College Of Arts & Sciences Celebrates Outstanding Graduating Seniors

Ten undergraduate students in the Texas A&M University College of Arts and Sciences have been selected as 2024 Outstanding Graduating Seniors.

The prestigious honor, created by the college in 2023, recognizes ArtSci’s top seniors on the basis of their academic record, service, leadership and commitment to the Aggie Core Values. Students are nominated by faculty and staff in early spring in alignment with university deadlines for outstanding senior award nominations.

“Many students excel in one or two areas, whereas these 10 excel across all areas,” said Dr. Christian Brannstrom, senior associate dean for undergraduate education in Arts and Sciences as well as a professor in the Department of Geography and David Bullock Harris Professor of Geosciences. "The breadth and depth of their accomplishments are both impressive and inspiring. We are extremely proud to celebrate them as they embark on their future endeavors as fitting ambassadors for the College of Arts and Sciences and Texas A&M University."

Brief biographies for each of the 2024 Top 10 Seniors are included below:

Willis graduated with a bachelor of arts in classics and a minor in pre-medicine. She was active in several Texas A&M student organizations, including the Pre-Med Society and Christian Women in Medicine. She was also a leader of Courageous Conversations and an ambassador for the Department of Multicultural Services. As a classics major, Willis studied science, anthropology, Greek mythology and philosophy — subjects she credits with challenging her to rethink her world perspective. During her time at Texas A&M, she also pursued several research projects involving theology, quantum mechanics, etymology and technology. One of her most exciting projects involved translating nautical archeological terms from English to other Mediterranean languages that eventually will be coded and made available via a website for use by other researchers. Willis credits spending time in developing countries and the lower-income communities around her hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, with opening her eyes to the many people who often struggle to take care of important medical needs. As a result, her career goal is to become a doctor and serve people in rural communities in the United States and abroad.

Chen graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees in history and international studies and a 4.0 GPA. A native of Sugar Land, Texas, she was active in a variety of service organizations across the campus and Bryan-College Station community, including the Asian Presidents’ Council, Aggie Minority Women in Law, Glasscock Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program, Asian American Studies Initiative and Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network. Her proudest accomplishment was establishing Texas A&M’s first Asian American student magazine, Pavements, in collaboration with the Asian Presidents’ Council and the Asian American Studies Initiative. Under the guidance of Dr. Sarah McNamara in the Department of History, she conducted research examining Asian Americans in affirmative action court cases as a part of the LAUNCH: Undergraduate Research Scholars Thesis Program. In addition, she is one of four Texas A&M nominees for the 2024 Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which would give her the chance to serve as an English teacher and see East Asia firsthand — an experience she has dreamed about since she engaged with foreign policy in Washington, D.C., as an intern for then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with the Texas A&M Public Policy Internship Program. Following graduation, Chen plans to take a gap year before pursuing law school to become a civil rights or public interest lawyer and hopefully return someday to Washington, D.C.

Clark earned a bachelor of arts in communication with minors in sociology and English, graduating with a 4.0 GPA and both University and Department of Communication and Journalism Honors. As an Undergraduate Research Scholar, she studied the rhetoric of memory while also writing an original novel as part of a creative thesis. A native of Southlake, Texas, Clark was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Lambda Pi Eta (Texas A&M chapter of the National Communication Association Honor Society) and the Order of Omega (Greek life honor society). In addition, she was active in both leadership and volunteer positions with numerous organizations, including the Kappa Delta Sorority, Fish Camp, Percussion Studio, the Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA), Traditions Council, the Silver Taps subcommittee and the Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network. Clark also served multiple years as a peer notetaker, a departmental teaching assistant, a LAUNCH communications intern and an administrative assistant for the Chemistry First Year Program. She has been recognized with many merit-, accomplishment- and involvement-based scholarships and awards throughout her time at Texas A&M.

DeRousse received a bachelor of arts in communication with a minor in sport management, graduating with Latin honors. A native of San Antonio, he was a member of Lamda Pi Eta, (Texas A&M chapter of the National Communication Association Honor Society), Aggie Catholics and Focus Bible Study who served as an ambassador for Saint Mary's Catholic Church and a recruiter for the Aggie Men’s Club. During the spring semester, he was an undergraduate teaching assistant in strategic communication within the Department of Communication and Journalism. As a man with cerebral palsy, DeRousse leads from his wheelchair, in which he can be seen zipping around campus. Early in his life, he was a participant in Kinetic Kids, a San Antonio area nonprofit focused on bringing differently-abled kids into sports — an experience that led him to his current intern position conducting analytics and programs research for Kinetic Kids. A three-year member of the wrestling team at Texas A&M, he also has past positions as an intern with the Believe It Foundation and as a coach/counselor with T Bar M Camps. Through education and experience, DeRousse has positioned himself as a strategic communicator and leader in the field of sport management to provide opportunities, belongingness and fellowship for kids with challenging conditions.

Jaksik received her bachelor of arts in chemistry with a minor in secondary education and summa cum laude honors as a member of aggieTEACH-Arts and Sciences. A four-year recipient of the McFadden Scholarship from Mansfield, Texas, she also earned the American Chemical Society Hach Land-Grant Scholarship, Sharon Merritt Birtcher Scholarship and Jim and Betty Sitton Award reserved for students interested in teaching chemistry and/or math and science en route to graduating with her Texas Education Agency composite science certification, enabling her to teach 7-12 grade science courses. She plans to pursue a career as a high school chemistry or science teacher in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Jaksik has attended Aggie Muster every year and been active in several organizations as both an officer and member, including Fish Camp, Aggie Classics, Rescue Pink and the Big Event. She also has worked as a peer-led team learning instructor for physical chemistry at Texas A&M and as a substitute teacher with the College Station Independent School District. In addition, she volunteers with the Brazos Valley Food Bank.

Li earned a bachelor of science in economics. Originally from Sugar Land, Texas, she was an Undergraduate Research Ambassador, Dean’s List member and Sexual Assault Resource Center Advocate and was active in several campus organizations, including Aggie Minority Women in Law and Texas A&M Disability Resources. She served as a research assistant for three different faculty members, initially studying the relationships between Leontief multipliers and the determinants of economic growth with Dr. Samuel Cohn in the Department of Sociology (2021-2022), the developing code for regression analysis to understand pay structures through job postings with Dr. Christina Patterson at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (2022-2023) and finally researching access to U.S. healthcare services while supporting a public health consumer access project for Dr. Simon Haeder in the Texas A&M School of Public Health (2023-2024). In summer 2023, Yilin interned at the White House with the Council of Economic Advisors through the Texas A&M Public Policy Internship Program. She presented to Cabinet Member Jared Bernstein on welfare system inaccessibility for domestic violence survivors highlighting issues with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Earned Income Tax Credit and Section 8 Housing studies while also drafting multiple memos on international trade and energy for President Biden’s senior economists. In fall 2021, Yilin authored a dozen reports on human rights violations in North Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America and volunteered nearly 500 hours while supporting federal human rights investigations and prosecutions for the U.S. Department of Justice. Following graduation, Yilin will begin working as an incoming regional economics research assistant at Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Medina graduated with a bachelor of arts in chemistry and a minor in psychology. A San Antonio native, he was a member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Company H-1 and E-2 and a recipient of the Corps Outstanding Academic Performance and Distinguished Student Awards. As a senior, Medina earned selection to serve as executive officer of the Navy/Marine Corps Battalion, a position that involves leading and serving as a role model for the more than 430 cadets aspiring to commission in either the Navy or Marine Corps. He also was the scholastics officer for E-2, a member of the Corps soccer and tennis teams, and active in the Aviation Preparatory Unit, the Pre-Medical Society and the Mexican Student Association. Medina has been involved in his community in both San Antonio and at Texas A&M, volunteering with the San Antonio Food Bank, March to the Brazos, Texas A&M BUILD to provide portable medical clinics to help those in need around the world, as a team leader with Project Atlas Ruck benefiting the Special Operations Warrior Fund that provides scholarships to children of deceased special operation heroes, to raise more than $10,000 for an E-2 buddy’s nonprofit Charlie’s Angels toward mini care packages for underprivileged children without families during the holiday season, and as a head trainer for the annual Kick Childhood Cancer Soccer Camp, an organization dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer. He was awarded a highly selective naval aviator slot upon his commissioning and also received the Olin E. Teague Soldier Statesman Award recognizing outstanding senior cadets from each service who demonstrate the qualities of maturity, self-confidence, leadership and desire that will enable them to be superior officers in their respective military services. He plans to go to naval flight school in Pensacola, Florida.

Nguyen received a bachelor of arts in chemistry with honors and an emphasis in biological chemistry. A native of Flower Mound, Texas, and a registered pharmacy technician, she was a National Merit Finalist and President’s Endowed Scholarship recipient as well as a Welch Foundation Scholar. Nguyen was involved in undergraduate research, completing a molecular and cellular medicine-related project with the Texas A&M School of Medicine’s Dr. Vytas Bankaitis that contributed to designing anti-fungal drugs through site-directed mutagenesis with protein expression and purification. She also worked on a specialized project involving protein purification and crystallization for imaging. Nguyen was active in several campus and professional organizations, including Freshmen Leaders Advancing in Service and Honor (FLASH), Fish Camp, the Big Event and Texas A&M BUILD. Through FLASH, she helped raise more than $9,000 to build a water well in Malawi through planning and hosting Walk for Water. As an upperclassman, she oversaw the organization’s involvement with philanthropy and community service, piloting the "Big Serve" program to foster sustained commitment to specific service projects. During her senior year, Nguyen was the National Primary Care Committee Head for the American Medical Student Association. Her volunteer service extended to the Bryan-College Station community through Twin City Mission and the Aggieland Humane Society as well as the healthcare environment, where she assisted medical staff in the couplet care department at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center along with patients and their families navigating end-of-life care through Remarkable Hospice within College Station. Nguyen will start medical school in July after applying and interviewing at the Texas A&M School of Medicine and being granted early assurance through the Science to Medicine Program.

Patterson graduated with a bachelor of science in history and a strong academic foundation in research, European Union constitutional law and Eastern European history. A Fort Worth native, she was a history honors student and member of the Dean's List for the entire time she has attended Texas A&M. In addition to participating in undergraduate research in Lithuanian Studies, Patterson also did study abroad as a junior, focusing on related history and legal studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin. As a senior, Patterson was accepted into the Department of History Research Internship program, where she conducted primary source research on Aggies missing in action in partnership with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. She also has been trained in archival digitization methods and is part of a team of students who are digitizing the only copies that exist of World War II and Korean War medical logbooks to help enable scientists to more efficiently identify unaccounted-for military personnel based on chest radiographs, or X-rays, of their clavicles. Patterson was active in Freshmen Leaders in ArtSci Reaching Excellence (FLARE), serving as committee chair of community service as a sophomore and leading community service partnerships with the Brazos Valley Food Bank, Twin City Mission, REACH and the Big Event. As a junior and senior, she was the university inclusion and outreach director, a role in which she petitioned for and attained College of Arts and Sciences-affiliated organization status for FLARE. Patterson also volunteered with the Aggieland Humane Society and the Lincoln Recreation Center, where she built a free “Little Library” as a sophomore. Back home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, she is part of a small business called Chrysalis that brings together students aged 16-24 to participate in a summer choir experience.

Westrup graduated with a bachelor of science in biology as the first person in her family to attend a university in the U.S. and plans to attend medical school. She was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and moved to Humble, Texas, as a child, becoming a U.S citizen during her junior year at Texas A&M. She participated in undergraduate research, working with Dr. Jorge Reyes Cruz in the Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry to study drug development to combat two human pathogenic parasites: Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi. As a senior, Westrup served as the 74th president of the Memorial Student Center Council — a role in which she oversaw the 18 committees that produce nearly 200 events annually with a combined attendance approaching 100,000 and contributing an additional 4,500 service hours to the Texas A&M and Bryan-College Station communities. She previously served as executive director of service for MSC Hospitality, as a member of the MSC Finance Resource Team and as a delegate for the MSC Fall Leadership Conference. Among other things, Westrup coordinated the Aggies Across the Decades program, working with the Texas A&M Foundation to identify former students willing to interface with current students and share the stories of their Aggie experience. In addition, she was a student leader for the MSC Conway-Fitzhugh International Honors Leadership Seminar, a member of the Latino Medical Student Association PLUS and a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar. Beyond her many MSC-related roles, Westrup was a Hullabaloo U first-year experience course peer mentor, a night counselor for Aggie STEM Summer Camp and a bilingual education tutor with the Bryan and College Station Independent School Districts through the School of Education and Human Development’s Reads and Counts work-study program. She also volunteered at St. Joseph Health Hospital in Bryan, the Brazos Valley Food Bank, Twin City Mission and the Aggieland Humane Society and enjoyed playing Bingo with the senior citizens at the Fortess Nursing and Rehabilitation nursing home.