Fall 2025 Scholarships and 4.0 GPA’s
Congratulations to the most recent recipients of University of Arizona Department of Mathematics scholarships! Learn more about each scholarship and recipient below.
Additionally, 2 students maintained a 4.0 GPA up to their final semester with the Department of Mathematics. Congratulations to Statistics & Data Science majors Hamdan Alhammadi and Seth Jernigan on both maintaining 4.0 GPAs. Hamdan also received the Outstanding Senior in Mathematics recognition by the College of Science.
“After graduation, I’m excited to dive deeper into AI and machine learning,” Hamdan shared with the College of Science, “My goal is to join a major data-driven company where I can grow, build experience, and eventually create my own path in the field.”
Weslee Nguyen - Elias Toubassi High Impact Award
The Elias Toubassi High Impact Award recognizes that excellence in the mathematical sciences requires access to high impact opportunities to engage with mathematics and mathematics education subject matter deeply and independently, as researchers often do. Awardees must have a project in mind.
Weslee Nguyen aims to pursue an MD-PhD in Neuroscience to become a physician scientist for animals and kids. As he’s been working in the U of A bat lab for four years, he aims to finalize a paper for publication and begin a follow-up study. The Toubassi High Impact award allows him to commit more hours to focus on the paper and begin the study and thus increasingly pushes him towards a research-oriented career. As he is graduating next semester and has yet to publish a paper, he is immensely grateful for the scholarship allowing him to focus on research at such a critical time.
“This paper comes at a critical time for my PI to write grants and my applications to MD-PhD programs that need to be completed before I graduate,” Weslee shared, “I stubbornly continue down this path as I convince others that my Math major isn’t a bizarre side dish for an MD-PhD but fundamentally shapes my life and how I pay attention to the world around us. With the scholarship, you’re [Dr. Toubassi] able to give me back such a scarce resource, the same one I study in bats: attention.”
Luke Cummings - McLean Transfer Scholarship
The McLean Scholarships were endowed by the late John McLean in memory of his mother, Dr. Katharine McLean, who touched the lives of thousands of students. Most notably she helped many students make the transition from community college to university. Recipients of the McLean Transfer Scholarship are chosen based on overall GPA, mathematical aptitude, and emerging leadership within the community.
Luke Cummings is a senior studying Mathematics with a minor in Physics at the University of Arizona. After transferring from Pima Community College, he has pursued research in topology and geometric structures and taken advanced graduate-level coursework. He plans to earn a PhD in Mathematics and work in industry research. This scholarship supports Luke by allowing him to focus more fully on his studies and research as he prepares for graduate school and his future career.
“As a transfer student from Pima Community College now completing my Mathematics degree at the University of Arizona, this support has allowed me to focus more fully on my coursework and research in topology and geometric structures,” Luke wrote, “This scholarship has strengthened my path toward pursuing a PhD in Mathematics and a future career in industry research. Thank you for investing in students like me and for helping make my educational goals possible.”
Van Higgs - Toubassi Award
The Toubassi Scholarship recognizes excellent mathematics majors applying to graduate programs in the mathematical sciences.
Van Higgs plans to obtain a PhD in math while continuing to explore his interest in physics in graduate school. After this, he is seeking a job in academia to contribute to the world of math research. Though his interests are still flexible, Van is currently most interested in the subjects of geometry, probability, and their connections to theoretical physics. Before receiving this scholarship, Van planned to work at his local grocery store over the Summer to save up money for graduate school. Now, he will have more flexibility to prepare for graduate school through both review of his undergraduate classes and a look ahead into the research of his graduate department.
“I am grateful to receive this scholarship and am excited for my future in math,” Van noted, “Because of this support, I will have the opportunity to spend next Summer preparing for graduate school. I can also start looking into the research of the professors I hope to work with to acclimate myself to the graduate school I will be attending, which I am very excited for. Most importantly, I can now apply to more graduate schools.”
Learn more about the many scholarship opportunities the Department of Mathematics has to offer, including those currently accepting applications, at math.arizona.edu/academics/undergraduate/scholarships.
Congratulations once again to these hard working students!