Class of 2024
Laura Aguirre Galeano
Alief Hastings High School, Houston
Laura Aguirre Galeano graduated in the top 2% of her class and was a dual credit scholar. She was an active member in Future Business Leaders of America and a varsity player for the tennis team. Laura volunteered at the Houston Food Bank and her church, contributing more than 300 hours. She is also a certified pharmacy technician and helps with her family’s small business. Laura is majoring in accounting.
Rand Alabadi
Allen High School, Allen
Rand Alabadi was an AP Scholar with distinction. She participated in Best Buddies, Peer Assistance and Leadership, and the Muslim Student Association. She also ran cross country. Rand is majoring in biology and is part of the UTeach program.
Faryat Alam
Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Worth
Faryat Alam was an AP Scholar and graduated in the top 5% of her class. She served as the president of National English Honor Society, vice president for both the National Honor Society and Asian Alliance Club, and as senior class public relations officer. Faryat volunteered over 400 hours with the Writing Center and AVID Tutor U program while working part-time with special needs children. She served as AVID Leadership Council vice president and with the Red Cross Club, Mental Health Alliance Club, Muslim Student Association and Community Improvement Club. Faryat is majoring in biochemistry.
Qanita Ali
Creekview High School, Carrollton
Qanita Ali was a dual credit scholar and Dean’s List Scholar. She was an active volunteer at her school and local church, volunteering over 300 hours. Qanita served on the Student Council, the Red Cross Club and as president of the Technology Student Association. She is also a pharmacy technician. Qanita is majoring in neuroscience.
Leen Al-Jame
Richland Collegiate High School, Dallas
Leen Al-Jame was a dual credit scholar and received the President’s Award in Service Learning and the Chancellor’s Award in Volunteering, with over 250 hours of service learning. Leen has been a mentor to fourth graders and middle school students. She served as vice president of fellowship for the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and as the event coordinator of the Muslim Student Association. She volunteered with the Islamic Circle of North America and Helping Hands. Leen is majoring in child learning and development.
Sarah Asadollahi
Guyer High School, Denton
Sarah Asadollahi was an AP Scholar and co-founded the Southwest Asia and North Africa Culture Club, serving as president for three years. She also co-founded an elementary school mentorship program, assisting students in reading and English. She served as historian of her school’s National Spanish Honor Society and was an active member of the National English Honor Society, Key Club, LULAC, Green Team and Student Council. She was a 2023 Texas Bluebonnet Girls State senator, and she worked as a lab assistant for AP chemistry and as a clinical research assistant. Sarah is majoring in biochemistry.
Olivia Barba
East Early College High School, Houston
Olivia Barba was a dual credit scholar with high honors. She served as vice president of the National Honor Society and officer of the Literary Magazine, where she handled advertising and editing. Olivia was captain of the Debate team and led her peers to the Houston city championship. She volunteered for the Houston Food Bank as well as her local library and radio station. She also worked for iEducate, tutoring children for the STAAR exam. Olivia is majoring in marketing.
Mira Chary
Plano East Senior High School, Plano
Mira Chary was an AP Scholar and graduated with an IB diploma. As social media manager of the Plano East Speech and Debate team, she was a three-time state qualifier and one-time national qualifier. Mira served as senior class historian and as a staff writer for Project Pink, a women’s mental health nonprofit. Shea also taught art classes with the education non-profit Teaching Others to Succeed. Mira is majoring in political science.
Camilla Guzman
School of Business and Management Townview, Dallas
Camilla Guzman was a dual credit scholar and served as vice president of her school’s SkillUSA law division chapter. She co-directed her school’s radio show, KSBM Radio, and served as vice president of the Theatre Club. Camilla was an ambassador for the Academic Success Program and a finalist in the ninth annual Healthy Futures of Texas Student Film Contest. Camilla is majoring in criminology.
Junior Hernandez
John A. Dubiski Career High School, Grand Prairie
Junior Hernandez served as treasurer for both the National Honor Society and his senior class. He was an active member of HOSA and placed first in the Public Service Announcement competition. He volunteered regularly at his church and interned at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center. He is a certified medical assistant. Junior is majoring in neuroscience.
Arseni Huryeu
George Ranch High School, Richmond
Arseni Huryeu participated in DECA, Asian Culture Club, CompSci Club, Spanish Club and Chess Club, in addition to playing football and serving as team manager. He volunteered at the Houston Food Bank, West Sugar Land Little League and with his church in addition to working. Arseni is majoring in finance.
Luisa Lara
J.J. Pearce High School, Richardson
Luisa Lara graduated in the top 6% of her class and is a National Hispanic Scholar. She was a varsity viola player and high school ambassador for Lead Well Student Leadership Summit. She was an officer in Starting Off Strong, AVID, orchestra and National Honor Society. She was also a member of Mu Alpha Theta and earned over 330 hours of community service. Luisa won first place at the Cottonwood Emerging Artists program and had works presented at Young American Talent, Blue Print Gallery and the AT&T Discovery District. She received perfect scores in the Visual Arts Scholastic Event. Luisa is majoring in animation and games.
Maite Lopez
Memorial High School, San Antonio
Maite Lopez was the valedictorian of her high school class and a dual credit scholar. She was also president of Student Council, a member of the TRIO Upward Bound program and a member of Mu Alpha Theta. She was captain of the tennis team, where she won second place in girls’ doubles and qualified for regionals. She was also in the UIL program, where she competed in calculator applications and went to regionals. Maite is majoring in animation and games.
Santhiago Marquez
Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park
Santhiago Marquez was involved Spanish National Honor Society, Investment Club and Mobile Makers. He held officer positions in Rho Kappa and his high school swim team. Santhiago coaches swimming for all ages and was on the varsity swim and water polo teams. He founded a tutoring program at his school and taught Spanish to children. Santhiago is majoring in mechanical engineering.
Alondra Meza
Sam Houston High School, Arlington
Alondra Meza graduated in the top 5% of her class. She served as an officer for Key Club, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Jr. and Book Club. She was also active in Student Council and participated in Academic Decathlon as an honors team member. Alondra volunteered at Mission Arlington, Grand Prairie Paws Animal Shelter and various blood drives. She was awarded the AVID Outstanding Student three years in a row. Alondra is majoring in supply chain management and analytics.
Ai-Phuong Nguyen
North Garland High School, Garland
Anna Nguyen was an AP and dual credit scholar. She was president of her school’s Model U.N. and vice president of the National Honor Society. She was awarded a stipend through Dallas College to study CRISPR systems in E.Coli viruses and was a HOSA Medical Research Poster State finalist. Anna was also a junior varsity swimmer, second chair symphonic violinist and captain of the UIL Social Studies Team, awarded first place in the Garland ISD for three years. She volunteered over 200 hours. Anna is majoring in business analytics.
Alisha Noureen
Conroe High School, Conroe
Alisha Noureen graduated in the top 5% of her class and was an AP Scholar. She was active in the National English Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta as well as founder and president of the Crochet Club. Alisha was a member of DECA, where she advanced to the State Career Development Conference. She participated in UT Austin’s Subiendo Academy for Rising Leaders and UT Austin’s Computer Science Academy for Women. She interned at Bank of America and volunteered as a tutor in math and literature. Alisha is majoring in computer information systems and technology.
Yasmin Nunez
Denton High School, Denton
Yasmin Nunez was an IB Scholar with distinction, an AP Scholar and a dual credit scholar. She was a representative of LULAC, a tutor in algebra and a fellow translator for ESL students and participated in TRIO and Women in STEM. Yasmi was captain of UIL Spelling and Vocabulary and a top-10 speller in her region. Her poetry was published in North Central Texas College’s Sonder magazine and in the National English Journal. She volunteers in her hometown of Guanajuato, Mexico. Yasmi is majoring in neuroscience.
Anthonio Odonkor
William B. Travis High School, Richmond
Anthonio Odonkor was an AP Scholar, a George Foundation Scholar and a captain in the Ron Brown Scholars Program. He served in Student Council as secretary, parliamentarian and community service committee head. Through the Junior Achievement Program, Anthonio taught introductory lessons on financial literacy, entrepreneurship and the job market. He received the Student Impact Award at the James Reese Career and Technical Center and competed in Skills USA, where he advanced to state. Anthonio is majoring in software engineering.
Juan Orozco
Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute, Grand Prairie
Juan Orozco was a recipient of the National Hispanic Recognition Award and was an AP Scholar with Honor. He is also a recipient of the Lockheed Martin STEM scholarship. Juan graduated summa cum laude, was a Dean’s List Scholar and a Distinguished Scholar. He actively volunteered at a local food bank and interned as an electronic repair technician. Juan is majoring in computer engineering.
Stephen Pereira
McKinney Boyd High School, McKinney
Stephen Pereira graduated in the top 2% of his class and was an AP Scholar with Distinction. He served as the concertmaster violinist of the top orchestra at his school. Stephen worked as a soccer referee and volunteered regularly at Baylor Scott & White McKinney Hospital. He is a Certified Nurse Aide and placed first in the Collin College Health Science Symposium. Stephen competed in the HOSA Phlebotomy competition, placing first at state and at the International Leadership Conference. Stephen is majoring in neuroscience.
Elia Pham
Rick Reedy High School, Frisco
Elia Pham was an AP Scholar and a member of the National Art Honor Society. Her harp arrangements and cover design won the annual harp recital contest in her district, and she served on her orchestra’s video historian team. She went to state for the Solo-Ensemble contest and was an alternate for Strings All-Region. Elia served as secretary for her church’s leadership team, volunteered with a mission trip in Vietnam, taught Sunday school and choreographed dances for children and teens. Elia is majoring in animation and games.
Andrea Ruiz
R.L. Turner High School, Carrollton
Andrea Ruiz was the leader of the Academy for Media Arts and Technology and was a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Senior Exec and Girls in STEM. She graduated in the top 10% of her class and competed in the State Visual Arts Scholastic event. Andrea was also a cadet in JROTC. She accumulated over 250 hours of community service. Andrea is majoring in animation and games.
Yorsaliem Wahsom
Lake Highland High School, Dallas
Yorsaliem Wahsom was both an AP Scholar and an IB Scholar. She was also a member of the Debate and Criminal Justice teams. Salu is the founder of the Tigray Dallas Dance Group, which raised over $90,000 for charity. She teaches gymnastics to children and focuses on improving their communication, social skills and confidence. Salu is majoring in psychology.
Contact Us
Sheila Kelly
Director
972-883-6309
sheila.kelly@utdallas.edu
Cassie Cure
Assistant Director
972-883-4284
terryscholars@utdallas.edu
Terry Scholars at UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas
800 W. Campbell Road, PHY 10
Richardson, TX 75080 – 3021
The office is located in the Physics Building (PHY).