Brown Scholar Testimonials
Lindsay De La Zerda
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Carson Benner
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The Craig & Galen Brown Foundation (Brown Foundation) awards undergraduate scholarships to high achieving, well-rounded students who achieve National Merit Semi-Finalist or Finalist status, have demonstrated leadership and community service, and attend Texas A&M University (A&M). Students are known as Brown Scholars and are recognized on the A&M campus as exceptional students and leaders. 95% of Brown Scholars major in engineering and the remainder major in other STEM disciplines.
The Brown Foundation awards Engineering Medicine (EnMed) scholarships to a subset of students who are offered Brown Foundation undergraduate scholarships. Each year, the Brown Foundation proffers its high school candidates for admission using the E2EnMed EAP pathway and can achieve 15+ Brown Scholars who attend Texas A&M, major in engineering disciplines, meet Brown Foundation and EnMed requirements and matriculate to the prestigious EnMed Program.
Chemical Engineering
From my interview for the Brown Foundation to present day, I can confidently say that the Brown Foundation has changed my life. Sue Smith and Craig Brown have given me not only financial support through college, but also a multitude of opportunities and an even greater network of individuals. I am so thankful to the Brown Foundation for everything they have given me!
Neuroscience
The Brown Foundation has been one of the greatest blessings during my time at Texas A&M. Not only have I been afforded academic and professional opportunities that I never could have anticipated, but the Brown Foundation has made a large university feel like a family.
Aerospace Engineering
The Brown Foundation has helped immensely in securing my financial situation so that all of my focus can be on academics and extracurriculars. With their support, I have been able to participate in the fast-track Quantitative Finance Master’s program while receiving my engineering degree and remaining involved with campus leadership. I have met countless motivated and amazing students through the scholarship program and made professional connections which I am sure will last a lifetime!
Biomedical Science
Receiving a Brown Foundation Scholarship has changed my life and the commitment that Mr. Brown and Ms. Smith have shown me has a huge factor in my decision to attend A&M. They attended my concerts as a Singing Cadet, they hosted a lunch for Brown Scholar HM SURI summer interns, and they have given me freedom to pursue my academic interests. I have also benefitted from Brown Scholars who have helped and supported me and were instrumental to my academic success.
Biomedical Engineering
The generosity of the Craig & Galen Brown Foundation has brought me into an extraordinary community of hardworking, passionate, and service-oriented people. The integrity of my Brown Scholar peers continually inspires me to be the best version of myself.
Business
I have so much gratitude for the Brown Foundation and the amazing opportunities I have been provided. Fellow Brown Scholars as well as each individual I have interacted with at the Brown Foundation have been incredibly kind and supportive. Being surrounded by individuals who embody the Texas A&M core values has pushed me in personal, academic, and professional growth.
Biomedical Engineering
The warm support of Mr. Craig Brown and Ms. Sue Smith has emboldened me to reach and work towards goals I never thought possible, such as being a physicianeer. I am grateful for the life-changing opportunities and character-building relationships I have made thanks to the Brown Foundation.
President and CEO, Texas A&M Foundation
Ashwin Parameswaren and his team competed in the Elektrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and American Solar Challenge (ASC) competitions this summer with their car, Duodecim. FSGP was a qualifier for ASC where the competition was narrowed from 42 entrants to 12 qualifiers. The ASC race was 1500 miles from Nashville, TN to Casper, WY.
Melody Yeh won 1st place (60+ student competitors) at the 10-week A&M Research Experience for Undergraduate Program Poster Presentation.
Her research focused on optimizing the speed and efficiency of a novel, affordable and tunable computational microscope for luminescence lifetime imaging, an important biomarker for understanding the molecular microenvironment in cells and tissues.
Luminescence imaging often requires high- cost microscopes. The microscope under development is small, low-cost and scalable, and is suited for clinical settings for real-time biomedical sensing and imaging applications.
Anish Easwaran, a senior Biomedical Engineering major, is a member of Engineering, Inc., the NSF I-CorpsSite program, Engineering Honors Executive Committee, Vice-President and Co-Founder of Aggies to Medicine, and TAMECT and a member of the Aggie Entrepreneurial Committee (his entrepreneurial efforts include StimuCalm, Aegis Armor, PillSafe and an app for pre-med students).
Anish Easwaran and his team won 1st place at
Aggie Pitch. His team created a specialized wearable band that detects real-time muscle contractions and stiffness in physical therapy patients. The band incorporates sensors that detect fluctuations in muscle tension to allow for precise analysis and mapping of motions during exercise.
He is the Co-President of the Brown Foundation Freshmen Leadership Organization, was one of the three group leaders of the inaugural MSC Brown Smith UK Honors Leadership trip, and is a past recipient of the Pi Kappa Phi Dean’s Excellence Award. Anish was selected as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative Fellowship, he is a Meloy Fellow at A&M, and a Co-Founder of Aegis Armor, an affordable snakebite protection intended for developing nations.
He is a Gathright Dean’s Excellence Award winner for the College of Engineering and has a cumulative 3.9 GPA.
Anish was admitted to EnMed using the E2EnMed EAP pathway.
Sarah Voon, a senior Biomedical Engineering major, received her Aggie ring and completed her undergraduate thesis as a sophomore.
She is the Co-President of the Brown Foundation Freshmen Leadership Organization and was one of the three group leaders of the inaugural MSC Brown-Smith UK Honors Leadership trip.
Sarah was inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society, and is a member of TAMECT (BLS Certified). She is a research assistant in Dr. Feng Zhao Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Lab.
Sarah received the Outstanding Senior Undergraduate Award for the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Track from the Biomedical Engineering department.
She is the Dance Captain of the K-Pop Dance Association and taught ballet to kids during the summer of 2024.
She has a cumulative 4.0 GPA and took the MCAT a year early and scored 98%.
Sarah was admitted to EnMed using the E2EnMed EAP pathway.
Brown Scholar Theresa Tran won 1st place at the Houston Methodist MAPTA Summer Symposium Poster Presentation at the conclusion of the 10-week Houston Methodist Summer Undergraduate Research Internship competing against 75 interns.
Theresa’s research in the Horner Lab investigated the use of ventral spinal stimulation (VSS) in rats to improve motor function after spinal cord injury. Her research showed that the immediate gene Nr4a1 was expressed 5x more in the neuronal stimulated group vs. the control group which potentially means increased neuron plasticity and improvement in neuronal spinal cord pathways with increased susceptibility to regrowth after receiving VSS.
This promising and efficient therapy is intended for use in clinical care settings to advance the quality of life and independence of individuals with paralysis.
Kendall Frazee and her undergraduate partner won Best Presentation in the NASA Technology Collaboration Center Wearables Challenge and received a $140,000 grant from NASA to create a pressure-sensing glove liner worn by astronauts inside of a spacewalk glove as a diagnostic for hand injuries.
Further work will refine the software and electronics and examine materials and assembly processes for future production.
Sophomore Brown Scholar Athul Mohanram secured a prestigious 2024 Software Engineering Internship at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control Division this summer. His team developed a missile launcher interface in collaboration with Lockheed’s Next-Gen Short Range Interceptor team.
Athul is the incoming President of Partners in Health Engage (PIH Engage), a public health organization that educates legislators and individuals about issues facing healthcare workers.
Athul is a research assistant in Dr. Feng Zhao’s Stem Cell and Engineering Lab at A&M. His research led to a novel stem cell therapy that promotes cell regrowth in severe wounds resulting in a $5K grant. He has received authorization to begin his undergraduate senior thesis.
He was admitted E2EnMed EAP
Brown Scholar Gowtham Kadiyala and his team won 1st place, Best Presentation and Best Prototype at Phantom Aggies Invent, a collaboration between TAMU and III Armored Corps. The team’s invention modified new-generation military vehicles carrying transport stretchers for injured soldiers during emergencies and heavy combat.
The team designed a versatile rack that slides onto an existing rail system at the back of a medical transport vehicle. The rack can be oriented in different ways providing secure attachment of up to three stretchers. This design improved upon the current method of medical transport with haphazard transport for only one stretcher.