Kennesaw State University

KSU sophomore Valeria Ruiz won the Perfect Pitch Competition at the 2025 American Marketing Association (AMA) International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans. Tasked with telling a panel of judges in 90 seconds what makes them the ideal candidate for a job, Ruiz bested nearly 600 students from around the U.S. and the world for first place.

Sean Spencer has been named to the MetropolisFuture100, recognizing the top architecture and interior design students across the U.S. and Canada who demonstrate design excellence and leadership. Spencer was nominated by KSU's Department of Architecture based on his academic performance, creative portfolio, and leadership within the program.

KSU graduating senior Kaden Buford likes being hands-on with exercise science, immersing in a clinical environment and helping people heal from injuries. Her classmate Kayla Anderson prefers research, delving into the scientific "why" using data, experiments, and observation. Together, they form a formidable team studying effective measures of muscle function.

Equipped with robust internship experiences, the leaders of the Kennesaw State University Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) are full steam ahead into their careers after graduating this week with Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance degrees. SMIF CEO Matthew Brown and COO Hannah Hunt have landed jobs with competitive companies.

While enrolled in the educational leadership doctoral program at Kennesaw State University, full-time assistant principal and mother of two Jennifer Wilson had classes to take and research papers and discussion posts to write. Graduating this May, Wilson will be the first in her family to have earned a doctorate.

Matt Eaton had to convince himself that he could be what he wanted to be - an engineer specializing in robotics. This week, Eaton - his self-doubts long removed - is graduating with an engineering degree, a Master of Intelligent Robotic Systems from Kennesaw State University's Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.

A semifinalist for the Fulbright Student Program, Bon Varlet is keenly interested in using her skills to ward off cyber threats, work that reflects her commitment to global collaboration and digital protection. Her proposed project not only explores digital defense strategies but also examines the political, social, and economic factors that influence cybersecurity policy.

Anh Duong, a senior majoring in computer science, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the President's Award of Distinction. The award has been established to celebrate the accomplishments of one exceptional graduating student each semester "who serves as an inspiration to their peers, their community, and the entirety of Owl Nation."

Graduating senior Maya Patel packed four years of college life into just three years. She took a rigorous course load as an Honors student, carried a 4.0 grade-point average in biology, belonged to several organizations, served in multiple leadership roles, and was a laboratory assistant for a research project designed to entice younger people to donate blood.

The Wellstar-Tom and Betty Phillips Elite Honors Nursing Scholars program aims to produce top-notch nurses who benefit from a strong emphasis on academic scholarship. Each scholar belongs to the KSU Journey Honors College and participates in nursing-focused research projects in addition to rigorous curriculum in the Wellstar School of Nursing.

Students at Kennesaw State University are often led to research through personal connections, demonstrating how passion can spark action. Student researchers presented their findings at the Spring Symposium of Student Scholars, a three-day event hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research that allows students to explain their work in a public forum.

Ella Goode and Allisa George received the Siegel Outstanding Student Leader Scholarship, celebrating students who reflect the true spirit of servant leadership and a commitment to helping others rise alongside them. The Tumlin Rising Leader Scholarship, which honors a student who embodies living a leadership lifestyle, was awarded to Aliyah Johnson.

The Division of Student Affairs hosted its 10th annual Student Leadership Awards at the Carmichael Student Center, honoring exceptional students for their commitment to serving and bettering the KSU community. This year's awards committee received more than 365 nominations across individual student, program, and student organization categories.

Computer science student Mason Pederson is contributing to an initiative between Cobb County public safety officials and KSU's Cooperative Human-AI Teaming Lab. The collaboration explores artificial intelligence-driven approaches to community behavioral health, enabling Pederson to lead a focused effort on mental health crisis response.

Andrew Bramlett is well beyond his years, recalling history like a scholar who has long been in the field, longer than his lifetime. At 19 years old, Bramlett sits on the Kennesaw Historic Preservation Commission. A decade ago, he was appointed vice president of the Kennesaw Historical Society and served in the role until the group disbanded in 2023.

Imani Adenuga dove into research immediately upon arrival at KSU last fall, landing in the lab of chemistry professor Daniela Tapu where she took on a project involving sustainable catalysts. It constituted a huge leap for a freshman, given that the project is grounded in organic chemistry, a critical class for chemistry majors that she hasn't taken yet.

Senior architecture students Sean Spencer and Michael Rixom earned silver in Commercial Architecture/Cultural/Educational Architecture for "A Framed Story," a sustainable, community-driven architecture project based in Marietta Square. They were selected among submissions from more than 80 countries.

Kennesaw State University junior Siam Sarower has been awarded the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, one of the highest honors bestowed on undergraduate STEM students. The sixth Goldwater Scholar from KSU, Sarower was chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors representing 445 institutions nationwide.

Growing up, Luke Gamage was often captivated by video games and found himself pondering his own future as a game designer. Now a student in Kennesaw State University's College of Computing and Software Engineering, he has turned a class project into a design studio with its first game set to launch on Steam.

Kennesaw State construction management student Aria Lavender was recently honored with the Outstanding Student Award at the International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. Presented by the National Association of Home Builders, the award recognizes student members for their leadership, academic achievement, and dedication to the construction industry.

An undercurrent of restlessness and curiosity fuels Jess Maillet. The nontraditional, first-generation Kennesaw State University student has embraced change at every turn, from leaving her longtime restaurant job to enroll in college, to juggling several research projects across multiple disciplines as a mother of four.

Kennesaw State University Honors student Allisa George isn't just studying science. She's using it to change lives. Inspired by her family's battle with Alzheimer's and her passion for health policy, George seeks a career as a physician and researcher at the intersection of neurology and public health.

A double major in media and entertainment studies and graphic communications and a minor in Asian Studies, Lena Song serves as the vice president of a registered student organization, is actively involved with the Korean program, and recently completed the inaugural Metro Atlanta Changemakers Fellowship.

First-year architecture student Tuere Thomas is reimagining the way students consume design education through the use of artificial intelligence. Her research at Kennesaw State focuses on how AI tools can spark creativity and help beginners visualize architectural concepts in innovative ways.

Four Kennesaw State University students are participating in the Georgia Legislative Internship Program (GLIP) during the current General Assembly session. The GLIP students work with legislators, their committees, and their staff during the annual 40-day legislative session while receiving course credit.

For the past year, a group of Kennesaw State University students have been synthesizing information from a multi-year study about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on female academics who also are mothers. The students presented their findings at the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education Conference.

Mechatronics engineering student Andrea Martinez Angulo is well on her way to breaking new ground in robotics. Martinez Angulo is an active member of the Synergy Robotics Lab, where she has been working on a cutting-edge project involving robot dogs designed to reimagine agricultural practices.

Just a sophomore at Kennesaw State University, Aliyah Johnson holds numerous student leadership roles while balancing the rigorous courseload in the Wellstar-Tom and Betty Phillips Elite Honors Nursing Scholars program. Johnson is involved in various registered student organizations and she has landed five competitive scholarships.

Kennesaw State sophomore Shifa Jiwani is on a path toward becoming a neurologist, an interdisciplinary field that combines two of her interests - biology and psychology. She developed a passion for health care after witnessing the lack of access to proper medical care in rural communities in India, her native country.

Marissa Alban came to Kennesaw State University to study nursing, a field driven by the passion of its practitioners. Unable to shake her love and talent for singing, however, she channeled her passion into a music major with a focus on vocal performance, where she remains on a path toward a career as a professional singer.