Plus, dozens of other Anteaters recognized for 2024-25 achievements
Tanner Phillips, who just received his bachelor’s degree in psychological science, and fellow UC Irvine graduate Danielle Shariff, who was magna cum laude in criminology, law & society and summa cum laude in education sciences, are recipients of the Dean’s Scholar Award, the School of Social Ecology’s top student honor.
The awards were announced during the school’s Social Ecology Honors and Awards 2025 event June 11 in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, where dozens of other Anteaters were also celebrated for achievements during the 2024-25 school year.
Reserved for the highest achieving students in Social Ecology, the Dean’s Scholar Award is presented annually to two students for academic achievements, research and teaching experience, on- and off-campus involvement, and community engagement. The honor includes a $500 cash prize to each Anteater.
Phillips, who also received Social Ecology Honors Program and Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research awards, was nominated by psychological science Associate Professor of Teaching Amy Dent, who contributed this rationale for the selection.
“Tanner has taken two of my undergraduate courses and stood out as consistently submitting among the most advanced and scholarly written assignments, namely weekly reflections on the readings (all journal articles) that were more akin to what I would expect – and hope – to see from a second- or third-year Ph.D. student,” wrote Dent, who added that Phillips earned the highest grade on three out of four exams. (“He missed only one question across them.”)
The associate professor concluded that, “Tanner has been a joy to teach and mentor with a bright future as a scholar. He even got two interview invitations for top Ph.D. programs in his area of interest, which is difficult to do as an undergrad!”
As associate dean of the Campuswide Honors Collegium, Brandon Golob knew Shariff as “an active member” and, as a professor of teaching criminology, law & society, he found her “an unparalleled addition” to his Constitutional Law, Deviance, and Media Effects on Law & Justice courses.
“She can digest a wide array of interdisciplinary material and is a topnotch communicator (both written and oral),” Golob added in his nomination statement. “She produced and revised 30+ pages of written work for my courses alone. She also tackled other multimedia projects (e.g., recording a podcast) with a similar level of rigor. However, her classroom presence cannot be quantified by grades alone. In my active learning classrooms, students spend each session engaged in structured group debates. Danielle arose as a natural leader, guiding the conversation while ensuring that everyone had an opportunity for meaningful participation.”
Shariff, who completed internships with the Fontana Police Department and Orange County District Attorney’s Office, also received the Outstanding Contribution to the Community Award. She begins her pursuit for a Ph.D. in political science at Northeastern University in Boston this Fall.
Finalists for the Dean’s Scholar Award were Leila Bahnsen, who majored in psychological science, and Samantha Phung, who majored in that discipline as well as education sciences. Both received the Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research award, while Bahnsen was also honored for Excellence in Field Study.
Lily Grace Von Blanck was awarded The Law Offices of Adrienne D. Cohen Excellence in Field Study award. The psychological science student had been nominated by Doug Houston, professor of urban planning & public policy. Von Blanck, who was also nominated for awards by criminology, law & society Professor Sora Han, was recognized for Advanced Field Study and the Social Ecology Honors Program.
Stephany Songvilay, who earned a B.A. in criminology, law & society with a minor in political science, received the Dean's Award for Exceptional Achievement in Field Study, following a nomination by Chancellor’s Professor Mona Lynch. Songvilay also won an award for Excellence in Field Study.
Anteaters who won the Social Ecology Excellence in Research Distinction award were each nominated by Han and recognized for the Social Ecology Honors Program. They are Nikki Nasseri, Jacob Wu, Bella Yu and Melanie Zepeda. Wu also received nominations from Golob and received Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research and Outstanding Contribution to the School of Social Ecology.
Outstanding Contribution to the Community was given to students who engage in any research project or activity that benefits the community at large. These students were acknowledged for their dedicated service to the community:
- Skylar Barden
- Ana Camino
- Morgan Sage Carter
- Dariela Espinoza
- Nicole Liang
- Raelyne Rose Mendoza
- Alia Munn
- Thomas Ramirez
- Nancy Ximena Reynoso
- Danielle Shariff
- Sam Sharp
The Social Ecology Honors Program is awarded to students who complete a year-long honors program, which includes an in-depth research project. Awardees were:
- Leslie Arce-Pozos
- Nelson Boyack
- Lizzie Braver
- Matthew Castro
- Alice Chen
- Angela Do
- Chloe Ellis
- Yawen Guan
- Sophia Hobby
- Avery Huffer
- Juan Jimenez
- Gaganpreet Kaur
- Olivia Mondragon
- Nikki Nasseri
- Mia Noergaard
- Yessica Ornelas
- Tanner Phillips
- Jackson Scharnell
- Lily Grace Von Blanck
- Jacob Wu
- Dana Yan
- Bella Yu
- Melanie Zepeda
Advanced Field Study is an in-depth, three-quarter long Field Study experience primarily focused on addressing issues in the community through civic engagement. Graduating were:
- Zachary Kai Anderson
- Charlotte Cheng
- Gracie Doane
- Meredith Vivian Espinoza
- Yuetying Fung
- Clover Hastings
- Mishal Saniya Imran
- Brennan Alyna Kraus
- Aki Luo
- Kate Morgan Mcalpin
- Malini Patel
- Harkamal Kaur Randhawa
- Krystal Rose Reynoso
- Kahle Schreiner Downs
- Anya Shram
- Anese St. John
- Dyna Lysha Tillett
- Janika Tosaporn White
- Vanessa Vasquez
- Lily Grace Von Blanck
- Jena Faith Yun
- Angela Zijun Liao
- Annalise Arroyo
Excellence in Field Study recognizes students who have gone above and beyond in their field study placements or who have completed an exceptional academic project as part of their field study. Awarded were:
- Leila Bahnsen
- Jasmin Borquez
- Jack Caberto
- Damaris Cervantes
- Naidy Cuadras
- Anastasia Filatova
- Hailey Paige Gumayagay
- Agniezka Gutierrez Garcia
- Kassandra Guttierez
- Riley Herbert
- Irene Huizar
- Isabel Hunt
- Sara Kadkhodai
- Felicia Klijian
- Alicia Lee
- Caelan Lee
- Michael Mainville
- Janely Mendez Tobar
- Miasa Obata
- Taylor Pochron
- Saina Salamati
- Frank Salazar
- Ashly Salvador
- Stephany Songvilay
- Emily Tran
- Diana Vega
- Meghan Voight
- Christy Wong
- Ami Yamamoto
- Alexander Yordon
Exceptional Achievement in Undergraduate Research honors students that are extraordinary or meritorious in a way that goes beyond expectations in doing research. They excel in either assisting with research or leading their own research projects. Many awardees performed honors research, served as research assistants, presented posters on campus and/or at national conferences, and have received various fellowships. Recognized were:
- Leila Bahnsen
- Lizzie Braver
- Michelle Chan
- Alice Chen
- Sarah Coscolluela
- Zahara Cuevas-Kovanis
- Nathan Dickerson
- Angeleia Lorelai Do
- Valerie Esquivel
- Ryan Fenstermacher
- Angelica Gavia
- Avery Huffer
- Juan Carlos Jimenez
- Sophie Kovacevich
- Gabriela Bettina Lopez
- Aki Luo
- Teagan McCune
- Emma Mendez
- Harshita Monga
- Jasmine Nhi Vo
- Angie Nishimura
- Atira Nopenkam
- Tanner Philips
- Samantha Phung
- Namrata Poola
- Emily Ramirez
- Amarilis Rivas
- Cynthia Rojas
- Ashley Romero
- Teresa Verduzco
- Jacob Wu
- Coco Zhou
Outstanding Contribution to the School of Social Ecology awards meritorious work done by a student that either benefits the school directly or promotes the school on- or off-campus. The range of service by these Anteaters varies from being a peer advisor, an administrative intern, a learning assistant, a mentor or more. Recognized for their great service and leadership as well as commitment and contributions to our school were:
- Aaliyah Aguilar
- Jocelyn Alvarado
- Melissa Michelle Andrade
- Sandra Andres
- Kelsey Ball
- Xiomara Nicole Camacho
- Alexis Marie Carrillo
- Phoebe Caudill
- Damaris Cervantes
- Zachary Chang
- Kaleena Victoria Chinchilla
- Esmeralda Coeto-Medina
- Bailey Cortes
- Sophia Davis
- Dana El-Mouazzen
- Daniel Faraci
- Julio Cesar Gomez
- Matthew Guzman
- Avery Huffer
- Felicia Klijian
- Gabriela Bettina Lopez
- John Anthony Lopez
- Judith Mora
- Katherine Naveda
- Quynh Mai Nguyen
- Truc Nhu Nguyen
- Kayla Nguyen
- Shane Prasad
- Colleen Quigley
- Jannice Rigor
- Angela Sandoval Mejia
- Ellie Solano
- Nadia Suarez
- Audrey Tang
- Vanessa Torres
- Vi Xuan Trinh
- Jacob Wu
- Josephine Yang
- Desta Zegeye
– Matt Coker
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