Hiếu Nguyễn, ‘23,  Named Knight-Hennessy Scholar

Hiếu Nguyễn, a ‘23 Middlebury neuroscience major, joins the eighth cohort of Knight-Hennessy scholars at Stanford University. They will pursue an MD at the Stanford School of Medicine. They  aspire to combine science, the arts, and entrepreneurship to improve healthcare quality and access for global populations burdened by chronic disease. 

Hiếu is one of 84 scholars selected to receive up to three years of funding to pursue graduate studies (across all advanced programs and degrees) at Stanford University. Awardees are selected for their ability to develop a deep expertise in their domains and strengthen their transformational leadership skills. 

Since graduation, Hiếu earned their master of philosophy in clinical neurosciences from the University of Cambridge. They have contributed to advancing our understanding of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases through research at Middlebury College, Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Cambridge, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Read about the newest cohort of Knight-Hennessey Scholars on this website, and learn more about the program

Congratulations to Marija Panova, ‘25, Pre-Admitted as a Yenching Scholar

Marija Panova, ‘25, a double major in Neuroscience and Chinese, has been pre-admitted as a Yenching Scholar to study at Peking University, Beijing, for the 2025-26 academic year. She plans to specialize in literature and culture in pursuit of a one-year master’s degree, and conduct research into the development of literary conventions across popular Chinese fiction. Her research will examine how linguistic practices on Chinese digital storytelling platforms reshape traditional and modern literary norms, with a longer term goal of making Chinese language and literature more accessible to people in her native Macedonia. 

Yenching Academy aims to build bridges between China and the rest of the world through an interdisciplinary master’s program in China Studies. The fellowship includes tuition fees, a travel stipend for one round-trip journey between scholars’ home countries and Beijing, accommodation, a monthly stipend, and reimbursement for the cost of the medical insurance. Learn more about this fellowship on this website

Congratulations to Middlebury’s Kellogg Fellowship Winners

Six students have received Middlebury’s Kellogg Fellowship, awarded to highly motivated students engaging in areas of humanistic study. The $5000 fellowship supports research for senior work related to a student’s major program of study. 2025 winners include: 

  • Greta Costello, ‘26, for “Catherine of Cleves”
  • Hannah Elefante, ‘25.5, for “I Partigiani a Firenze: The Florentine Resistance in World War II
  • Madeleine Kaptein, ‘25.5, for “Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922): Horror and Historical Anxieties in Innovative Art”
  • Elliote Muir, ‘25.5, for “Carrying the Flag: Tracing the Modernization of the Explorers Club Through Adventures of Past and Present”
  • Charlotte Roberts, ‘25.5, for “To Be At Risk: Telling the Colrain Story and Learning from a History of Resistance”
  • Sajia Yaqouby, ‘25.5,  for “Visualizing Poetry: A Comparative Study of 19th-Century Kashmiri Manuscripts of Hafiz’s Divan”

Learn more about the Kellogg Fellowship at go/kellogg

Midd Students Earn NSF GRFP Awards and Honors

Three recent graduates have been offered National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (NSF GRFP) in support of their graduate studies research. Four additional Middlebury alumni and a current student received honorable mention.

The highly selective NSF GRFP program supports outstanding students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at U.S. institutions. 

This year’s Middlebury recipients include: 

  • Camryn Kluetmeier ’21.5, Environmental Studies and Geology, Duke University
  • Oliver Patrick ’24, Environmental Studies and Biology, TBA
  • Abigail Santis ’23, Environmental Studies and Geology, Washington University 

The following students were named honorable mention:

  • Matthew Brockley ’23, Biochemistry and Math
  • Sophia Johnson ’22, Geology
  • Amanda Manoogian ’24, Earth and Climate Science
  • Ella Thompson ’25, Biology and Environmental Studies
  • Max Zeltsar ’24.5, Conservation Biology 

Read more on Middlebury News and Announcements.

Congrats to St. Andrew’s Scholarship Winner – Josiah Durfee, ‘25

Josiah Durfee, a political science major and Geography minor, will head to the University of St. Andrew’s in Scotland this Fall to pursue his Master of Letters (MLitt) degree in Strategic Studies, with his St. Andrews Scholarship. This opportunity will allow him to deepen his study of conflict and strategy and continue research on the conflict in Ukraine. Congratulations Josiah! Learn more about this fellowship and others at go/fellowships, or check out eligibility for the coming year at the St. Andrew’s Society of New York web site.