2023 Outstanding Senior Award Winners

We are thrilled to announce our 2023 Outstanding Senior Award winners – Raya Nahlawi and Mae Hurtado-Thiele! These students were chosen out of a competitive pool of our graduating students, and were picked based on their academic and extracurricular achievements. Congrats Raya and Mae, and good luck in all your future endevours!

Raya Nahlwai is from Vernon Hills, Illinois and is an exemplary student in all she has done during her time at UW. Raya conducted research in the lab of Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud where she studied cellular and molecular regulation of mammalian heart regeneration. She collected numerous awards such as the Genetics & Genomics Distinguished Undergraduate Research Fellowship, CALS Dean’s List, and the Demeter Outstanding Sophomore Scholarship. Outside of her own education, Raya also was involved in mentorship and tutoring where she put in many hours to help teach English, Math, and Physics in community outreach programs. Following her graduation from UW, Raya plans to attend Medical School at Case Western Reserve. Congrats, Raya!

 

Mae Hurtado-Thiele is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has many impressive achievements to share from her time at UW. Mae worked as an undergraduate researcher in the lab of Dr. Judith Simcox where she studied the role of acylcarnitines during cold exposure in brown adipocytes. She was another recipient of the Genetics & Genomics Distinguished Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and was also awarded the Hilldale Research Fellowship. Mae was very involved on campus with various student organizations such as the Undergraduate Genetics Association (UGA) and the Club Field Hockey Team. She also was involved in multiple outreach programs like the UW Missing in Action Recovery & Identification Project and service to underrepresented individuals including BIPOC. After graduation, Mae plans to attend the NIH Cancer Research Training Fellowship Program. Congrats, Mae!