2025 Graduate Awards

Overview

Each year in May, we recognize the accomplishments of graduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and exceptional leadership in their fields. Please join us in celebrating the 2025 Graduate Award recipients and their outstanding scholarly achievements!

School of Human Services and Sciences Awards

Department of Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences

Outstanding HSLS Ph.D. Student Award

for a Ph.D. student in HSLS who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and/or collaborative endeavors

Dr. Barbara “Lynna” Bustamante

Congratulations to Dr. Lynna Bustamante, our 2025 Outstanding HSLS Ph.D. Student!
Dr. Bustamante is the lead speech-language pathologist at the Scottish Rite Center for Communication Disorders at Children’s National Hospital. Her clinical work focuses on bilingualism and autism. She joined Gallaudet University to advance her expertise in language development and disorders in bilingual children with autism, working under the mentorship of Dr. Garrido-Nag.
As a Ph.D. student, Dr. Bustamante has published a peer-reviewed article and delivered numerous conference presentations. She has also received grant funding from both the Gallaudet Research Office and Children’s National Hospital.

Award for Excellence in Audiology

for a first-year audiology student who has demonstrated excellence in clinical and academic endeavors and is expected to make significant contributions to the profession and to deafness

Claire Quarum

Claire efficiently integrates and extrapolates information, demonstrating a forward-thinking approach to patient care. Her critical thinking fosters flexibility and adaptability, sharpens her intuition, and hones her clinical acumen. She asks insightful questions, often looking towards expanding the knowledge within our profession.

R. Steven Ackley Memorial Scholarship

for a student in the Department of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences who exemplifies the legacy of Dr. Steve Ackley, who was a beloved colleague, mentor and friend to many; this memorial award is made in celebration of his warmth, humor and devotion to his students and his commitment to audiology and deaf education

Tiana Dixon

Tiana seamlessly integrates information from Deaf education, speech-language pathology, and audiology into her exceptional client care. Her devotion to the field has dramatic effects on students, clinical educators, and academic faculty.

Jane Handelsman & David Pryor Hendrix Memorial

for the professional training of outstanding students in the Department of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences in order to facilitate the provision of service to deaf and hard of hearing individuals and established by Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Handelsman and Mr. and Mrs. William Hendrix in memory of their children, Jane Handelsman, a graduate of our audiology program, and her husband David Pryor Hendrix

Jenna Snyder

Jenna is humble and consistently thinks beyond her personal experience. She is passionate, promotes a collaborative environment, and considers the linguistic and cultural influences of her clients.

Award for Excellence in Speech-Language Pathology

for a speech-language pathology student who has demonstrated excellence in clinical and academic endeavors and is expected to make significant contributions to the profession and to deafness

Alyssa Marino

The speech-language pathology program is thrilled to announce our award recipients for May 2025. This award is called the Excellence in Speech-Language Pathology Award. This year the SLP program selected Alyssa Marino. Since entering the program last fall, Alyssa has demonstrated academic and clinical success. Alyssa actively participates in class, collaborates with peers, and has a natural interactive style with clients of diverse backgrounds. She is hardworking and motivated to expand knowledge. Congratulations Alyssa!

Adrienne L. Kaplan Memorial Endowment Fund

for the professional training of outstanding students in order to facilitate the provision of service to deaf and hard of hearing individuals and established by Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Kaplan in memory of their daughter who, although not deaf, had a physical disability that impacted her ability to communicate

Hailey Cerniglia

The Speech Language Pathology Program is thrilled to announce our award recipients for May 2025. This award is called the Adrienne Kaplan Memorial Endowment Fund. This year the SLP program selected Hailey Cerniglia. Hailey will soon finish her first year here at Gallaudet. She entered the program last Fall. Since that time, she has demonstrated academic and clinical success. She is creative, curious and asks questions with the goal of supporting her clients. She celebrates successes in the clinical setting. She has strong critical thinking related to clinical situations and self-reflects. Congratulations Hailey!

Seltzer League Award

for a student who has demonstrated excellence in both the academic and clinical areas of the Speech-Language Pathology Program, a student who is expected to broaden the understanding of hearing and hearing loss

Hannah Stone

The speech-language pathology program is thrilled to announce our award recipients for May 2025. This award is called the W. Seltzer League Award. This year the SLP program selected Hannah Stone. Hannah will graduate this May. During her two years at Gallaudet, she has expanded her academic and clinical knowledge and skills. She engages in interprofessional collaboration, has a natural interaction style with clients. She demonstrates a motivation to learn and works hard to support clients from diverse backgrounds. She is creative when solving problems. We expect Hannah to make significant contributions to the field. Congratulations Hannah!

Department of Psychology

Elizabeth Peet Award

for an outstanding student in school psychology

Tristan Brown

Tristan Brown has demonstrated commitment, enthusiasm, and skill in providing psychological services for deaf school children and his work holds the potential for significant contributions to school psychology. The Program faculty notes that his academic performance has been outstanding, and his skills during practicum have been described as excellent by field supervisors.

Larry G. Stewart Award

for an outstanding student in clinical psychology

Kallissa Bailey

Va’Lecia Penney

Dr. Larry G. Stewart, a Professor of Psychology at Gallaudet University, was committed to understanding the lived experiences of deaf and hard of hearing people, as well as supporting these communities through clinical and behavioral health services. To honor Dr. Stewart and the spirit of his work, an annual award recognizes outstanding doctoral students in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program. The recipients of the 2025 award are Ms. Kallissa Bailey and Ms. Va'Lecia Penney. Throughout their time in the program, they have demonstrated exemplary scholarship and a commitment to the highest standards of professional practice. Ms. Bailey's research has focused on the development of a culturally- and linguistically-appropriate version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaires. This aligns with her clinical training and experiences in the areas of youth and family services, as well as a focus on trauma-based interventions. Upon graduating this August, she will begin her post-doctoral training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Ms. Penney's training and work to date also has focused on children, especially those individuals with diverse identities and/or marginalized backgrounds. Her dissertation will examine socio-emotional learning for deaf and hard of hearing students. This coming year, she will begin her doctoral internship at the National Psychology Training Consortium. Congratulations to Ms. Bailey and Ms. Penney on their achievements to date, as well as this award. We look forward to welcoming them to the cadre of deaf psychologists in the U.S.

School of Language, Education and Culture Awards

Department of Education

Daniel T. Cloud Award

for an outstanding graduating student in the memory of Daniel T. Cloud

Cade Patterson

Carrie Overman

The Daniel L. Cloud Award is for graduate students who have done outstanding work. This year's award will go to two outstanding students, Cade Patterson & Carrie Overman.
Both students have demonstrated outstanding academic and professional performance, consistently striving to become the best educators they can be. They show a genuine curiosity and openness to feedback, embracing every opportunity for growth. Both students demonstrated perseverance, commitment to teaching, and a dedication to their future students.
Congratulations, Cade & Carrie!

Helen Fay Award

for the student most likely to make a significant contribution to the field of teaching deaf children and who is expected to remain in the field for some time

Luke Bundrum

This award is for a graduate student in education who is judged most likely to contribute to the field of teaching deaf students and to remain in the field for some time. The award goes to… Luke Bundrum
Luke is an outstanding graduate award recipient, recognized for his consistent class participation, strong academic performance, and timely completion of all assignments. As a dedicated teacher at Atlanta Area School for the Deaf (AASD), he is passionate about making content accessible to his students and demonstrates a deep commitment to reflective teaching. His openness to feedback and willingness to implement new strategies in the classroom further highlight his dedication to professional growth and student success.
Congratulations, Luke!

Majorie Stull Memorial Scholarship Award

for a first-year student who has demonstrated scholastic ability and aptitude for teaching deaf children

Bryan Solis

The Marjorie Stull Award goes to a first-year student in the Department of Education who has academic ability and aptitude for teaching the deaf based on the first-year graduate school performance. The award goes to..Bryan Solis
Bryan is a dedicated first-year graduate student with strong mathematical expertise and an impressive ability to integrate literacy concepts into his teaching. His transition from an undergraduate education minor to a full-time teacher at Rocky Mountain Deaf School (RMDS) and graduate student showcases his commitment, academic strength, and determination to grow as an educator.
Congratulations, Bryan!

MA in International Development Program

IDMA Program Award for Excellence in Policy Development and Research

for a student who has demonstrated excellence in policy development and research while enrolled in the International Development Program

Jose Rodrigo Uresti

We are delighted to present the IDMA Award for Excellence in Policy Development and Research’ to Rodrigo “Rod” Uresti. From the start of his academic journey at Gallaudet in the IDMA Program, Rod demonstrated deep commitment to understanding policies and practices of providing resources for Deaf refugees and new Americans. Rod pursued research on ensuring immigration information to Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons, and access to legal services for refugee resettlement. As a White House Intern during the Fall semester, Rod coordinated White House responses to correspondence from the American public and assisted in the data-recording process to track topics of correspondence in order to respond to constituent mail. During his Spring internship, he worked with Innivee Strategies on project design and implementation and fostered youth leadership stakeholder engagements. We look forward to seeing the work you will do in the future. Congratulations, Rod!

Euphrasia Mbewe Award for Excellence in Social Advocacy Work

for a student who has demonstrated excellence in social advocacy work while enrolled in the International Development Program

Binta Badjie

We are honored to present the Euphrasia Mbewe Award for Excellence in Social Advocacy to Binta Badjie. Binta’s engagement with social advocacy started long before entering the IDMA Program. In her home country The Gambia, Binta was a founding member of The Gambian Deaf Women’s Society, and worked tirelessly to ensure education and services for women impacted by Gender Based Violence. Awarded a World Deaf Leadership Fellowship to study at Gallaudet, Binta dedicated herself to her studies while simultaneously continuing to facilitate training, services, and government engagement with The Gambian Deaf Women’s Society, and other human rights activities. In her professional internships, Binta worked with Water for People, advancing disability inclusion for WASH - Water access, Sanitation, and Hygiene - including developing a guidance note on disability inclusion. Water for People then invited her to work with their Tanzania country office, to support community engagement with WASH resources. During her internship there, Binta initiated an effort to meet with deaf and disability stakeholders to generate data on access to WASH. We admire the work you are doing, Binta. Congratulations!

Department of Linguistics

Robert E. Johnson Award

for an outstanding linguistics student

Kiva Bennett

Wink

Julie Hochgesang: This year there are two recipients for the Robert E. Johnson Outstanding Graduate Linguistics Award: Kiva Bennett and Wink. Congratulations to both of you!

LIN faculty signing 'yay' and 'congratulations' in Zoom windows.

Julie Hochgesang: Congratulations, Kiva. It has been my honor and pleasure to work with you closely as you journey through your studies and dissertation. You often say you wanted to work with me as an advisor. Let me tell you that I was lucky to work with you. Your dedication to ensuring data has been represented accurately and is accessible to the relevant communities is amazing. Your love for spreadsheets like no other 😉 but seriously, I’ve benefited so much from our many conversations about data, working with signing communities, representation, and interpretation of this work from different theoretical and applied perspectives. And you also live the life of balancing work and yourself - it’s so important to do that and you really are an outstanding example of that. Thank you for your work and for you.

(Not included in video) The committee members add that it's clear that Kiva and Wink are not doing the project just for the sake of doing a project but to really understand the research and contribute to our fields. There is evident quality in both the process and the product. The committee members enjoyed the depth of thinking in interesting ways that stretches what we know. This is the kind of work we really like to see.

Paul Dudis: Congratulations to Wink!

Wink’s dissertation focuses on constructed action (CA), which is one type of depiction, and his work is essential given the fundamental role depiction has in ASL: to understand the language, it is necessary to understand depiction. He has brought new insights on the structure of CA, and these insights are informing the analysis of other types of depiction. His investigations are also informing work within the field of signed language interpretation, including the areas of text analysis and interpreter education. Finally, Wink’s dissertation is the first to have all chapters in ASL, and the various processes involved in such a creation has been very successful, resulting in a well-developed product.

(Not included in video) We look forward to calling you both colleagues in the field now.

School of Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics and Public Health Awards

Ph.D. Program in Educational Neuroscience

Laura-Ann Petitto Outstanding PEN Research Award

for a student who has consistently demonstrated outstanding research and scientific scholarship, originality and creativity in his or her science, and scholarly achievements in research commensurate with the highest standards of cognitive neuroscience and educational neuroscience

Casey Spelman

This year’s Laura-Ann Petitto Outstanding PEN Research Award recognized Casey Spelman, a 4th year graduate student in the PEN Program. Casey has consistently demonstrated unwavering dedication, exemplary precision, and an outstanding research ethic throughout her scholarly pursuits. She has acquired advanced technical acumen in proactively identifying and troubleshooting technical challenges using neuroimaging software, showcasing ingenuity, tenacity, and self-reliance. Casey often worked long hours to meet and exceed project milestones. Thanks to her organizational skills, her legacy to the lab is the creation of invaluable lab resources and manuals, which will greatly benefit future students. Her commitment to the lab is exemplary; she is a role model to other students and most deserving of this recognition. Congratulations, Casey Spelman.

Tom Allen Outstanding PEN Translation Award

for a student who has made a significant contribution to the translation of basic scientific discoveries in cognitive neuroscience and educational neuroscience through the advancement of an original creation or contribution that has the potential to transform society, policies, and individual lives spanning the nation and world

Christina Kim

The 2025 Tom Allen Research-Based Translation Award is presented to a student who has exemplified many skills related to research translation and dissemination. This student sincerely values science communication and community involvement. This student was a co-author on VL2’s most recent research brief with a team including PEN students Rachel Sortino and Casey Spelman. This student is always considering how we can make our scientific findings clearer and more accessible. This student always aims to make science a more welcoming and supportive community. Congratulations to PEN student Christina Kim!

School of Civic Leadership, Business, and Social Change Awards

Department of Social Work

Catherine H. Moses Award

for a graduate student who has demonstrated leadership and outstanding potential for contributing to social work practice with deaf and hard of hearing people

Nichole Vandenbos

Each year the Department of Social Work recognizes a student who shows a lot of motivation, heart and a passion for social work values. The Catherine H. Moses Award honor’s the MSW Program’s first director. Mrs. Moses was an outstanding member of the faculty for 20 years. The award recognizes the graduating MSW student who best demonstrates leadership, potential and positive commitment to significantly invest in Social Work practice with Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.
The award winner for this year is Nichole Vandenbos for her academic excellence, her commitment to the client she served at both of her internships and her willingness to go above and beyond to create resources for DHH Canadians. From the beginning of her MSW journey, she has shown professionalism and focus to deepen her knowledge and provide high quality care. Congratulations Nichole and we are excited to see the ways you continue to positively contribute to the social work profession. Congratulations!

Nell Curtin

Hello, this video congratulates Nell Curtin for your fantastic work. In your first year internship, you did a lot of work with the homeless population at the DC Public Library System- setting up programs, providing resources, and outreach. You were involved with the on-campus psychology clinic and the DHH child resiliency center during your second-year internship. You did such excellent work in collaborating with the community. This award, Moses, was established to honor the first director of the Gallaudet MSW program. It recognizes students who show a lot of leadership and potential for contributing to the profession of SW for DHH people. We have seen so much advocacy and great work, Nell. Congratulations on this award. You are an excellent fit for this award, and we are impressed by your commitment to the profession.

G. Arlene Gavin Award

for a graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding professionalism and commitment to social justice

Victoria Tingler

We are thrilled to announce the recipient of the G. Arlene Gavin Award.
This award recognizes a graduating social work student who exemplifies outstanding professionalism and a strong commitment to social justice.
This year, we are proud to present the award to Victoria Tingler.
Victoria has consistently demonstrated excellence in her work with diverse student populations.
Congratulations, Victoria!

Drs. Barbara and Bruce White Award

for a professional MSW student who is deaf or hard of hearing and committed to meeting the growing demand for social workers with the knowledge and skills to work with the deaf and hard of hearing populations at all system levels

Imran Hakamali

We are also thrilled to announce the recipient of the Dr. Barbara White and Dr. Bruce White Award.
This award honors future graduate-level social workers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and are dedicated to serving the Deaf community.
This year, the award goes to Imran Hakamali.
Imran is an exceptional international student whose work with diverse communities—especially within the Deaf communities in Canada—has been truly inspiring.
Congratulations, Imran!

Graduate School Awards

Weiner Family Research Award

For a graduate student whose outstanding research that adds to an understanding of diagnostic techniques and treatments aimed at improving mental health outcomes of individuals who are deaf

Holly Salem

This year’s recipient is a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology whose predissertation and dissertation investigated sexual health education for deaf and hard of hearing youth and how it can be improved to better support sexual health. Her predissertation investigated sexual health education practices used by deaf educators and her dissertation explored the barriers and facilitators for parents when providing sex education to their deaf children. Congratulations, Holly Salem!

Graduate Student Scholarly Achievement Award

for a graduate student who completed an outstanding scholarly project during their academic program

Alex Grillo

This year’s recipient is a 4th year Ph.D. student in clinical psychology who is currently collecting data for her dissertation will explore clinical psychologists’ knowledge, experience, and attitudes regarding animal-assisted psychotherapy, an area of emerging clinical research and practice. Congratulations, Alex Grillo!

Graduate Student Outstanding Achievement Award

for a graduate student who made significant contributions to their field during their academic program

Binta Badjie

This year’s recipient is an M.A. student in international development who has engaged in important development work, including a project she implemented in her home country of the Gambia, building capacity and mentoring young deaf people and partnering with local deaf and disability leaders to provide training 31 deaf young people in leadership, advocacy, innovation, conflict resolution, and more. In her capacity as an Intern for the organization, Water For People, she conducted research and raised awareness about water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to highlight the significance of inclusive services for deaf people and people with disabilities. Congratulations, Binta Badjie!

Contact

2025 Graduate Awards
Hall Memorial Building | S400
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(202) 651-5085
(202) 250-2071

Areas of Study

Overview

School of Human Services and Sciences Awards

Outstanding HSLS Ph.D. Student Award

Award for Excellence in Audiology

R. Steven Ackley Memorial Scholarship

Jane Handelsman & David Pryor Hendrix Memorial

Award for Excellence in Speech-Language Pathology

Adrienne L. Kaplan Memorial Endowment Fund

Seltzer League Award

Elizabeth Peet Award

Larry G. Stewart Award

School of Language, Education and Culture Awards

Daniel T. Cloud Award

Helen Fay Award

Majorie Stull Memorial Scholarship Award

IDMA Program Award for Excellence in Policy Development and Research

Euphrasia Mbewe Award for Excellence in Social Advocacy Work

Robert E. Johnson Award

School of Science, Technology, Accessibility, Mathematics and Public Health Awards

Laura-Ann Petitto Outstanding PEN Research Award

Tom Allen Outstanding PEN Translation Award

School of Civic Leadership, Business, and Social Change Awards

Catherine H. Moses Award

G. Arlene Gavin Award

Drs. Barbara and Bruce White Award

Graduate School Awards

Weiner Family Research Award

Graduate Student Scholarly Achievement Award

Graduate Student Outstanding Achievement Award

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