Student

Students Honored as 2024 Dean’s Scholars

The recognition is given annually to students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise.

Spring/Summer 2024
A group of people standing in front of a statue of the Penn Shield

Penn Arts & Sciences named 20 undergraduate and graduate students as this year’s Dean’s Scholars, a recognition bestowed annually on students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise. They were celebrated at the Stephen A. Levin Family Dean’s Forum on April 17.

College of Arts & Sciences

Natascha Barac, C’23, English and Physics
Rema Bhat, C’24, Political Science
Sophie Faircloth, C’24, Linguistics, submatriculant in Linguistics
Andreas Ghosh, C’24, ENG’24, Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research
Sophie Mwaisela, C’24, History
William (Zijian) Niu, C’24, Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Biophysics
Liam Phillips, C’24, Russian and East European Studies and Comparative Literature
William Stewart, C’25, Music
Yijian (Davie) Zhou, C’24, Philosophy and Psychology, submatriculant in Philosophy

College of Liberal and Professional Studies – Undergraduate Program

Joe Daniel Barreto, LPS’23, Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences

College of Liberal and Professional Studies – Professional Master’s Programs

Abigail P. Blyler, LPS’24, Master of Applied Positive Psychology

Graduate Division – Doctoral Programs

Adwaita Banerjee, Anthropology
Charlie Cummings, Physics and Astronomy
Cianna Z. Jackson, Classical Studies
Ryann Michael Perez, Chemistry
Rashi Sabherwal, Political Science
Timmy Straw, Comparative Literature and Literary Theory
Elena Gayle van Stee, Sociology
Christine Soh Yue, Linguistics
Oscar Qiu Jun Zheng, East Asian Languages and Civilizations

Margaret Atwood and Emily Wilson sitting on a stage in front of an audience. They're making eye contact and speaking to one another with pleasant expressions. Around them are various potted plants, and in front of them is a table with a boquet of flowers, water bottles, and drinking glasses.

The 2024 Stephen A. Levin Family Dean’s Forum featured acclaimed author Margaret Atwood, in conversation with Emily Wilson, College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities in the Department of Classical Studies. In front of an audience of 1,500 people—some 900 in Irvine Auditorium and 600 online—the two discussed writing styles, how to decide which narrative voice to use, feminism, revisiting works decades later, The Odyssey, and more. Atwood, best known for her dystopian classic The Handmaid’s Tale, has written more than 50 books during a career spanning six decades. Wilson won praise for her translation of Homer’s The Iliad, which published in 2023, and The Odyssey, which published in 2018.

Michele W. Berger

Writer

Lisa J. Godfrey

Photographer

Print Edition

Spring/Summer 2024

Omnia SS24 Cover

Related Stories

Trees in the quad on Penn's campus that have started to change color for fall. A single person walks on a walkway.

A Sounding Board for First- and Second-Years

The College’s pre-major advising program has been around since the 1990s. The 130 or so faculty and staff who participate act as a support system and academic guide for undergrads learning to navigate the experiences and spaces of Penn.

Melissa Jensen, who teaches in the English department, sitting on a desk talking to a room of students, three of whom are visible.

Small Seminars Foster Sense of Belonging for New College Students

Sixty first-year seminars offer complex subjects in a comfortable group setting, as well as close connections to professors and peers. This year, 10 are also taking part in a pilot program focused on teaching students how to have respectful dialogue around difficult topics.

Graduate students sitting in living room.

Omnia Podcast: Deep Listening and The Sound of Philadelphia (Audio)

In a graduate seminar taught by Professor of Music Carol Muller, students re-examined ethnographic research methods and worked on field projects aimed at documenting Philadelphia’s Black music history.