The University of Texas at Austin is thrilled to announce that two recent graduates, Holly Ekas and Syed Mahmud Raza Rizvi, have been selected as 2021 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellows.
Established in 1997, the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans awards $90,000 to immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing graduate school in the United States and is increasingly considered one of the most prestigious and important post-baccalaureate fellowships in the nation. This was the most competitive year in the program’s history –– this year’s 30 recipients were selected out of a pool of 2,445 applicants.
Holly Ekas was adopted from rural China when she was one year old and is a graduate of UT’s College of Natural Sciences, where she studied chemical engineering and was heavily involved in undergraduate research with Professor Hal Alper. During her time on the Forty Acres, she co-authored three papers and won a first-place prize at The American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting and Best Overall Presentation at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium. This fellowship will support her work toward a Ph.D. in chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern University, where she is focused on developing bio-sensors that will make identifying chemical and biological water contamination faster and more affordable.
Syed Mahmud Raza Rizvi is the child of Pakistani immigrants and a recipient of UT’s highest honor as the Dean’s Distinguished Graduate. During his time in the College of Liberal Arts, he was elected as vice president of the National Association of Blind Students (NABS) and co-founded the NABS Diversity and Inclusion Committee, as well as traveled to Washington, D.C. as the Central Texas field director for the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to advocate for programs, policies and international treaties that empower disabled scholars. He recently co-founded the American Muslim Bar Association and this fellowship will support his work toward a J.D. at Harvard University.
The entire Longhorn community celebrates their accomplishments, and celebrates the immigrant excellence that is at the heart of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship!
If you or someone you know may be eligible for this award, the Office of Distinguished and Postgraduate Scholarships encourages you to learn more at the program’s website: www.pdsoros.org. The application for the 2022 Class of Fellows is now open and is due on Thursday, October 28 at 2 p.m. Eastern.