Yulianna Jimenez of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and Ryan Wong of Huntsville are the new Mr. and Ms. UAB Scholarship Competition winners.Ryan Wong of Huntsville and Yulianna Jimenez of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, have been named Mr. and Ms. UAB, a scholarship competition presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s National Alumni Society.
Baraa Hijaz of Montgomery and Erica Webb of McCalla were named first alternates.
Started in 1981, the Mr. and Ms. UAB Scholarship Competition is one of UAB’s longest-standing Homecoming traditions. The winners of the 2017 scholarship competition were announced during halftime of the Homecoming game Saturday, Oct. 7.
The winners of the Mr. and Ms. UAB competition will each receive $2,500 scholarships and serve as ambassadors of UAB and on the Student Alumni Society Leadership Council in the coming year. The first alternates will each receive a $1,000 scholarship. The 10 finalists were selected through an interview process at the NAS Alumni House on Sept. 20. The winners were chosen through an additional round of interviews and a student vote, held during Homecoming Week.
Wong, 20, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s Personalized Path majoring in biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. His top college honors include the president’s and dean’s lists, and WOW Buffalo XIII Wing Eating Champion. He is a liaison for UAB Men’s Basketball, a research assistant for the UAB School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Disease and an organic chemistry supplemental instructor. He has volunteered at Huntsville Hospital in cardiology and as a storm spotter for the National Weather Service.
Jimenez, 20, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s Personalized Path majoring in biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering. She has received an Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award, which recognizes a student who has maintained an excellent GPA while balancing co-curricular activities, and a Francis J. Dupuis Engineering Scholarship. She has volunteered at Equal Access Birmingham, a student-run free clinic that provides continuity of care to the medically underserved, and as a mentor to at-risk fourth- and fifth-graders at West End Academy Elementary. She is the daughter of Yohanna and Jaime Jimenez.
Hijaz, 19, is a sophomore in the UAB Honors College’s Science and Technology Honors Program majoring in neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences. He has received the UAB Presidential Recognition Scholarship Award, is on the Presidential Honors List and is a Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience fellow. He is president and former Southeastern regional director of the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s, and a volunteer at the Highland Avenue Nursing Home. He is the son of Ashraf Hijaz and Maisa Odeh.
Webb, 20, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s Global and Community Leadership Program majoring in English and political science in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has received the Walt P. Mayfield Scholarship in English and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Leadership Scholarship. She is the daughter of Brenda and Eric Webb.
The competition finalists:
Jean Paul Osula, 20, of Jasper, son of Candy Osula and Claude Osula, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s Personalized Path majoring in biomedical sciences in the School of Health Professions.
Zoe Penko, 20, of Enterprise, daughter of Noel Penko and John Penko, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s Personalized Path majoring in mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering.
Siddhu Srikakolapu, 20, of Madison, son of Krishna and Sudha Srikakolapu, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s Global and Community Leadership Program majoring in philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Juhi Shah, 20, of Dothan, daughter of Sami Shah and Minal Shah, is a junior in the UAB Honors College’s University Honors Program majoring in biomedical sciences.
Sawyer Summers, 20, of Fairhope, son of Sonja Summers and Gregory Summers, is a sophomore in the UAB Honors College’s Global and Community Leadership Program majoring in industrial distribution in the Collat School of Business.
Ashlynn Swaney, 21, of Madison, daughter of Elizabeth Preston, is a senior majoring in biomedical sciences in the School of Health Professions.