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As the 2024-25 academic year wraps up, we’re proud to celebrate students who have received national fellowships and scholarships, presented at conferences, and earned other recognition.

National and regional news organizations regularly interview Hamilton faculty, staff, alumni, and students for their expertise and perspectives on current events, and to feature programs and activities on campus. April’s news topics included coverage of former President Obama’s visit to Hamilton as well as subjects from diversity on bank boards to a new Levitt Center study on gun violence.

Chrissy Crespo ’25 and Alinur Jaboldinov ’26 are the first Hamilton students to participate in the Trudeau Institute’s Biomedical Research Scholars Program in Saranac Lake, N.Y. The program includes five courses designed to develop students’ research skills and understanding of immunology, but its shining focus is the intensive immunological research experience.

When President Barack Obama visited Hamilton College on April 3 as part of the Sacerdote Great Names Series, the crowd came for the moment — but what stuck were the words.

Naval Lappalainen ’25 and Xavier McMahon ’27 have been awarded Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) to study Russian this summer. Lappalainen, a double major in history and Russian Studies, from Wilmington, Del., will study in Kyrgyzstan, and McMahon, a double major in world politics and Russian studies from Louisville, Kentucky, will be based in Daugavpils, Latvia.

Sabina Feder ’25 and Brianna “Bri” Padilla ’25 both received Hamilton’s prestigious Bristol Fellowship, which sponsors projects “based on strong personal interest and commitment” and that “exhibit a spirit of inquisitiveness and a seriousness of purpose.”

In an email to the Hamilton community on April 24, President Steven Tepper announced the appointment of Miriam Merrill as chief of staff and secretary to the Board of Trustees, effective July 1.

The Arbor Day Foundation recognized Hamilton College as a 2024 Tree Campus for its dedication to enhancing community well-being through tree education, investment, and community engagement.

Quentin Messer ’26 was recently awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship to pursue work in industrial and manufacturing policy. He becomes Hamilton’s third recipient of the prestigious award, presented to students interested in careers in public service, following Dewayne Martin ’24 and Frederick Nelson ’78. A world politics concentrator, Messer plans to pursue a J.D. and Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) following graduation.

Hamilton's Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center has released a comprehensive report titled “Youth Gun Violence in Utica, New York: Causes, Context, and Prevention.” This report is the culmination of the Center’s Fall 2024 Justice Lab, an interdisciplinary initiative involving 16 students across four integrated courses led by four Hamilton faculty members.