Kudos! Student Achievements Fall 2025
51 Hamilton Students to Present at New York Six Research Conference
Fifty-one students are set to present their research at the New York 6 Liberal Arts Consortium Undergraduate Research Conference on Nov. 8 at St. Lawrence University. The conference showcases recent research by students from across the consortium, through oral presentations and poster sessions. In addition to Hamilton, New York Six members are Colgate University, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, St. Lawrence University, Skidmore College, and Union College.
- Yaman Albittar ’29
- Cedric Choi ’26
- Abigail Hagos ’28
- Aditi Kumar ’27
- Soren Lera ’27
- Jaylaan Limon Ixehuatl ’26
- Elizabeth Ma ’27
- Seth Moore ’27
- Claire Payne ’28
- Leah Reed ’27
- Joy Seo ’27
- Cypress Zhang ’26
- Rianne Almontaser ’27
- Angel Apollos ’26
- Misheel Batjavkhlan ’28
- Alice Bussiere ’28
- Elizabeth Casalmir ’26
- Zoe Chamberlain ’27
- Sydney Chen ’27
- Sara Conti ’27
- Jessica Corbett ’27
- Owen Dennen ’28
- Mekhia Foster ’26
- Theodore Gercken ’27
- Amelya Greaves ’26
- Drea Hacker ’26
- Amelie Heying ’27
- Emma Hirsch ’27
- Morgan Hodorowski ’26
- Alinur Jaboldinov ’26
- Han Jin ’27
- Abigayle Jones ’26
- Pedro Lacerda ’27
- Yi Lan ’27
- Cindy Ma ’28
- Caitlin Malecky ’26
- Nicole Moncada ’26
- Rejoice Muleya ’27
- Isonah Ngouabe ’27
- Grace Papetti ’27
- Ananya Patil Rao ’27
- Daniel Rodriguez Vergara ’26
- Jun Seo ’27
- Thomas Takis ’26
- Sudchananya Udomphan ’26
- Mimosa Van ’26
- Grace Wilde ’26
- Joseph Wu ’27
- Harry Wu ’27
- Chi-hua Xing ’29
- Hpoo Yadi ’28
Eagle ’26 and Williams Publish Psychology Research in Behavioral Sciences
Ross Eagle ’26 collaborated with Associate Professor of Psychology Keelah Williams, and a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor on research that explored the psychology behind why people are so affected by criminal motive when adjudicating guilt. The research, titled “Why Motive Matters: The Appraisal of Criminal Aims,” was published in Behavioral Sciences (Sept., 2025).
Ross Eagle ’26
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Armonk, NY
Williams explained, “This is an interesting question because the law actually views motive as largely irrelevant (e.g., whether you stole $20 to buy illicit drugs or life-saving medicine, you are guilty of theft all the same). But jurors find motive information highly influential and persuasive, which has downstream consequences for verdicts and punishments.
“I think people will find this paper very relatable, because everyone's first reaction when learning of a heinous crime (e.g., Charlie Kirk's murder, school shootings, Luigi Mangione) is always why did they do it?! Our paper helps to scientifically explain this deeply human reaction,” Williams said.
Romero ’28 Promoted to Private 1st Class
Jesireth Jara Romero ’28, a member of the New York Army National Guard, was promoted in August to the rank of private 1st class. Romero is assigned to the Company A, NY Recruiting & Retention Battalion. Promotions are based on a soldier's overall performance, demonstrated leadership abilities, professionalism and future development potential. Romero, from Brooklyn, N.Y., is interested in majoring in psychology.
She said, “One of the reasons I decided to enlist in the Army was because I know that I want to pursue a career in the medical field, and surely enough my military occupational specialty is a combat medic specialist. Another reason I enlisted is because I believed it would be a space that would teach me a lot of valuable lessons and help me grow as an individual,” she said.
10 Members of the Class of 2025 Elected to Phi Beta Kappa
In its first meeting of the academic year, the Hamilton chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elected 10 members of the Class of 2025 to the oldest academic honorary society in the United States.
- Ross Eagle, Psychology
- Taylor Lambo, Physics
- Lucy Leness, Literature
- Jared Maidman, Biochemistry/Microbiology and Economics
- Lucy Meola, Anthropology and Environmental Studies
- Nicholas Miller, Biology
- Kara Regner, Psychology
- Ian Trefry, Economics
- Yuxuan Xu, Neuroscience
- Rachel Zou, Economics and Psychology
Faculty, Alumni, and Students Contribute to University of Wisconsin's History of Pharmacy Journal
A Hamilton student and four recent alumni contributed essays to the double-blind, peer-reviewed special issue of University of Wisconsin's History of Pharmacy journal, special issue Historical Pharmacaopeias. Associate Professor of History Mackenzie Cooley and Associate Professor of Chemistry Max Majireck also collaborated on an essay. History concentrators Lara Barreira’25, Emma Tomlins ’23 and Nicholas Wassiliew ’26, and Naima Akter ’24 (biochemistry and molecular biology) and Annie Kennedy ’24 (chemistry) contributed to the issue.
Essenmacher ’25 Publishes Research in the AGU Journal Earth & Space Science
Geosciences major Stella Essenmacher ’25 has published research that she conducted with former Visiting Assistant Professor of Geosciences Shreya Kanakiya last year. Stella Essenmacher has published her first journal article, part of which was her senior thesis research.
The article "Characterizing spatiotemporal ground deformation at Whakaari (White Island) volcano, New Zealand from 2014-2024 using InSAR time-series analysis" has been accepted for publication in the AGU Journal Earth & Space Science. It shows the first insights into the deformation happening at White Island volcano after its 2019 eruption and also provides compelling evidence for an eruption that occurred in September 2022 that could not be confirmed due to lack of instruments on site.
“Stella played a crucial role in method development and validation for the analysis that went in the manuscript,” Kanakiya said.
Faculty and Staff Achievements
Read about what Hamilton’s faculty and staff members have been working on since the beginning of the academic year — research grants, published books, delivered papers, positions at national organizations, and more.
Kudos! is a roundup that highlights noteworthy student, faculty and staff news, including awards, published scholarly work, presentations at regional or national conferences, upcoming or recent media appearances, and other accolades. To be considered for the next edition, please send pertinent information to pr@hamilton.edu.
More Student Accomplishments
Summer Researchers Delve Into Projects That Inspire Them
Through Emerson Foundation Grants and Levitt Summer Research Fellowships, Hamilton students forge their own research paths, from studying environmental justice and exploring the intersections of art and mathematics in AI, to promoting better understanding of pediatric cancer patients’ experiences. Here are what three summer grantees said about the inspiration and significance of their projects.
33 Days to Take My Shot: How I Ended Up Writing and Rapping for Lin-Manuel Miranda
Alejandro Sosa Hernández ’26, a creative writing and Japanese double major who discovered an interest in theatre while at Hamilton, was recently called upon to write something he never expected. Read about his experience here.
