie Lam Alyssa Larson Alexandria Liang Whitney Lohmeyer Sofia Lopez Jingnan Lu | Sayalee Mahajan Anne Marinan Kara McKinley Sreeja Nag Annalisa Pawlosky Priyanka Ramamurthy Katherine Romer Melissa Rosen Layla Shaikley Naomi Stein Maria Telleria Mitali Thakor Zhiting Tian Alexandra Toumar Allison “Sunny” Vanderboll Theodora Vardouli Ermin Wei Ashley Wessendorf Sunny Wicks Jennifer Wilson Johanna Wolfson Jean Yang |
2013 Women’s Groups
Course 6 Graduate Women (GW6)
Graduate Women at MIT (GWAMIT)
Graduate Women in Physics
HST Women’s Group
Mechanical Engineering Graduate Association of Women (MEGA Women)
Sloan Women in Management (SWIM)
Women in Chemistry (WIC)
Women’s Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (WGA3)
Women in System Design and Management (WiSDM)
The 2013 celebration was based on an earlier one that took place in May 2010, which also celebrated of 47 graduate women nominated by their peers, faculty, and staff. See the News Office article and photos here.
2010 Honorees
| Amy Banzaert Maria Berezina Megan Brewster Zenzile Brooks Lynette Cheah Alice Chen Kimberlee Collins Hoda Eydgahi Miaoqing Fang Shirin Farrahi Kay Furman Manijeh Goldberg Nancy Guillen Shayna Harris Ingrid Heilke Legena Henry Christina Ignarra Veena Jayadeva Fan Jin Joy Johnson Rhonda Jordan M. Flourish Klink Hillary Kolos Michelle Lustrino | Karen McCafferty Retsina Meyer Emily Miraldi Amara Mulder Carlijn Mulder Sherrica Newsome Sarah Nusser Molly Patrick Yoda Patta Kristal Peters Elizabeth Ramaccia Liz Roaldsen Alisha Schor Sheila Seles Anita Shukla Ellan Spero Carrie Stalder Dawn Wendell Jenna Wiens Danielle Wood Vanessa Wood Clarissa Zimmerman Danielle Zurovcik |
