Alumni News

Our College of Arts and Sciences (CoAS) alumni —more than 12,000 strong across 13 different disciplines— make a difference every day by applying their knowledge and working to improve the common good. We would love to hear from you and keep you up-to-date on all of the great things happening at the College!

Meet Our Alumni

Akilah Chatman smiles outside in front of wetlands

Environmental Science Alum to Effect Change with Fulbright Fellowship

When people think of their childhood, they often remember their time spent outside. For Akilah Chatman, BS environmental science ’22, every day was a new adventure: climbing waterfalls, jumping from cliffs, exploring rainforests, befriending frogs and lizards, inspecting flora, gardening with their mother and so much more. Their grandparents’ beachfront restaurant offered ample time for Chatman to learn the ways of seaside life. Now, as a Drexel alum and Fulbright Fellow, Chatman is about to begin their next journey—to create and uplift a new green space in Cambodia.

Giant Swallowtail butterfly sticker created by Mary Donnelly, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Drexel in 2022.

Getting Creative in the Field

Mary Donnelly –who recently earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Drexel’s Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES) department — loves fieldwork. But instead of marshlands, forests, plains or deserts, Mary has been busy working right here in Philadelphia. Besides getting out into the field, her interests lie particularly in wildlife conservation. So, for her senior research project, Mary found a fun, collaborative way to do both while also sharing her findings with the community.

A copy of the book A Legacy to Share held up on Drexel's campus

Student Interns in Drexel Publishing Group Produce Book Honoring Black Alumni Experience

During Homecoming Weekend, the Drexel Black Alumni Council (DUBAC) launched a special collection of essays. Titled A Legacy to Share, the new book honors over 50 years of history since the first wave of Black students arrived on Drexel's campus in the late 1960s. Student interns in the Drexel Publishing Group were responsible for copy editing, proofreading and applying styles for formatting the book.

Eight students stand with the Maryanoffs and Chemistry Department Head Joe Foley

Students Receive Chemistry Research Experience Through Maryanoff Scholars Program

Thanks to the generous support of two Drexel alumni, Bruce and Cynthia Maryanoff, selected College of Arts and Sciences students are able to participate in a chemistry research program during the first summer after their freshman year. Recent Maryanoff Scholars share their research projects and their experience in the program.

Keisha April MS ’18, PhD ’20 Works to Change Policies, Practices in Criminal Justice

Keisha April, PhD, a recent graduate of Drexel’s Clinical Psychology PhD program, won the Art Nezu Dissertation Diversity Award for her dissertation “Let’s ‘talk’ about the police: The role of race and the intergenerational transmission of police legitimacy attitudes in the legal socialization of youth.” This prestigious award recognizes an individual whose doctoral dissertation makes an outstanding contribution to the field of professional psychology and diversity and/or multiculturalism.

Dane Ward and Professor José Andrés Martínez Machado collect native bees in Cienfuegos, Cuba

An Academic Reckoning: Meet Dane Ward BS ’09 PhD ’13

Assistant Teaching Professor of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science and Drexel alum Dane Ward, PhD, was recently named an Outstanding Mentor of the Year. Here he discusses the importance of mentorship, access and equity-based environmental science.

Alumni Spotlight: Jessica Sharp ‘02 Discusses Co-op Success, Communications Career

Jessica Sharp, a communication alum and principal of Maven Communications, credits her success to her co-op experiences at Drexel. Here she discusses those experiences as well as what she loves about working in the constantly changing field of strategic communications.

Biological Sciences Alum Mallika Kodavatiganti ’21 Combines Passions for Co-op Success

Biological sciences alum Mallika Kodavatiganti '21 shares how her extracurricular activities, creative experiences and coursework inspired the work she did during co-ops at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Temple University's Center for Obesity Research and Education. She was recently honored with a 2021 Cooperative Education Award.

A collage of portraits of the students in the MFA Class of 2021

Creativity Can’t Wait: CoAS Graduates First Class of Creative Writing MFA Students

Last month, the College of Arts and Sciences graduated its first class of Creative Writing MFA students. The low-residency program launched in the fall of 2019 and has quickly become known as a program with a strong community where the students’ support of one another and their creative reach is inspiring and uplifting. Meet the thirteen members of the Class of 2021.

Meet Undergraduate Student Commencement Speaker Tim Hanlon

Tim Hanlon is an honors biology major with a concentration in organismal biology and physiology, a minor in neuroscience, certificates in creative writing and in publishing, and is also the outgoing Student Body President. Hanlon recently took the time to reflect on his time at Drexel and share what’s in store for him after graduation.

Meet Graduate Student Commencement Speaker Angel Hogan

Angel Hogan is a member of Drexel’s first graduating Creative Writing MFA class. She is an activist, poet and filmmaker. Hogan recently took time from her very busy schedule to tell us a little about herself, the MFA program and her artistic pursuits.

Maxwell Franklin, Johannes Wagner, and Elizabeth Espinal

Two Students, Alum Named 2021 NSF Graduate Research Fellows

Two CoAS graduate students and one recent alumni have received 2021 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships to promote research efforts in physics and clinical psychology. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program aims to encourage innovation and creativity in STEM fields by investing in outstanding graduate students through a five-year fellowship program. The fellowship includes three years’ worth of financial support, with an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 awarded to the researcher and their institution.

The Future is Bright for CoAS Alum Shahmar Beasley ’19, JD ’22

In a short time, College of Arts and Sciences alumnus Shahmar Beasley ’19 has accomplished a lot. From being named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar to campaigning for various politicians and attending Drexel’s Kline School of Law, Beasley keeps a full calendar.