HC Graduates

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Kaya Hoffman! Kaya earned an H.B.S in biology with a minor in biological data sciences and completed their thesis, “Functional Implications of Genome Reduction in Fungal Endosymbionts: A Machine Learning-based Examination of Reductive Convergent Evolution,” under the mentorship of Dr. Jessie Uehling, an assistant professor of botany and plant pathology in the College of Agricultural Sciences. After graduation, Kaya will be traveling Europe before starting a M.S. in Bioinformatics at San Diego State University.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Brenna Popham! Brenna earned an H.B.S in mechanical and manufacturing engineering and completed her thesis, “Impact of Pulley Diameter on Tendon Durability and Short-term Effective Stiffness Under Cyclic Loading in a Rabbit Model,” under the mentorship of Dr. Ravi Balasubramanian, an associate professor of robotics and mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering. After graduation, Brenna is aiming to publish the research from her honors thesis and is currently seeking job opportunities in biomedical/manufacturing engineering in Oregon.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Aven Sadighi! Aven earned an H.B.S in computer science with a minor in mathematics and completed his thesis, “The Christian View of History and the Meaning of Progress,” under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Ferngren, an emeritus professor of the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion in the College of Liberal Arts. Following graduation, Aven will be pursuing a JD at the Santa Clara University School of Law.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Adam Gross! Adam earned an H.B.S in management and business administration with a minor in political science and completed his thesis, “Why business? Exploring the drivers and differences within undergraduate business major selection,” under the mentorship of Dr. Laura Rees, an associate professor of organizational behavior in the College of Business. After graduation, Adam will be working as a Project Manager at Epic.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Emma Ciechanowski! Emma earned an H.B.S in kinesiology and an H.B.A in Spanish and completed her thesis, “Oral narratives: an exploration of the effect of immigration on the cultural identity and language of a family,” under the mentorship of Dr. Natalia Fernàndez, an associate professor and curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives. After graduation, Emma will be taking a gap year before applying to physical therapy doctorate programs.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Dylan Porter! Dylan earned an H.B.S in biology with a minor in chemistry and completed her thesis, “Effects of Sample Size, Age, and Genetic Background on Metabolome Characterization in Drosophila melanogaster,” under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Phillips, an assistant professor of integrative biology in the College of Science. Following graduation, Dylan will be working in biology research for a few years before getting a PhD in Biology.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Cody DePeel! Cody earned an H.B.S in computer science and completed his thesis, “Developing a Decision-Making Framework for Wildfire Smoke Exposure in Vineyards,” under the mentorship of Dr. James Sterns, an associate professor of applied economics in the College of Agricultural Sciences. After graduation, Cody will be finishing out his Honors Thesis, and completing his second MECOP internship at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Eugene. After that, he is hoping to find a tech job on the east coast.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Will Gilmour! Will earned an H.B.S in biology with minors in chemistry and history and completed his thesis, “Seasonal Variation in Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Sensitivity in Relation to Risky Foraging Behavior in Songbirds,” under the mentorship of Dr. Jamie Cornelius, an associate professor of integrative biology in the College of Science. Following graduation, Will plans on pursuing a PhD at Auburn University.

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Stayce Mockel! Stayce earned an H.B.S in mechanical engineering and completed her thesis, “Investigations of the visual appearance of robots,” under the mentorship of Dr. Naomi Fitter, an associate professor of mechanical, industrial, and in the College of Engineering. After graduation, Stayce will be entering the med tech industry as an Electrophysiology Mapping Specialist with Boston Scientific!

Congrats to 2025 HC graduate Shahinaz El Sayed! Shahinaz earned an H.B.S in animal science with a minor in human development and family sciences and completed her thesis, “Feline Attachment Styles to Parents vs. Children in the Home,” under the mentorship of Dr. Monique Udell, a professor of animal and rangeland sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Following graduation, Shahinaz will be taking time to explore more of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest before going on to grad school.