Announcing Drexel's Nominees for the 2025 Udall Scholarship

March 6, 2025

Congratulations to Maven Mercado and Dejenae Smith, who were selected as Drexel's nominees for the 2025 Udall Scholarship! The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to outstanding sophomore and junior level college students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care. Maven and Dejenae were both nominated by Drexel University in the environmental category of the national Udall competition. They have spent the past few months working hard on their applications, and we wish them the best of luck!

Maven MercadoMaven Mercado
environmental science '26
Environmental category

Maven Mercado (they/he) is a 2026 candidate for the BS in environmental science with a concentration in applied environmental science. They are also double minoring in geoscience and biological sciences. Maven is a student in the Liberty Scholars Program, which awards underrepresented students with a full-tuition scholarship for twelve academic quarters. During the summer after their freshman year, they interned with Heights Philadelphia as a teaching/administrative assistant. For their first co-op, they were awarded funding in the amount of $6,000 from the Steinbright Partners Program to complete an unpaid co-op at the Philadelphia Zoo. Since January 2023, they have been working as a research assistant in the Invertebrate Paleontology department of the Academy of Natural Sciences. For their second co-op, they were awarded funding in the amount of $4,000 from the Research Fellowship Supplement Program to continue this research full-time. Through DAAD Research Internships in Science and Engineering (DAAD RISE), Maven did research at Universität Hamburg, analyzing ostracod assemblages across the Permian-Triassic boundary to reconstruct paleoecological conditions.

Maven is a queer, Hispanic, first-generation North Philly native who takes pride in all of these identities. When they're not focuses on school, work, or research, they love reading, watching horror movies, and walking around the city. 

Maven has been involved in the Pennoni Honors College through the SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellows Program.

Dejenae SmithDejenae Smith
biological sciences '27
Environmental category

Dejenae Smith is a third-year student at Drexel University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology and concentrating in ecology, evolution, and genomics. Alongside her major, she is also pursuing a minor in data science. She aspires to become a climate scientist, specializing in the intersections of environmental science, climate, and data analysis. She is currently working with Dr. Megan Phifer-Rixey studying urbanization’s morphological impacts on pollinators and herbaceous flowering plants.

Dejenae is also a first-generation Jamaican-American from Philadelphia, and alongside studying the environment, she is dedicated to including more diverse voices in STEM. As for her involvement, Dejenae is a 2023 STAR Scholar and Honors Student, and is thoroughly involved in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, Beta Beta Beta Biological Honors Society, and Women's Club Rugby.

In her personal time, Dejenae enjoys drawing, reading, and is an avid and experienced Scrabble player, enjoying the game both casually and competitively. She would like to make a special thanks to her mother, whose guidance has not only taught her invaluable life lessons but also instilled in her a commitment to excellence, perseverance, and resilience.

Special thanks to the members of Drexel’s 2025 Udall Campus Committee, who worked with Undergraduate Research and Enrichment Programs to review, interview, and advise the nominees on their applications:

Neville Vakharia, PhD, Dean of the Pennoni Honors College
David Brown, PhD, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Jill Moses, MFA, Associate Teaching Professor of English, CoAS

Thank you as well to our partners who assisted with campus interviews:

Jen Britton, MS, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Strategy, Drexel Climate and Sustainability
Antonio Martinez-Molina, PhD, Associate Professor of Architecture, Westphal

The Udall Scholarship awards approximately 50 scholarships of up to $7,000 to sophomore and junior level college students committed to careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native American health care. The Udall Foundation seeks future leaders across a wide spectrum of environmental fields, including policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal, business, health, justice, and economics.

For more information, please visit the Udall Foundation website or email fellowships@drexel.edu.