Eight Seniors Named Andrew Carnegie Society Scholars

Eight seniors from Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences have been named Andrew Carnegie Society (ACS) Scholars. ACS Scholars are Carnegie Mellon University undergraduate students who combine high academic standards with extracurricular activities, such as volunteering, playing sports, taking on leadership roles and participating in student organizations and the arts. They are selected each year by their deans and department heads to represent their class in service and leadership.

The Dietrich College’s ACS Scholars include:

Sydney Barlow

Primary Majors: Biological sciences and psychology

Barlow is a member of the Doctors of Carnegie Society and serves as vice president of its Student Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She also is a member of member of Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and Spirit Dance. Barlow is pursuing a Senior Honors Thesis focused on ethnic identity and coping with racism daily.

Justin Britton

Primary Major: Information systems
Minor: Human-computer interaction

Britton is a member of CMU’s varsity swim team and has served in several leadership positions with the faith-based organization Cru. Britton has worked as an Information Systems teaching assistant and completed internships with Appian, CMU’s Software Engineering Institute, and Capitol One.

Elizabeth Guo

Primary Major: Economics
Additional Major: Human-computer interaction

Guo is involved in a number of student organizations, including Asian Christian Fellowship, Dancers' Symposium, Inter-Fellowship Association, Mortar Board, Student Government and the Undergraduate Consulting Club. Last summer, Guo completed a product management internship at Microsoft.

Caitlin Huang

Primary Major: Information systems
Additional Major: Statistics and machine learning

Huang is a student researcher in David Creswell’s Health and Human Performance Lab. She previously worked on a self-guided tutoring system with CMU’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute. In a capstone Information Systems course, her team developed a learning platform integration solution for Red Cloud Indian School in South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. Huang also completed two internships with UnitedHealth Group/Optum. In her first summer, she worked on building and training models that can predict influenza and COVID-19 rates at the state and national level. In her second summer, she worked on algorithms that protect patients’ sensitive healthcare data. Huang is completing a fall internship at II-VI Inc, which produces engineered materials and optoelectronic components. She also was a member of the varsity cross country and track teams.

Austin Leung

Primary Major: Information systems
Minors: Computer science and software engineering

Leung is as an Information Systems Student Ambassador who has used his skills to assist nonprofits like the Foster Love Project and Greater Valley Community Services. He has served as a teaching assistant for a computer science course for three years and has worked as a machine learning research assistant for the Language Technologies Institute. Leung has served as public relations chair and secretary for the Hong Kong Student Association and completed internships at DoorDash and PluralInsight.

Zachary Novack

Primary Major: Statistics and machine learning
Minors: Sonic arts and mathematics

Novack is involved in two research labs on campus: the Laboratory for Sound Minds, led by the Department of Social and Decision Sciences’ Simon DeDeo, and the Approximately Correct Machine Intelligence Lab, led by the Machine Learning Department’s Zach Lipton. Novack also serves as the professional events coordinator for the CMU chapter of the American Statistical Association.

Arjun Ramachandran

Primary Major: International relations and politics
Minors: Music technology, cybersecurity and international conflict 

Ramachandran is president of Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) at CMU and has been a professional Indian classical musician since age 12. In addition, he has been a writer and editor for The Triple Helix, CMU’s undergraduate journal of science, society and law; a constitutional advisor for Student Government; an Orientation Leader and a sprinter and runner. Ramachandran is working to develop a nongovernmental organization to help families in rural India suffering from COVID-19 pandemic. He has held two internships: one as a speechwriting and press intern for the Office of Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Capitol Hill and another with “Plugged In” with Greta Van Susteren on Voice of America. 

Roni Sosis

Primary Major: Global studies
Minors: Arabic studies, creative writing

Over the past year, Sosis taught English to Syrian refugees while living in Gaziantep, Turkey. He is now assisting refugees in the Pittsburgh region as a volunteer with Jewish Family and Community Services’ Refugee and Immigrant Services. On campus, Sosis held previous leadership roles in the interfaith community and Jewish life. He also is a communication support consultant at the Academic Success Center.