Ohio State students, graduates receive national honors

Two Ohio State University students have been named Brooke Owens Fellows, and two graduates have been named Knight-Hennessey Scholars.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship Program, founded in 2016, awards internships and senior mentorship to exceptional undergraduate women seeking careers in aviation or space exploration. As 2018 fellows, Kayla Watson and Anna Voelker completed a rigorous and highly competitive application and multi-phase interview process. Fellows are placed into a paid summer internship at one of the nation’s leading aviation or space companies.

Watson, a fourth-year year aerospace engineering major, will intern at Amazon. Watson is president of the Ohio State chapter of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.

Voelker, a senior majoring in science communication and accessibility, will intern at the Aerospace Corporation. Voelker, who will graduate in May, is a recipient of Ohio State’s President’s Prize.

Two recent graduates have been named to the inaugural class of Knight-Hennessey Scholars. As 2018 scholars, Abd Al-Rhaman Traboulsi and Nima Dahir will receive financial support for the full cost of attendance for their graduate education at Stanford University. Both alumni of the University Honors program, they are among 50 scholars selected from over 3,600 applications to the program.

Traboulsi graduated summa cum laude in 2017 with an honors degree in biomedical engineering. As a student, he was an Eminence Fellow, Clinton Global Initiative University Resolution Fellow, and a Marian Wright Edelman Scholar for the advancement of educational equality. During Traboulsi's summer breaks as an undergraduate, he volunteered with the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations as a medical and psychosocial volunteer in Syria and Turkey. At Stanford, Traboulsi will pursue an M.D. and wants to guide humanitarian policy in the United Nations to aid displaced populations affected by conflict and disaster.

Dahir graduated summa cum laude in 2016 with honors degrees in economics and mathematics. As a student, she was named Beinecke Scholar and Clinton Global Initiative University Resolution Fellow. She and Traboulsi co-founded Refuge while at Ohio State, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering adolescent refugees toward higher education. At Stanford, Dahir plans to earn a Ph.D. in sociol​ogy and wants to study the economic barriers facing resettled populations.