Student Highlights
With quick thinking and CPR skills, student helps save a restaurant customer’s life
VCU junior Nyla Harris found out what it’s like to be thrust into the media spotlight after she performed CPR to help save the life of a fellow restaurant customer.
On March 8, at the end of spring break week, Harris and her mom went out for brunch at Eggs Up Grill in Midlothian. As they were leaving, Harris heard a commotion. A woman had passed out and was unconscious. Harris’ mom called 911, and Harris jumped into action when she realized the woman wasn’t breathing.
“I pushed Mom aside a bit and helped the woman’s husband get her out of the booth, and then I started compressions in CPR,” said Harris, who learned CPR at Manchester High School and had taken a refresher course at the daycare where she works part time. “I did two sets of compressions, and then she came back.”
Chesterfield County firefighters and emergency medical technicians arrived at the restaurant as Harris was finishing her initial treatment. All of the excitement was “a lot,” she said.
Harris, a biology major on the pre-med track in the College of Humanities and Sciences, has wanted to be a doctor since she was young. She recalls pulling out her play doctor’s kit at an early age to help her father after he suffered a shoulder injury.
“I would tell my dad that I would make him better,” Harris said. “I am really a one-track-mind person. When I want something, I am going to try my best to get there.” Her goal is to become a pediatrician. The media attention Harris received after the incident at Eggs Up Grill was “overwhelming at the time,” she said. “But I know this story will help others want to become certified in CPR.”
Senior selected for prestigious journalism fellowship
Emily Richardson, a senior majoring in digital journalism, was selected for a prestigious fellowship at Carnegie-Knight News21, a national reporting initiative headquartered at the Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Richardson is the first VCU student to participate in the program (and one of 29 fellows nationwide), which brings in the top journalism students from around the country. It begins with a spring seminar, during which students study a topic intensely, followed by the 10-week reporting fellowship during the summer, when the students will publish in-depth, multimedia projects for major media outlets. With the presidential election in November, this year’s topic is democracy in crisis.
“It’s really intense,” Richardson admitted, saying she “stumbled into” the opportunity. “But as soon as I found out what it was, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve never wanted to do something more in my life.’”
Alix Bryan-Campos, newsroom director of Capital News Service and an assistant professor in VCU’s Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture, recommended Richardson for Carnegie-Knight News21 after working with her in three courses.
“Emily’s level of interest and understanding of important current events has really developed in a short time,” Bryan-Campos said. “I have immense trust in her work. I have rarely seen a student who can juggle as many things as she does and still deliver exceptional content on deadline, without ever breaking a sweat.”
Students receive distinguished national awards
A number of College of Humanities and Sciences’ students were selected for distinguished national awards this past year:
Aditya Kotha (biology and psychology) and Andy Shar (biology, top left) received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious national honor for undergraduate STEM students who plan to pursue research careers.
Rana Ansari (B.S. ’24) (biology, top right) and Oorvi Budhwar (B.S. ’22) (political science) were selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2024-25 academic year, one of the most competitive scholarships in the country. The Fulbright program is sponsored by the federal government to increase understanding between Americans and the people of other countries. It operates in more than 140 countries, and more than 2,000 grants are awarded annually to graduating college seniors, graduate students and recent alumni.
Buffy Bui (political science), Catherine Nguyen (mass communications) and Meg Stallard (international studies) were awarded scholarships through the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad.
New CHS-wide awards celebrates outstanding students and faculty/staff members
On May 9, 2024, the College of Humanities and Sciences honored outstanding students and faculty members at the Student Awards Celebration, and for the first time gave out collegewide awards. These awards recognized awardees for their contributions to community service, institutional impact, scholarship and teaching excellence. Students were nominated by faculty and staff. Two additional awards were given for outstanding faculty and staff members nominated by students.
“Not a day goes by when I don’t hear about a student in our College who hasn’t done something incredible, whether that’s completing an important internship, conducting innovative research or acting as a leader in their major department,” said Catherine Ingrassia, Ph.D., dean, at the ceremony. “Their achievements serve as a testament to the vibrant academic community here at VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences, and it’s inspiring to witness the passion and dedication our students bring to their pursuits.” Congratulations to the following award recipients:
- Excellence in Community Engagement: Kendra Diaz, Biology
- Excellence in Institutional Impact: Emily Richardson, Mass Communications
- Overcoming Adversity: Katarina Krueger, Political Science
- Outstanding Nontraditional Student: Elizabeth Dooley, Anthropology
- Outstanding Transfer Student: America Vijil, Health and Exercise Science
- Excellence in Scholarship (Humanities and Social Sciences): Nemya McGill-Veloso, Psychology
- Excellence in Scholarship (Math and Sciences): Tijana Simovic, Rehabilitation and Movement Science
- Graduate Student Teaching Award: Ashley Tubbs, Chemistry
- CHS Outstanding Faculty Award: Lee Franco, Ph.D.
- CHS Outstanding Student Support: Caroline Cobb, Ph.D.