Carnegie Mellon University
Office of the Vice Provost for Education  ›  Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development  ›  Our Staff  ›  Scholar Development Ambassadors

Scholar Development Ambassadors

OURSD’s Scholar Development Ambassadors (SDAs) serve as liaisons between Carnegie Mellon students and OURSD, and represent the office in a number of capacities across campus. SDAs have demonstrated interest and experience in research and/or fellowships applications, as well as a desire to assist their fellow students in securing research and scholarship opportunities. 

SDAs are alumni of the HURAY program who are funded to continue active participation in research and to serve the campus community in a variety of ways, including:

  • Serving on undergraduate research and fellowships panels in classes, student organization meetings, events, on-campus presentations, and Zoom webinars
  • Representing and recruiting for OURSD programming at tabling events
  • Contributing to the development of social media content and other promotional materials
  • Developing and carrying out supplemental outreach projects based on individual interests to increase visibility of research and scholarship opportunities through OURSD

Student organizations interested in hosting ambassador presentations on undergraduate research or scholarship opportunities should contact OURSD-general@andrew.cmu.edu for more information.



Meet Our 2025-2026 Ambassadors!

Ore Abolade  (He/Him/His)
Senior, Electrical & Computer Engineering

  • Research: I conduct research in Aaron Steinfeld's TBD Lab at the Robotics Institute, where we explore innovative methods for supporting accessible transportation and human-robot interactions. 
  • Interests: I've recently become a chef (unofficial), specifically cooking different combinations of foods to expand my palate. Besides cooking, I'm a regular gym-goer and health enthusiast: a healthy lifestyle is essential!

Friona Cheng  (She/her)
Junior, Biological Sciences and Psychology

  • Research: I do research under Dr. Tina Lee in the Biological Sciences department. We focus on the endoplasmic reticulum, and proteins that structure the endoplasmic reticulum. 
  • Other interests: I enjoy playing the piano, playing games, and watching variety shows in my free time.

Jenna Godsey  (She/Her)
Junior, Computer Science Major

  • Research Area: I do research under Dr. Maarten Sap and Akhila Yerukola in the Language Technologies Institute area of Computer Science. My research focuses on how large language models handle ambiguous inputs and how additional context influences their interpretation of that ambiguity.
  • Other interests: When I have the time, I enjoy playing videogames and creating digital illustrations and occasionally animations. I also love dogs, especially dachshunds, one of which I have as a pet!

Smrithi Krishnaswamy
Senior, Statistics and Machine Learning Major

  • Research area: I do research under Professor Erik Thiessen in the Psychology Department as part of the Infant Language Learning Lab. My project works with using an fNIRS machine to measure brain activity while children learn by consuming different forms of media.
  • Other interests: I love being outside especially in fall weather, I enjoy reading, and love art!