Scholars Program

The 2023 Grawemeyer Scholars at Bernheim Forest.

The University of Louisville established the Grawemeyer Scholarship to honor UofL alumnus and benefactor H. Charles Grawemeyer, the namesake of the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Awards.

Each year, ten Grawemeyer Scholars receive a full, four-year-renewable scholarship, based on their promise for undergraduate research, leadership, and service to the University, as exemplified by their test scores, high school grades, letters of recommendation, and records of extracurricular achievement.

Grawemeyer Scholars receive a dedicated program of civic, cultural, and leadership education during their freshman year, during which Program administration and UofL faculty work to match them with an undergraduate research experience in any field of study offered at the University.

The scholarship may also be used to fund a semester abroad, which the Program strongly encourages and works with the Study Abroad Office to facilitate.

The Grawemeyer Scholars Program is part of UofL’s family of prestigious full-ride-plus “Mentored Scholarship Programs,” which includes the McConnell Scholars Program, MLK Scholars Program and the Brown Fellows Program.

Full in-state tuition, plus a stipend for room, board, and books. Non-resident recipients will receive an enhancement to their National Scholars award.  31 ACT or 1360 SAT (CR + M) and 3.5 GPA. More information and application materials can be found on the UofL Admissions Mentored Scholarships web pages.

2022 – Rachael Cole, Lylah Cox, Seth Derscha, Lily Derthick, Annalise Hale, Xander Jarvis, Nina Pauig, Veena Pendyala, Adnan Shaik, Gavin Whitaker

2021 – Eden Baize, Sarah Belcher, Abbie Camp, Lindsay Caudill, Meg Gibson, Alfred Gonzales, Sam Kirchoff, Luke Malott, Ashley Stine, Cal Zirilli

2020 – Kaden Fisher, Alyssa Gebhardt, Matthew Johnson, Kelsey Littrell, Camila Lozano Aguirre, Kam Rasheed, Jackson Schleff, Anna Simpson, Abigail Stanger, Caeden Whitaker

2019 – Elizabeth Crawford, Gopika Gopan, Srikur Kanuparthy, Bryan McLellan, Lanie Miller, Betty Ngo, Martha Popescu, Caleb Russell, Cian Toole, Samantha Vaughn

2018 – Sarah Burns, Cameron Foulch, John Gilkison, Samuel Kessler, Katya Kovatsenko, Erynn Overfield, Cary Sebree, Ryan Shackleford, Tryphena Sithu, Katherine Whitaker

2017 – Andrew Albrecht, Nicholas Beeny, Caroline Boone, Sabrina Collins, Lindsay Haralu, Dustyn Hofer, Madeline McCloud, John Moore, Will Sebree, Lindsey Smith

2016 – Amanda Arts, Brandon Brown, Connor Burns, Alisha Deshmukh, Sam Embry, Gabrielle “Ellie” Farley, Garrett McGrady, Davis Pyle, Graham Reynolds, Kayla “Maria” Shields.

2015 – Rachel Benzing, Joseph Graf, Poonum Haldankar, Carly Newman, Stephanie Russell, Joshua Stewart.

Mentored Scholarship recipients outside of the Kentucky state capitol

Recipients of Mentored Scholarships — Brown Fellows, Grawemeyer Scholars, and Jones Scholars — presented their research at the Posters at the Capitol event in February of 2016.

Grawemeyer Scholar Nicole Robertson presents her chemistry research project at Posters at the Capitol.

Grawemeyer Scholar Nicole Robertson presents her chemistry research project at Posters at the Capitol.

2023 Scholars

This year’s incoming class of ten Grawemeyer Scholars come from across Kentucky. They include valedictorians, Governor’s Scholars, National Merit and AP-recognized scholars, community volunteers, musicians and athletes.

Toni Adedokun graduated from Lafayette High School, where she was the secretary of her senior class, manager of the girls’ soccer team, and an elected officer of her high school’s Mu Alpha Theta. Toni is passionate about biological research and has participated in research internships in a plant pathology laboratory and a blood platelet laboratory at the University of Kentucky. She has presented her research at two academic conferences, including the 2021 Annual Conference of Hemp where she won second place in the graduate student poster competition. Toni is an alum of the Governor’s Scholars Program. She is majoring in Biology and is a member of the Guaranteed Entrance into Medical School (GEMS) Program.

Lillie Binford-Andrews graduated from Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, Ohio as Student Government President and as an exemplar honoree in Student Development. She has been a board member of the Multicultural Student Union, a District XIV Honor Band participant, and a camp coordinator with the non-profit Arms Around Media. Lillie was also invited to the SND Student Leadership Conference in Boston, where she participated in discussions regarding the environment, social issues, and religious outreach. At UofL, Lillie is majoring in Music & New Media and minoring in Entrepreneurship in Music Industry.

Emma Gillespie graduated from Pendleton County High School as captain of a sweet 16 quick recall team and president of Pendleton’s National Honor Society.  During high school she was a lab intern at Protein Express Laboratories. Though science is her focus, she is also involved in the arts. She has written and directed musicals, starred in regional productions, and received the John Phillip Sousa Award as principal horn in concert band. She is a Governors Scholar and has won speaking awards at statewide conferences. She is majoring in physics, with plans to pursue a graduate degree in astrophysics.

Sireesha Gutti graduated from the Math Science and Technology Center at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School as a National Merit and Governor’s Scholar. In high school, Sireesha conducted research on leukemia at UK, which qualified her for the International Science Fair. She was Captain of Dunbar’s Science Olympiad team, President of Bluegrass Youth Arts, and was on the leadership teams for Science National Honors Society and Speech. Sireesha enjoys playing the violin and doing Taekwondo, in which she is a 3rd degree black belt. At UofL, Sireesha is a Neuroscience major in the Guaranteed Entrance to Medical School (GEMS) Program.

Jackie Hurst, Jr. graduated from Center Point High School in Center Point, as the top Honor Graduate of his class. A two-sport athlete, he played Football and Track & Field. In addition, he was a City of Center Point Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, Senior Class President, and a member of multiple honor societies at his high school. At UofL he will be pursuing a Neuroscience degree with a pre-med track. He aspires to minor in Pan-African Studies. He is interested in being a walk-on to the UofL Track &Field team.

Brody Johnson graduated from the Gatton Academy as a Community Scholar, Honors with Distinction. Last year, he published a paper in the International Journal of Physical Education, Fitness, and Sports on perceptions of sexual identity stereotyping among physical education undergraduate students. An alumnus of Governor’s School for the Arts (Musical Theatre), he is at his happiest singing or behind a piano. He captained a quick recall team to a Governor’s Cup state title in 2019 and remains an avid trivia fan. He is majoring in mathematics and hopes to pursue a career in academia.

Sage Lancaster graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a Science and Technology Scholar. She led her peers as Student Body President, President of the Black Student Union, and Secretary of the Prince George’s Regional Association of Student Government. Sage created The Eileen Initiative to teach free swimming and water safety lessons to those in her community. Sage enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with loved ones. She is majoring in Computer Information Systems with a Concentration in Data Analytics and plans to attend law school.

Mariana Meneses graduated from Keystone National High School in Panama with honors. She founded the Operation Smile Club at her school, participated in a medical mission, and received a Service Recognition mention from an autism organization. During high school, she started an entrepreneurial project that provides healthy alternatives for people with particular dietary needs. In addition, Mariana debated at a national conference held at the Latin American Parliament alongside governmental officials from Latin America and the Caribbean. At UofL, she is majoring in business administration and plans to research how entrepreneurship discourse drives innovative ideas in today’s media world.

Swetha Senthil Nathan graduated from DuPont Manual High School as a valedictorian. She was on the all-A honor roll and received a Math, Science, Technology Magnet achievement award. She is a National Merit Finalist. She participated in Quick Recall, Science Olympiad, and AMC 10. As a Beta Club member, she spent hours volunteering to create interest in STEM for younger children. Swetha participated in regional and state science fairs, winning category and special awards. She was selected to participate in the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium for her research regarding the physiological signals of stress. Swetha is currently majoring in bioengineering on a pre-med track.

Casandra Sullivan graduated from Presentation Academy in Louisville, KY as Valedictorian and was a Governor’s Scholar in the healthcare industry focus area. During her senior year, she was Vice President of the National Honors Society, Student Council President, and Vice President of her school’s Senior Class Board. Throughout her time at Presentation Academy, she participated in her high school’s choir group, which performed in Chicago twice; was a member of a peer leader program which visited Louisville’s Catholic schools to teach children about social media safety; served as a peer tutor; and planned open houses and recruitment events as a student ambassador. She volunteers regularly at the Earth and Spirit Center, where she practices mindfulness, maintains their land, and learns a multitude of leadership skills. At the University of Louisville, Casandra plans to major in Interior Design and potentially add Education courses.