Newest Class of Eugene McDermott Scholars Joins UTD

An AP Scholar with Honor, Ali graduated magna cum laude and earned a Student Council Recognition award and an AP Capstone Diploma. She co-founded the Syrian Emergency Task Force school club, which helped educate students about the Syrian crisis. Ali volunteered at an interfaith friendship camp and organized a clothing and toiletry drive for underprivileged community members. She also served as co-president of the Muslim Student Association and vice president of the STEM club. Ali was a varsity track and field athlete and Science Olympiad member for four years. 

Barnet was class president and helped organize a “Shattered Dreams” event, which raised awareness of the consequences of drunken driving. He has volunteered at his church and on mission trips, removing bees from schools and financially disadvantaged families’ houses. Barnet also served through the Lions Club at food trucks and optical screenings, and volunteered at local food banks. He was the captain of the tennis team, where he served as a tutor and mentor to younger players. Barnet is a member of the UTD tennis team.

Chacko is an AP Scholar with Distinction. She volunteered with multiple nonprofit organizations, teaching English to human trafficking victims and organizing donations for the community. Chacko was vice president of her school’s Asian Cultural Club and treasurer of the Spanish National Honor Society. She helped organize food drives as a Key Club officer and broadened her interests as a member of DECA. She plays the guitar and speaks Spanish. 

An AP Scholar, Chan was founder and president of her school’s Southeast Asian Club. She earned a Girl Scout Gold Award for her podcast, “Teenhood,” which raised awareness of teenage mental health for listeners from over 50 countries. She also co-founded Teen Dating Violence Month for social services organization Bay Area Turning Point and assisted emergency room doctors and nurses at the UT Medical Branch at Galveston. She also enjoys drawing, writing and playing tennis.

An AP Scholar with Honor, Emordi was a member of the National Honor Society and Peer Assistant Leadership program at her school. She also was acknowledged by the National African American Recognition Program. Emordi led both the Best Buddies and the NVision Mentorship programs as president. She worked in her church as a youth group leader, creating spaces for young Black teens to explore their interests in technology and media. Throughout her senior year, she worked as a child care professional at a local elementary school.

Foyt-Gade, an AP Scholar with Honor, was the founder and president of her school’s Science National Honor Society chapter and president of the National Honor Society. As a Student Council member, she planned events and club service activities. Foyt-Gade also hosted the New Mexico Association of Student Councils’ state leadership conference. She was captain of the cross country and track teams and coached youth volleyball. Her community service work included planning events at a food bank and volunteering at an animal shelter. She runs hurdles for the UTD track and field team.

Gunaselan, an AP Capstone Diploma recipient and two-time Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award recipient, was salutatorian of her class. She served as president and competed at the international level in DECA. Gunaselan was captain of the FIRST Tech Challenge team and a karate instructor. She founded three organizations focusing on project-based math tutoring for second- to ninth-grade students; career development for high school students; and professional support for young women with goals of working in STEM, law, business and the arts. Gunaselan has had pre-professional experiences with a number of companies and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. She is fluent in Tamil and conversational in Telugu.

Ha was president of Science Olympiad and her school band’s principal trumpet player and section leader. She led initiatives such as the annual Multicultural Fair and MLK Day of Service, which raised donations for families in need. Ha is a youth group leader and member of the lion dance troupe at her temple, where she also helps feed the homeless. She volunteers at health fairs, distributing translated health education information and assembling care packages for mission trips to Vietnam. Her biomedical engineering research placed third at the Texas Science and Engineering Fair.

Hamza graduated as valedictorian of his class. He led fundraising efforts and hosted awareness campaigns in local neighborhoods. Hamza also volunteered to teach children at his local orphanage, hosted cleanup drives in his community and raised money for flood relief. He worked for a local construction company as a management intern. Hamza is fluent in Urdu.

Lafler was recognized by the National Hispanic Recognition Program and the National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program. As class treasurer, she organized events, helped raise more than $15,000 for Relay For Life and led a toiletry shoebox drive for people without homes. Lafler was part of her school’s HOSA group and ran camps for elementary students while obtaining dental assistant, phlebotomy and medical assistant certifications. She was president of academic UIL and assisted disabled students through the Challenger Buddies program. In the marching band, she was trumpet section leader and brass captain.

An AP Scholar with Distinction, LeBlanc graduated as valedictorian of her class. She was president of Student Council and her school band, where she was also a drum major. LeBlanc was active in academic UIL, DECA, School of Rock and National History Day. She founded the STEM Outreach Program for middle school students in her school district. LeBlanc volunteered at local food drives and missions, and hosted blood drives at her school. She was the first student in her district to become a certified laboratory biotechnician. 

Mageshkumar, a member of the National Honor Society, is an AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Finalist. As a Girl Up officer, she organized an initiative to make menstrual products more accessible and organized a career showcase that featured professionals from across the country. As Creative Writing Club president, Mageshkumar created a safe space for young writers to collaborate. She tutored neurodivergent children with Learn To Be and advocated for disability awareness. Mageshkumar also performed research on the effects of mental illness on the brain. She is fluent in Tamil.

Menon, salutatorian of her class, is a National Merit Scholar and an AP Scholar with Distinction. She was a snare drummer in her school’s drumline for four years and earned a marching technician position as a senior. Menon was president of Mu Alpha Theta and secretary of the National Honor Society. She organized food drives for peers in need. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she founded Math Buddies, a volunteer organization at her school that provided free virtual math tutoring for middle schoolers. Menon also served as a Teen Court attorney.

A National Merit Commended Student and an AP Scholar with Distinction, Mina volunteered throughout her local community and tutored middle schoolers at her church. She was a co-founder of her school’s chess club and served as co-president of the National Honor Society and state president of the Texas Future Business Leaders of America, where Mina worked to increase membership and curate a state service project. Mina is a church Bible study instructor. She is fluent in Arabic and is learning Spanish. 

Sajesh is a National Merit Scholar and an AP Scholar with Distinction. He served as president of the Little Flower Mission League, an international youth volunteer organization at his church, and held a leadership role in the church choir. Sajesh also coached an elementary-level basketball team and taught students STEM concepts. In school, he was on the Hebron Principal’s Advisory Council and served as the parliamentarian for the National Honor Society. Sajesh was the secretary of his school’s Business Professionals of America and was a member of DECA, through which he qualified for international-level competition. He is fluent in Malayalam.

Shah is an AP Scholar with Distinction. Appointed as an Adolescent Leader for the UN Generation Equality Forum, she delivered speeches at numerous conferences. She is the co-founder of the Fundraising for the Girl Child organization, helping to fund the education of 500 girls living in rural areas. Shah earned a Girl Scouts Gold Award, creating the Easing Through Menopause organization, where she led events on reproductive health topics. She was the president of the Python Club and co-founder of the Technovation and Girls Learn International clubs. She is fluent in Hindi and Gujarati and conversational in Spanish.

Sundar Rajan is an AP Scholar with Distinction, a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient and a three-time recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award. She co-founded Cards for COVID, a service-based club aimed at helping health care workers, teachers and the elderly. Sundar Rajan was a New York Academy of Sciences Junior Academy Scholar and design lead for an international team working on telemedicine and vaccine distribution challenges. Her service work focused on providing access to education. She tutored Bhutanese refugee children in English and created a curriculum for other tutors to follow. Sundar Rajan launched a scholarship application platform to help refugee students continue learning.

An AP Scholar with Distinction, Swain received an AP Capstone Diploma for her research on triple-negative breast cancer. She is a co-founder of and a teacher for the Preparatory Lincoln-Douglas Summer Camp, a free virtual debate-training program. Swain was debate team captain and secretary of Girls in STEM and competed at the international level for DECA. She volunteered as activities committee co-director of her local senior home and as a youth group leader for her local temple. Swain is an avid writer and has played the piano for more than 14 years. She is fluent in Oriya and conversational in Hindi and Spanish.

Tran is an AP Scholar with Distinction and a certified pharmacy technician. As a volunteer for the International Student Services Association and co-president of the Social Media Club, she helped guide high school immigrant students in college and career readiness workshops. Tran served as the project officer of an American Red Cross’ International Humanitarian Law Youth Action Campaign team. She was a speaker at the 2023 EarthX Expo. Tran works with children, both as a Vietnamese teacher and as a performance partner with North Texas Performing Arts, supporting students with disabilities.

Vallurupalli is a National Merit Commended Student, an AP Scholar with Distinction and an AP Capstone Diploma recipient. She co-founded her school’s chapter of Amnesty International and supported numerous human rights issues. Vallurupalli was parliamentarian of the National Honor Society. She also helped freshmen navigate the high school curriculum and advised them on college preparation and future readiness. Vallurupalli has volunteered at the Frisco library, engaged in city holiday events and hosted South Asian cultural functions. Her pre-professional preparation includes shadowing workers in anesthesiology and gastroenterology.

Zainab is a National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Capstone Diploma recipient and a top 10 student in her class. She was involved with her school’s chapter of the Red Cross, serving as vice president, as well as the National Honor Society and Key Club. Zainab earned a Girl Scout Gold Award for a project designed to help orphaned marsupials in the aftermath of the Australian bushfire crisis. She served on the Girl Scout Event Committee and was president of her school’s Muslim Student Association. Zainab also competed in Business Professionals of America and DECA.