Rise and shout! Regardless of discipline, BYU students continue to make an impact in various fields of study – and they’ve got the hardware, awards and scholarships to prove it.
While it’s impossible to recognize every award-winning student on campus, these highlights capture the considerable academic work and creative abilities of our Cougars.
Emily Quan (Engineering)
Emily Quan was named a 2022 Truman Scholar, one of only 58 recipients chosen from more than 700 nominees nationwide. The Truman Scholarship recognizes college juniors who display exceptional leadership potential and are committed to affecting change through public service. The scholarship provides each student with $30,000 for graduate study, leadership training and fellowship. Quan’s achievement marks the second consecutive year a BYU student has received a Truman Scholarship. Upon graduation, Quan hopes to use her cybersecurity skills to contribute to U.S. cybersecurity efforts as a public service leader.
Isabella Errigo (Life Sciences)
Isabella Errigo was named a 2022 Fulbright scholar. The Fulbright Program offers students funding for a year of research and study in over 140 countries with the goal of promoting international goodwill. Errigo completed her undergraduate degree in environmental science and international development at BYU and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science and sustainability. Her studies focus on how wildfires impact rivers and streams. With the Fulbright scholarship, Errigo will spend 10 months in Ecuador learning how different agricultural practices affect aquatic biodiversity in the Amazon.
Olivia Fisher (Physical and Mathematical Sciences)
Olivia Fisher was named as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar. The prestigious Goldwater Scholarship awards up to $7,500 to students intending to pursue careers in the natural sciences or engineering and mathematics. Fisher is a research assistant in the physics and astronomy department, where she works with Dr. Dennis Della Corte. Fisher plans to pursue a Ph.D. in systems biology after graduation.
Ally O’Rullian (Fine Arts and Communications)
Ally O’Rullian won first place and $10,000 in the 62nd annual Hearst National Championship competition in the television category. She was one of only 29 journalism students nationwide who competed in the national Writing, Photojournalism, Audio, Television and Multimedia Championships. She also won an additional $1,000 award for Best Use of Television for News Coverage in the Hearst competition.
Chad Pollard (Life Sciences)
Chad Pollard won first place in the BYU Student Innovator of the Year Competition with an invention relating to Alzheimer’s diagnostics. Using public data sets to identify a signature of neuronal DNA, Pollard helped create new techniques to revolutionize how Alzheimer’s is first detected.
Andy Brewer and Collette Jones (Fine Arts and Communications)
Andy Brewer won the Gold Medal Award from the Audio Engineering Society for best sound design and mixing on the collaborative animation film "Stowaway." Collette Jones composed the music for the short film. The animated film recently won a Student Emmy award.
Brooklyn Jarvis and Matthew Norton (BYU Photo)
Two BYU Photo student employees received national recognition from the Annual Photo Competition held during the annual conference for the University Photographers’ Association of America. Matthew Norton’s photos garnered third and fourth place while Brooklyn Jarvis’ images were awarded first and second. View their award-winning images here.
Team Awards
In addition to scholarships and individual accolades, numerous BYU groups were recognized for their work.
The BYU AdLab, widely known as one of the top advertising labs in the country, had eight winners at the International ANDY Awards. The AdLab is currently ranked the No. 3 Creative Program from the One Club for Creativity advertising awards.
BYU journalism students won Gracie Awards in four student television categories: Ashley Chase, Lauren Kraudy, Emma Evans, Alexandria Sorensen, Carly Wasserlein, Ally O’Rullian and Harlee Hunsaker.
Ten BYU MBA students from the Marriott School of Business were named 2022 Eccles Scholars by the school’s Whitmore Global Business Center. The Eccles Scholars Award program provides up to $9,000 in scholarship money to 10 first-year MBA students who are enrolled in the Global Business Certificate program and show a dedicated commitment to international business. The award recipients are Marisa Davila, Priyanka Gandhi, Cedric Huntington, Sara Isom, Thomas Metcalf, Kabir Rajput, Stephen Slabbert, Tracy Smith-Van Pelt, Fabio Souza and Mont Toronto.
The Society for Range Management (SRM) awarded BYU plant and wildlife sciences students the Trail Boss Award, the most coveted award the SRM bestows. Individual awards from the Undergraduate Range Management Exam were awarded to Curtis Drake, Kadyn Allen and Eliza Cash.
The BYU nutrition, dietetics and food science student team took first place at the Institute of Food Technologists Student Association (IFTSA) College Bowl Regional Competition. BYU students who participated include Maggie Horlacher, Jeremy Pack, Tyler Jarrard, Reece Larsen, Kanae Lee and Rachel Pierce.
BYU plant and landscape students took home the program’s fourth consecutive National Collegiate Landscape Title. The national competition covered a wide range of topics, including plant identification, landscape design, excavator operation, business management and arboriculture techniques.
Theater and media arts students Lorenzo Hubbert and Brittany Hanson won Best Comedy Short at Scorpiusfest, an independent film and music video festival. Jen Baker and Diana Jones won Best Student Film at the Desertscape International Film Festival.
The BYU Trumpet Ensemble placed second in the National Trumpet Competition, marking the first time a BYU group has advanced at the national event.
