Alumni Spotlight

Major: Applied Mathematics
Minors: Computer Science, Religious Studies, Statistics

For Carter, a recently graduated Applied Mathematics major, much of the time at SMU has been exploring the interaction between the sciences and the liberal arts. He was awarded a Hamilton Scholarship during academic year 2017-2018 to investigate methods of modeling political systems mathematically. Following that experience, he received grants to participate in Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) during each of the next two summers. The first summer was spent researching applications of graph theory in the study of social networks and infrastructure networks; the second was spent developing algorithms for effective refugee resettlement. Then, despite having done most of his research in Industrial Engineering, Carter is continuing on to pursue a PhD in Applied Mathematics at Northwestern University.

While at SMU, Carter has made numerous lifelong friends from among his classmates, professors, and fellow honors students. He has also made quite a few memories with the UHP, though his favorite is probably just being in Professor Brownderville's poetry class, as everyone worked to improve their writing and discuss their poems in between bouts of cracking each other up.

Majors: Political Science (BA), Business Management (BBA)
Minor: Public Policy and International Affairs (HCM Tower Scholars Program)

Graduating in May 2019, Bradley Potts has majors in Political Science and in Business Management, with a minor in Public Policy and International Affairs as an HCM Tower Scholar. Devoted to serving the SMU community, Bradley is the Student Representative to the SMU Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee, serves on the University Honors Program Advisory Council, is a representative to the Dedman College Undergraduate Council, and is a Teaching Assistant in Finance. In the past, he was a Student Senator for Dedman College and served on the Armstrong Commons Council. Selected for the Honor Roll with High Distinction each semester, Bradley is also committed to academic achievement and intellectual growth. Among other honors groups, he is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Society, Mortar Board, and Hilltop Scholars Program. As a junior, Bradley was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was selected as the 2019 Induction Student Orator, where he delivered a speech titled "Living With Enthusiasm: How to find the Right Path Without Knowing It." Recently, he was selected as the standard-bearer for the Cox School Business at May commencement and was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award for Strategy as well as the Management and Organizations Department. Bradley has conducted independent research in a variety of areas, including a Political Science Distinction thesis on the problems associated with filibuster avoidance in the U.S. Senate. After graduation, Bradley will be attending The University of Texas School of Law.

Majors: Anthropology, Health and Society

Katie is now in P.A. school at UTSW. As an SMU student, she made 2 Summer trips to The Netherlands (funded by Richter and Engaged Learning) and has now had her manuscript accepted for publication by the journal Midwifery:

Katie Logsdon and Carolyn Smith-Morris. (2017). “An Ethnography on Perceptions of Pain in Dutch 'Natural' Childbirth.” Midwifery.

Katie began developing this project in the UHP Sophomore Seminar that resulted in receiving a grant to begin her research under the Richter Fellowship.  

Majors: Human Rights, History, Sociology
Minor: Spanish

Hope Anderson will graduate in May with degrees in Human Rights (B.A.), History (B.A.), and Sociology (B.S.), as well as a minor in Spanish.  Upon graduation, she will enter the John Lewis Fellowship program in Atlanta and hopes to continue her involvement in human rights work upon the completion of this summer grant. During her time at SMU, Hope received several honors (Phi Beta Kappa, University Honors Program, Robert S. Hyer Society, and the Maguire Public Service Fellowship), and was a semi-finalist for the U.S. Fulbright program.  In addition to working as a student coordinator for the Embrey Human Rights Program, Hope has also completed internships with several nonprofit organizations - the International Rescue Committee, International Justice Mission, and CitySquare. As a Mayer Undergraduate Research Fellow and Engaged Learning fellow, Hope conducted interdisciplinary research on NGOs and forced migration in Kathmandu, Nepal; Amman, Jordan; and Santiago, Chile through her study abroad program in human rights.  She has served as a resident assistant for Virginia Snider Commons and the SMU Service House, as well as a student leader for the 2017 Civil Rights Pilgrimage.

Majors: Electrical Engineering & Mathematics
Favorite UHP Course: Dante's Poetic Vision and Art & Experience in Inka Peru

Camille Aucoin is a senior Electrical Engineering & Mathematics major. She has a passion for electric power and a love for liberal arts. From College Station, TX, she forewent a life of maroon at Texas A&M University and came to SMU in the Fall of 2013. Since the first day of classes in 2013, Camille has always been found at UHP events or napping in the Scholars' Den. She assumed the role of UHP Office Coordinator in Fall 2014 and has since worked with Dr. Doyle and Sally to keep the UHP up and running. Camille has worked to design Hilltopics, the UHP newspaper, since her first semester at SMU. She has taken over the responsibility of throwing Mad Hatter's Tea Parties to bring UHP students together for great intellectual fun. During the summer of 2015, Camille conducted a Richter Research Project in Taos, New Mexico studying the feasibility of alternative energy sources for the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. She spent the summer of 2016 in Topeka, Kansas interning in System Planning with Westar Energy, a power utility company. This year, Camille hopes to enjoy her remaining time as a member of the UHP while looking toward graduate school in the future.

Of all of the UHP adventures Camille has had, she describes her favorite moment of the UHP as sitting above the ruins of Machu Picchu at 6 AM with the Art & Experience in Inka Peru class watching the fog roll over the Andes mountains.

Majors: Health & Society, Studio Art
Favorite UHP Course: Ways of Being Religious with Professor Jill DeTemple 

Dana, an active member of the UHP since 2012, has recently completed her combined Richter Fellowship and Engaged Learning project: Opioid Overdose in Taos, New Mexico. Through Richter funding, Dana was able to spend Summer 2015 in Taos, New Mexico researching the effects of opioid overdose on the local community and analyzing strategies to remedy drug-related issues in Taos. Recently, Dana presented her research at The Society for Applied Anthropology Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

In addition to performing Richter research, Dana enjoys participating in many UHP field trips, dinners, and discussions and praises the wonderful faculty of the UHP.

Jewel, an alumna of the University Honors Program and the Dedman College Scholars Program, has been awarded a prestigious graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Jewel is pursuing a Ph.D. in Biology at Georgetown University.  The award will provide a $34,000 stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for the next three years. 

In reflecting upon her undergraduate experience at SMU, she shared these comments: “Much of what made my application successful is because of what I learned in undergrad and the opportunities that I had at SMU. I've had a lot of practice and mentorship in fellowship applications thanks to Dr. Hugley-Cook, and it was the Dedman Scholars / UHP that put me on this path to begin with.”

The article from Georgetown University announcing her award can be accessed here. 

Summa cum laude

Majors: Economics, Political Science, Public Policy and Religious Studies

SMU graduate and University Honors Program Alumnus Rahfin Faruk has received a prestigious Marshall Scholarship. The highly selective scholarship is awarded each year to up to 40 intellectually distinguished Americans to advance knowledge in the scholars’ chosen fields and to promote understanding of Britain.

A President’s Scholar, he was selected to serve as the voting student member of the SMU Board of Trustees. He led the University’s student newspaper, The Daily Campus, and the Tower Center Student Forum, where students examine politics and public policy. In 2014 he was one of only 59 U.S. college students awarded a Truman Scholarship, which recognizes “change agents” who are committed to public service.

As a Marshall Scholar, Faruk will pursue Master’s degrees in development finance at the University of Reading and in comparative social policy at the University of Oxford. He intends to focus on financial inclusion, ensuring that individuals, particularly the most vulnerable, and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs in an ethical and sustainable way. 

Majors: Marketing, Spanish Minor

Katherine is a proud San Francisco Bay Area transplant to Dallas. She graduated Magna Cum Lade with her degree in Marketing and a minor in Spanish in 2013. As a student, Katherine loved giving tours as an SMU Ambassador, studying abroad in Costa Rica, serving as Recruitment Chair for her sorority and participating in RUF. In the classroom, Katherine developed a love for verbal and written communication and working with others to solve problems. She has channeled these passions toward a career in management consulting with Sendero, where she has gained invaluable industry experience focused on project management, acquisition planning, technology implementation and organizational change management within the retail and utilities industries. Katherine has grown immensely in her career, empowered by the firm educational foundation she gained as a Mustang, and specifically as part of the University Honors Program.