April 2025 Awards and Accolades
Congratulations to this month's award recipients on the recognition of your achievements!
Sammie Harker
Sammie Harker, a PhD candidate studying neuroscience, was one of 12 students nationwide to be selected for the Chick-fil-A Community Scholarship. Through the Community Scholarship, $25,000 is awarded to each recipient based on academic success, community service and financial need. The Chick-fil-A Community Scholars also participate in the Chick-fil-A Scholars Program, a one-year engagement that includes mentoring and leadership development alongside Chick-fil-A True Inspiration™ Scholars.
The Community Scholars were selected due to their outstanding academic achievement, demonstrated care through community service, as well as personal recommendations from a teacher, coach, community leader or mentor who spoke to each recipient's personal and professional achievements.
This scholarship will support Harker in finishing her PhD and allow her to facilitate a mentorship program for neurodivergent adults.
Sophie Cerna
Sophie Cerna, a junior studying biological sciences (genetics, cell and developmental biology) and data science, was selected for the Goldwater Scholarship from a national pool of 1,350 nominees representing 445 colleges and universities across the United States. A total of 441 scholarships were awarded this year, continuing a record-setting level of support for undergraduate STEM research.
The Goldwater Scholarship, established in 1986 in honor of U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, is the preeminent undergraduate award of its kind, recognizing students who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. Each award provides up to $7,500 per year for undergraduate expenses.
Cerna’s research in the lab of Madeline Andrews focuses on refining human cortical organoid models to study brain development and metabolic regulation. Her work combines molecular cloning with stem cell-derived systems to investigate the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders.
She serves as a mentor and outreach coordinator for ASU’s DIYbio synthetic biology club. Cerna plans to earn a PhD in neuroscience and pursue a career as a professor and developmental neurobiologist.
Krijn Paaijmans
Krijn Paaijmans, associate professor in SOLS, was selected to receive the Spring 2025 ASU Graduate Student Government (GSG) Centennial Professorship Award in the amount of $10,000 as recognition for his engaged scholarship, leadership, community service, and exemplary student-centered practices at Arizona State University.
In 1984, the Associated Students of Arizona State University (ASASU) sought to recognize, encourage and award ASU faculty based on their outstanding leadership and instruction both within and beyond the classroom. The need to attract and retain the highest quality leaders and teachers to our faculty was the catalyst that led to the establishment of the Associated Students Centennial Endowment Fund which allowed the creation of the Centennial Professorship Award.
By acknowledging and promoting these qualities of academic excellence and community service and embeddedness in our faculty, the Centennial Professorship program seeks to encourage all faculty members to continue their innovative educational practices both in and outside the classroom.
The Centennial Professorship Award is very prestigious, and recipients are recognized and announced in April on the GSG & ASASU website and in the GSG Awards Ceremony.
Baylee Edwards
Baylee Edwards, a Ph.D. candidate studying biological sciences and biology & society is one of 100 doctoral students within the U.S. and Canada selected to receive a prestigious $25,000 P.E.O. Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She was nominated by Jane Maienschein, director of the Center for Biology and Society and Barbara Carpenter, philanthropy coordinator for P.E.O. Chapter EZ of Mesa, Arizona.
The P.E.O. Scholar Awards program, established in 1991, provides substantial merit-based awards for women of the U.S. and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral-level degree at an accredited college or university.
She has presented and provided services to multiple organizations including Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) and the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSSAT). She has served and mentored students in Biology Education Research, the School of Life Sciences E-Board Mental Health Committee, and the Research for Inclusive STEM Education (RISE) Center liaison with the ASU Teaching and Learning Center (TLC).
Her masters and doctoral studies are concentrated on Biology Education Research and she holds a graduate certificate in Scientific Teaching in Higher Education. Her research focuses on student and instructor perceptions of the relationship between religion and evolution and how those perceptions impact student experiences and learning particularly in undergraduate biology courses. She has developed curriculum for and trained assistant teachers of ASU introductory biology courses for three years. She intends to create more inclusive college biology courses that prioritize and support student learning.
Chapter EZ has been a part of the Mesa-Apache Junction-Gilbert community since it was organized in 2007.
P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) has been celebrating women helping women reach for the stars for more than 155 years. Since its inception in 1869, the nonprofit organization has helped more than 125,000* women pursue educational goals by providing approximately $432 million* in grants, scholarships, awards and loans. The Sisterhood also owns and supports Cottey College. Through membership, the P.E.O. Sisterhood has brought about helping women advance through education while supporting and motivating them. In addition to the educational philanthropies, the P.E.O. Sisterhood provides a framework of support and community for all members.