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Forty-six Incoming Students Awarded Merit Scholarships

Carla Burkhard

Forty-six incoming students from Duke University’s Class of 2026 have been awarded merit scholarships.

Duke’s Office of University Scholars and Fellows (OUSF) merit scholarships are designed to enable students to fully realize their intellectual ambitions, individual talents and specific interests.

The scholarships cover the full cost of tuition, room, board and mandatory fees for four years (eight semesters) of undergraduate study.

In addition, scholars have access to generous funding for enrichment activities, which may include independent research, conferences and international learning experiences both during the summer and academic year.

Each individual scholarship program has a dedicated faculty or staff director who provides mentorship and guidance throughout the scholar’s career at Duke. The OUSF staff and the individual directors also coordinate programming for scholars, ensuring they make the most of their time at university.

For more information on individual scholarships, visit The Office of University Scholars and Fellows.

Duke’s Class of 2026 merit scholar recipients are:

 

Alumni Endowed Scholarship

Stephen Craig, faculty director and Carole LeVine, co-director

  • Renn Cutick from Durham, North Carolina, a graduate of Riverside High School
  • Jacob Reinach from Natick, Massachusetts, a graduate of Natick High School
  • Benjamin Verlander from New Orleans, Louisiana, a 2021 graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School

 

Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholarship

Lillian Pierce, faculty director

  • Claire Andreasen from Newark, Delaware, a graduate of the Charter School of Wilmington
  • Alyssa Gorbaneva from McLean, Virginia, a graduate of Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology
  • Husna Khan from Cincinnati, Ohio, a graduate of Walnut Hills High School
  • Senou Kounouho from Phoenix, Arizona, a graduate of BASIS Peoria
  • Comfort Markwei from Smyrna, Tennessee, a graduate of Central Magnet School
  • Michael Ramos from San Diego, California, a graduate of Southwest Senior High School
  • Emily Wang from Cary, North Carolina, a graduate of Cary Academy
  • Cecelia Wasco from Neenah, Wisconsin, a graduate of St. Francis Xavier High School

 

Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Scholarship

Adam Hollowell, faculty director

  • Alexander Benz from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a graduate of Myrtle Beach High School
  • Ananya Bhatia from Apex, North Carolina, a graduate of Apex High School
  • Selena Collins from McLeansville, North Carolina, a graduate of Western Guilford High School
  • Melanie Espinoza-Carmona from Liberty, South Carolina, a graduate of Liberty High School
  • Luke Fu from Lexington, South Carolina, a graduate of River Bluff High School
  • Kyle MacLellan from Monroe, North Carolina, a graduate of Central Academy of Technology and Arts
  • David Ntim from Waxhaw, North Carolina, a graduate of Charlotte Christian School
  • Elena Suarez from Wake Forest, North Carolina, a graduate of Heritage High School

 

Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Dean Valerie Ashby, Faculty Director

  • Gabriel Bostick from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a graduate of The Dunham School
  • Ava Byrd from Maplewood, New Jersey, a graduate of Columbia High School
  • Jalen Faison from Raleigh, North Carolina, a graduate of Needham B. Broughton High School
  • Jackson Garvey from Brooklyn, New York, a graduate of Brooklyn Friends School
  • Hannah Gedion from Manhattan Beach, California, a graduate of Mira Costa High School

 

Karsh International Scholarship

Karin Shapiro and Giovanni Zanalda, faculty directors

  • Darius Catrina from Bucharest, Romania, a graduate of Tudor Vianu National High School Computer Science
  • Umang Dhingra from Delhi, India, a graduate of Ryan International School Noida
  • Elsie Eghan from Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, a graduate of Holy Child School
  • João Pedro Haufes from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, a graduate of Instituto Federal de Mato Grosso do Sol
  • Michael Hayford from Ashanti, Ghana, a graduate of Opoku Ware Secondary School
  • Abhishek Karna from Manara-Sishwa, Nepal, a graduate of Everest English Boarding Secondary School
  • Melina Marjani from Alborz, Iran, a graduate of Maedeh Top Governmental High School
  • Raydon Mbehero from Kisii, Kenya, a graduate of Kapsabet High School
  • Ana Beatriz Sales Vieira Macedo from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, a graduate of Fundação Armando Alvarez Penteado
  • Wanghley Soares Martins from Brasilia, Brazil, a graduate of Federal Institute of Brasilia

 

Trinity Scholarships

Stephen Craig, faculty director and Carole LeVine, co-director

  • Samuel Carpenter from Greensboro, North Carolina, a graduate of Walter Hines Page High School
  • Carolyn Chen from Irmo, South Carolina, a graduate of Dutch Fork High School
  • Aasha Maria Paredes from Jacksonville, North Carolina, a graduate of Northside High School
  • Trisha Santanam from Greensboro, North Carolina, a graduate of The Early College at Guilford
  • Sophia Singer from High Point, North Carolina, a graduate of Westchester Country Day School

 

University Scholarship

Victoria Lodewick, director

  • Selom Bediako from Knoxville, Tennessee, a graduate of Farragut High School
  • Xuanxuan (Karen) Dong from Frisco, Texas, a graduate of Centennial High School
  • Alain Fornes from Miami, Florida, a graduate of Archimedean Upper Conservatory
  • Sarah Gorbatov from Tenafly, New Jersey, a graduate of The Idea School
  • Divyansh Jain from New Delhi, India, a graduate of the Leysin American School in Switzerland
  • Nathan Maldonado from Fresno, California, a graduate of Clovis North High School
  • Casey Powell from Cary, North Carolina, a graduate of Cary Academy