Senior Yasmene Elhady Wins Carnegie Mellon Women's Association Scholarship

Physics major Yasmene Elhady received an early graduation gift from the Carnegie Mellon Women's Association (CMWA). She was one of the seven outstanding women from each of the university's colleges honored by the CMWA at their Spring Awards Reception. The students received a $1,000 scholarship for their commitment to the advancement of women in their academic disciplines.

“Yasmene possesses infectious positivity and the ability to bring people together across the campus to make productive change. She has had tremendous impacts on all of the students and faculty in Mellon College of Science,” said Maggie Braun, associate dean for undergraduate affairs.

In the fall of 2016, Elhady worked with two other students to create a student organization for spirituality called INSPIRE (Interfaith Spirituality Embassy). The club meets weekly and holds discussions on deep questions in spirituality, belief systems, morality, ethics and “what to do” scenarios. Students and faculty participate in these discussions with a goal of understanding and a vision to work together to create a better community. Under the Student Affairs spirituality initiative, Elhady and the INSPIRE club were instrumental in organizing interfaith public meetings with large student attendance.

Yasmene possesses infectious positivity and the ability to bring people together across the campus to make productive change.

In addition to her work in INSPIRE, Elhady was a leader in reinventing the MCS Women in Science organization — taking the programming from a faculty-organized initiative to a student-organized one. She and three other students created a constitution and budget proposal for the club and have coordinated bi-weekly meetings since the fall of 2016.

Elhady also serves as a role model to third-year students as a teaching assistant for the new PROPEL seminar course. Her experiences in and out of the classroom make her a natural leader in the course.

“Yasmene is very conscientious and thorough. She thinks deeply about the course and the students enrolled in it,” said her advisor Kunal Ghosh, assistant head for undergraduate affairs. “She raises deep issues she has discovered reading (student) homework assignments and also through their discussions (in class). This is quite rare for a teaching assistant.”

Elhady strives to bring her peers to a deeper understanding of themselves and their connections with the world. Given her success in her undergraduate journey she is planning to pursue a career in public policy and service. 

The CMWA has been awarding scholarships to graduating students every year since 1964. The scholarships are funded by CMWA membership dues. CMWA membership is open to all women associated with the university.

Board members are President Christa Cardone, Co-Vice President of Programs Jessica Budik, Co-Vice President of Programs and Marketing Jessica Corry, Treasurer Katie Cattrell and Past President Alexa Hansen.

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Excerpted from the CMWA website