2024 Campbell Award Winners
In 2016, the Columbia University Trustees and the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) established the Campbell Award, which is presented to a graduating student at each School who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit as exemplified by the late Bill Campbell ’62CC, ’64TC, University Trustee Chair Emeritus and CAA co-founder.
Congratulations to the 2024 recipients! Read on below to learn more about each of these inspiring, soon-to-be alumni.
Kaitlin Long ’24BC (she/her) is from Long Island, New York, and is majoring in Computational Biology. In 2023, she was named a Goldwater Scholar for her cancer research in the Prives Lab at Columbia and the Sheltzer Lab at Yale. She is the president of Gosh Yarn It, where she teaches knitting to Columbia students and leads initiatives to provide handmade items for unhoused members of the greater NYC community. Additionally, she is involved in disability advocacy via her executive board role in the Columbia Student Disability Network and her work for the Arthritis Foundation through Alpha Omicron Pi.
Minhas Wasaya ’24BUS (he/him) is from Houston, TX, and is an MBA candidate with a focus on technology and social impact. As a student senator in the University Senate, and as vice chair of the Student Affairs Committee, Minhas has led the passage of meaningful legislation and worked to ensure that student voices are heard at every level of the University. He also serves as Tech Club VP of Careers, Follies VP of Live Show, Muslims in Business VP of Alumni, and more. Minhas aims to bring this ethic of service to the tech world by helping organizations safely develop and implement technologies that enable people to create a more equitable and just world.
Farida Razaqi ’24CS (Columbia Climate School) is a Fulbright scholar from Afghanistan. She was awarded the Climate and Society Fellowship by the Columbia Climate School in 2023 to pursue her MA in the Climate and Society Program for her dedication and leadership in addressing the climate crisis and helping the most vulnerable. Throughout her time at Columbia, she continued to lead numerous initiatives. Farida co-founded the Green Initiative Network, leading the inaugural National Youth Climate Conference in Afghanistan under the endorsement of YOUNGO. In addition, as part of her advocacy, Farida co-organized a notable side event at the CoP28 and also spoke as a fellow of the Columbia Climate School.
Farida also worked as a research assistant at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, supporting research projects on climate change advisory opinions. Farida also spearheaded a successful fundraising campaign, raising over $48,000 for earthquake victims in Herat, Afghanistan. Additionally, Farida organized training sessions for several hundred Afghan girls deprived of their right to education, guiding them on pursuing educational opportunities in the U.S. and abroad, including at Columbia University. Besides these initiatives, she has been interning with the UNDP since October 2023 and actively contributed to the Hub’s work on energy access, just transition, and resilience in fragile contexts. In this role, she was also instrumental in developing the Sustainable Energy Academy, a groundbreaking initiative by the Hub in partnership with the Columbia Center for Global Energy Policy (CGEP).
Abbey Hsu ’24CC (she/her/hers) is majoring in Economics at Columbia College. Her hometown is Parkland, Florida. During her time at Columbia, she has had the amazing opportunity to be on the women’s basketball team. Hsu earned second team all-Ivy her freshman and sophomore year, first team her junior and senior years as well as Player of the Year her senior year. She has had quite the journey on this team as they were able to be regular season champs two years in a row (2023/2024), made it all the way to the WNIT championship game her junior year and made Columbia’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance her senior year. During this time, she had the pleasure of working with Grow Our Game, an organization that connects underprivileged youth to basketball mentors in the Harlem area.
Erika Denour ’24DM (she/her) is from Russia/NYC and will graduate with her Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS). She received a BS/MS degree in Physiology and Biotechnology from Brown University. During her time at Columbia, Erika has served as the vice president and president of the Student Government Association, as well as a student representative in the Columbia International Collaboration Exchange Program. She has served as a teaching assistant for the Pre-clinical Pediatrics course while dedicating time to pursue research and serve as a peer reviewer for journals.
Erika is extremely thrilled to continue her specialty training in pediatrics at the New York Presbyterian-Columbia residency program. She is the recipient of the Van Woert Award, named after the founder and first Dean of the College of Dental Medicine, for outstanding academic achievement. In her free time, she enjoys taking pilates classes and finding the best bites around the city.
Ebonnie Goodfield ’24GS (she/her) is a New York native majoring in Psychology. She’s a published author and has received numerous academic scholarships and awards, notably: being selected as a 2022 Columbia Alumni Association Scholar, a recipient of the Alexander Cohen Scholar at the School of General Studies, and named a 2022 and 2023 “Change Agent.” As a Navy veteran and mother, Ebonnie has remained engaged in advocacy for women veteran empowerment, specifically focused on academic and professional development. While at Columbia, she was the first woman Vice President of Columbia MilVets, founder of Women Veterans of Columbia University (WVCU), and co-creator of the Intrapreneurial Leaders Fellowship Program. Ebonnie is excited to pursue a Master of Science from Columbia School of Social Work in the fall.
Eleanor (“Ellie”) Phetteplace ’24GSAPP- MSHP, (she/her) a structural engineer from Ledyard, Connecticut, specializes in historic buildings. At Columbia, she connects disciplines across campus, working with the Earth Network to advance climate-related built environment teaching and research. As a group leader, she led Columbia’s winning team in the Association of Preservation Technology’s PETC student competition, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Ellie also supports students' learning of preservation’s technical aspects through her work as a lab assistant in the Preservation Technology Laboratory. Additionally, she serves as a teaching assistant promoting sustainability engagement among students for the 2024 Spring Historic Preservation Studio II, which assesses the decarbonization of Columbia’s campus.
Kailani Acosta ’24GSAS (she/her) is a sixth-year PhD student at Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, studying biological oceanography. Her research is focused on nutrients in the surface ocean of the Gulf of Mexico. She created the Seminar Diversity Initiative to increase the diversity of seminars and supervised Columbia Climate Conversations, which focused on uplifting the voices of women of color. She published a paper on creating DEI reports and task forces (Acosta et al., 2022). She also created a science/art exhibition called Bridging the Gulf: Intersections of Geology, Biology, and Environmental Justice connecting 100 million-year-old phytoplankton to race in the US.
Wellington Soares ’24JRN (he/him), from São Paulo, Brazil, is a graduate student in the Journalism School, pursuing a concentration in politics, and a Lemann Fellow, focusing on Latin America and far-right harassment of public school teachers. He has over a decade of experience in education, social justice, and LGBTQ rights. At Columbia, he was a Welcome Ambassador and Senator for the J-School.
Luke Cronin ’24LAW (he/him/his) is from Duxbury, Massachusetts. At Columbia, Luke served as The Bluebook editor for the Columbia Law Review, leading editorial revisions for The Bluebook's forthcoming twenty-second edition. Luke was selected as a 2022-23 Davis Polk Leadership Initiative Fellow, directly serving housing-insecure New Yorkers through street outreach. In the Immigrants' Rights Clinic, Luke helped represent asylum-seeking clients. Luke served as a Peer Mentor. He was selected to join the Clerkship Diversity Initiative, the Academic Scholars program, as well as the Tony Patiño Fellow-elect. Luke cherishes the moments spent learning and laughing at Columbia.
Ian West ’24NRS (he/him) hails from the great state of Minnesota. West is completing the doctorate in nursing practice, specializing in psychiatric mental health. He has been actively involved across the university throughout his time at Columbia University. West had the honor of representing the School of Nursing on the student presidential selection committee, whose work helped in the selection of the 20th president of Columbia University. He has been actively involved in the School of Nursing as a peer mentor, academic coach, and teaching assistant.
Tyler Nichols ’24PH (he/him), an Elizabeth, NJ native, is set to graduate with an MPH in Population/Family Health and Chronic Disease Epidemiology. As the President of Mailman's Black & Latinx Student Caucus, Tyler led initiatives for medical conference workshops, professional networking, and social support programs. He furthered his leadership as a resident advisor, spearheading CUIMC’s international student initiative, and served as a RISE mentor for underrepresented first-year students. In addition to his leadership roles, Tyler has been actively involved in chronic disease research, earning coauthorships on publications related to HIV and new mobile health technologies. Beyond the classroom, he indulges in hot yoga, photography, Broadway shows, and NYC’s diverse food scene. Post-graduation, Tyler looks forward to advancing his mission toward health equity for all at Mount Sinai Health System as an Administrative Fellow.
Matthew Werneken ’24SEAS (he/him) is from Palm Harbor, FL and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Astrophysics. As co-president of the Columbia Space Initiative (CSI), he led the organization of public events including multiple astronaut visits and a video call with the International Space Station, notably expanded career and outreach engagement, and prioritized building a welcoming and inclusive student community. He is a founder of the LIONESS mission, Columbia's first student-led satellite funded for launch by NASA, which incorporates his work in astrophysical instrumentation research. Matthew is a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar, named one of Aviation Week's 20 Twenties Aerospace Leaders, and previously designed multiple tools for testing in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
Deris Nagara ’24SIPA (he/him) is a Master of Public Administration student at Columbia (Double Concentrations: Economic and Political Development & Social Policy; Dual Specializations: IO and United Nations studies & Gender and Public Policy) and a graduate summer student at Stanford from Ciamis, Indonesia. His distinctive leadership as president of SIPASA lies in his ability to lead a student body of over 1,500. During his tenure, He spearheaded more than 42 initiatives, collaborations, advocacy efforts, and policy recommendations. Additionally, his presence as a youth leader at the UN, advocating for education access and youth empowerment, further underscores his commitment to global change.
Meanwhile, as president of the ASEAN-Korea Frontier Forum, He fostered collaboration among 11 nations outside Columbia. Furthermore, his role as CEO of the DANAYA Foundation allowed him to implement policy recommendations and spearhead programs benefiting over 10,000 students in Indonesia, focusing on mentorship and educational empowerment beyond the confines of Columbia's campus. He has dedicated his life to implementing tangible initiatives that benefit local communities residing in remote areas for a decade since 2013. Recently, he initiated the first-ever Columbia SIPA Indonesia Trek 2024 together with his co-leader, Hendra Parley, to bring Columbia students valuable insights into Indonesia's governmental institutions through visits facilitated by ministerial-level officials. He is also a social media influencer and professional singer.
Emily Johnson ’23SOA (she/her)—is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and completed her MFA in Fiction. She was the president of the Interdisciplinary Arts Council, the Print Fiction Editor of the Columbia Journal, and the Event News Fellow for the School of the Arts. She is currently an adjunct assistant professor of Fiction in Columbia’s Undergraduate Creative Writing Program and is working on a novel.
Summer Brown ’24SPS (she/her/hers) from Grand Rapids, MI is a Columbia SPS HBCU Fellow receiving her MS in Sports Management. Summer exhibited outstanding leadership in SPS after filling the role of Community Affairs Liaison for the CU SPS Black Students Guild. Shortly thereafter, Summer began her service as president of the organization. Further, Summer has also been selected as the social media chair for the SPS Black Sports Management Union. She also works as the Student Support and HBCU Fellowship Program Intern in SPS.
She was a high school mentor for the HBCU/Youth in Stem Program and the Business of Sports School Program. She was selected to participate in the Sports Management program's spring cultural immersion trip to Real Madrid Graduate School where she learned the business of global sports. Summer is passionate about supporting diverse students in SPS. Her favorite quote is her alma mater's (Howard University) motto, which embodies her servant leadership: "Excellence in Truth and Service."
Rosie Savage ’24 CSSW (she/her/ella) is from King City, CA majoring in Social Work, Policy Track. Rosie is CSSW’s Senator and student co-chair of the Commission on Diversity. She sits on the Student Affairs Commission and serves on the DEI subcommittee. She is a volunteer forensic examiner for CHRIA, and part of leadership in the Medical Caucus, partnering social workers with medical students. She was appointed to the Presidential Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault and is a PDSA presenter and an orientation leader. She is a reading mentor for underserved children in New York through Read Ahead and recently submitted an article on Military Sexual Trauma for publication to The Amsterdam. She has interned doing case management for HIV/AIDS participants, and currently interns as a policy analyst for the Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau.
Cameron J. Arnzen ’24TC (he/him) is from the small town of New Plymouth, Idaho. Graduating with his PhD, he studies the politics of education—specifically the relationship between schools and democracy. He has served in a variety of leadership roles across the Columbia University community including as a vice president of the Teachers College Senate, vice chair of the Columbia University PhD Council, and executive chair of the Rural Education & Healthcare Coalition. Through teaching, scholarship, and service, he hopes to continue conversations about leveraging education and community for the betterment of democracy.
Amir Hassan ’24VPS (he/him), from Los Angeles, California, is receiving his MD from the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. In order to dismantle racial capitalism in medical education and healthcare delivery, Amir has served as class president for the VP&S Class of 2024, advocate with White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL), and co-leader of CoSMO Behavioral Health Clinic for uninsured community members. He has recently been matched into a psychiatry residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital, in the inaugural public and community psychiatry track. He also enjoys cycling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, meditation, anime, and cooking.