Six Penn seniors and three recent graduates were announced as 2024 Thouron Scholars, which awards recipients with full funding to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.
Every year, the Thouron Award covers tuition and fees for up to two years as part of a graduate exchange program between Penn and U.K. universities. The nine Penn award recipients were chosen for their academic excellence, ability to collaborate with other leading scholars in their fields, and their willingness to be “an active part in a changing world," according to the Thouron Award website.
The Penn winners this year will study a range of topics, including planetary health, philosophy, and public policy.
College senior and 2024 Thouron Scholar Maya Brawer-Cohen conducted research at the University of Southern California and was a clinical research intern at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Brawer-Cohen intends to use this award to acquire a master’s degree in global health management from a university in London.
2022 College graduate Sonali Deliwala studied political science, economics, and creative writing at Penn. She intends to use her award to pursue an M.S. in economic policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Lynn Larabi, a current College senior, is also studying political science and hopes to acquire a master’s degree in either policy evaluation and social intervention, or education policy and international development.
2023 College graduate Sheil Desai co-founded a campus chapter of C-4 — a group dedicated to advocating for environmental justice in local communities. Desai plans to continue pursuing his interests by utilizing the award to gain an M.S. in planetary health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
College senior Crystal Marshall is co-president of the Monolith Arts Collective, which showcases the works of various, local Black artists. She intends to pursue an M.A. in film programming and curating at the University of London, Birbeck.
A triple major in the College, senior Ellie McKeown has dedicated their studies and research to understanding autism within a societal context and hopes to align current autism research more with the community it seeks to help. McKeown is a Philadelphia Mayor’s Scholar and has received numerous awards and research grants including the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program.
College senior and biology major George Morcos conducts research in the Koumenis Lab as a university scholar and plans to acquire a master’s degree in pathology and continue his cancer research at the University of Cambridge.
Emma Søndergaard Jensen, also a College senior, is interested in the philosophy of disability and hopes to pursue a master’s degree in philosophy.
2023 College and Wharton graduate Joshua Yang was a participant in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business who conducted research on South Korea through his work as a Perry World House student fellow. Yang plans to use the Thouron Award to acquire a master’s degree in public policy and economic development.
These nine Penn affiliates will now join the more than 800 past recipients of this award. The exchange program also allows up to 10 final-year students or recent graduates from any U.K university to study for two years at Penn.
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