Oberlin Students Earn Top National and International Awards

Oberlin College students and recent graduates have once again earned national and international recognition for their academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to global engagement. 

This year’s fellowship and scholarship recipients reflect the breadth of Oberlin’s academic strengths—from the sciences and public policy to languages, the arts, and research—while continuing the college’s longstanding tradition of preparing students to lead and serve in a complex, interconnected world.

Across a wide range of highly competitive programs, Oberlin students and young alumni have secured awards that will support language study, graduate education, public service, and independent research. Among the most prestigious global graduate awards, Chudi Martin ’24 was named a Gates Cambridge Scholar, which funds full postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge, while Leo Hidy ’23 received a Marshall Scholarship to pursue graduate study in the United Kingdom. Upcoming May graduate Maya Miller ’26 will visit four continents with her Watson Fellowship, which provides a year of independent travel and research outside the United States.

Oberlin continues to be a top producer of Fulbright Fellowships. This spring, 29 Oberlin applicants were named semi-finalists; so far, 12 have received the award and four have been named alternates. While final acceptance decisions are pending for some, honorees include Fulbright Study/Research awardees Nissa Berle ’24 (Canada), Lucas Daley ’26 (India), and Katia Chapin ’26 (European Union), as well as Fulbright English Teaching Assistant awardees Joel Tang ’24 (South Korea), Ariana Ofori ’26 (Switzerland), Amelia Friess ’26 (Czech Republic), Nathaniel Liu ’26 (Taiwan), Momo Suzuki ’20 (Taiwan), Anna Benjamin ’26 (Spain), Andy Roshal ’26 (Germany), Derya Taspinar ’25 (Spain), and Eleanor Richards ’26 (Madagascar). 

Oberlin’s strength in the sciences is also clear: Zosia Greer ’27 earned a Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate awards in STEM fields. And two Obies—Tanisha Shende ’26 and Ella Halbert ’23—received awards from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Obies were also recognized for excellence in public policy and service. Lucas Daley ’26 was selected as a James C. Gaither Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and will work in the Russia and Eurasia program starting in the fall. Daley’s multiple recognitions include a Critical Language Scholarship for Hindi study in India this summer, which he has accepted, as well as a Fulbright Study/Research Award and a Boren Scholarship.

Leah Yonemoto-Weston ’24 was named to the NYC Urban Fellows Program, gaining hands-on experience in New York City government. And Chhavi Singh ’27 received a Projects for Peace grant to support a grassroots woman's health initiative in India.

Andy Roshal ’26, in addition to landing a Fulbright ETA, also earned a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Scholarship and a USTA (Austrian Teaching Assistantship) Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in Austria. Sophie Qano ’24, currently a Shansi Fellow, was selected for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree Scholarship and will pursue the Social Psychology of Transformation program across Germany, Portugal, Italy, and Albania.

Finally, this was an exceptionally competitive year for Oberlin Shansi Fellowships, which are two-year post-graduate opportunities in Asia for Obies. Eight students and alumni were selected for international service and cultural exchange in fields ranging from environmental justice and public health to education and international diplomacy: Kayla Kim ’25 (China), Nathaniel Liu ’26 (China), Zoe Meister ’26 (India), Hannah Behroozi ’25 (India), Molly Davis ’26 (Indonesia), Kisa Biely ’26 (Indonesia), Bennett Elder ’24 (Japan), and Ellie Hyde ’26 (Japan).

Together, these achievements represent dozens of Obies earning recognition from the most selective programs in the world. Beyond the numbers, these awards reflect a shared commitment to academic rigor, cross-cultural understanding, and meaningful impact—values that continue to define an Oberlin education.

Note: Final results from some programs are pending; updates will be added to this story.