MIT's Student Financial Services has awarded 15 scholarships to remarkable MIT students since the Undergraduate Scholarship Fund’s inception in 2006. The scholarship recipient is notified that a portion of his/her financial aid package derives from the MIT Retirees Undergraduate Scholarship Fund. The recipient is also encouraged to visit this site to learn about those honored. Enjoy meeting these accomplished students who received awards!

Nanako R. '25 was named the 2022 MIT Retirees scholarship recipient. Nanako hails from our very own Cambridge, Massachusetts.  During her high school career, she served as president of the Girls Advancing in STEM club, which supports female students and connects them with mentors in STEM fields. Inspired to uplift others, she founded the Art for Social Change Club and was recently a member of the leadership team and a tutor at Boston-COVID tutoring. In the sporting world, Nanako participated in robotics, and her high school rowing team competed in the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Regatta! She has continued rowing crew at MIT and hopes to find opportunities to continue empowering women in STEM.

Nanako currently plans to study Biology at MIT (possibly with a path to an MD) and is interested in the intersection of Biology and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. She would like to pursue astrobiology to study extraterrestrial life and advance human space travel, and she can’t wait to take classes in subjects that were not an option in high school.

At first, Nanako could not believe she had been accepted into MIT! After it sunk in, she went to the campus at night and walked around to soak it all up. She chose to come to MIT because the students here are so unique, kind, and driven. Nanako spent the summer before her first year on campus backpacking across Europe and studying hard for MIT’s Advanced Standing Exams. She is very grateful for the scholarship support.

Shulamit '22 was named the 2018, 2019, and 2020 MIT Retirees scholarship recipient. Attending MIT has been Shulamit's childhood dream, and she noted two major factors in her decision to come to MIT. First, MIT's generous financial aid made her acceptance possible. "I was able to come to MIT without worrying about my parents or my family's financial security." Also, the people she met during CPW helped to seal her decision. The students were "intellectually curious, passionate about learning, and kind and empathetic."

Shulamit is from Toronto, Canada, where she served as co-president of her school's Classics Society as well as co-president of Reach for the Top, a trivia team that placed first in Canada in 2019. She also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity Toronto and trained groups of volunteers to build homes. Shulamit is considering Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering as majors and a possible minor in Classics. She also looks forward to exploring MIT's wide breadth of classes. Linguistics, Math, Chemistry, Literature, Architecture, and Urban Planning are on her short list.

One activity is for certain; she plans to join the MIT Quiz Bowl team! Shulamit expressed gratitude for MIT's financial aid and making her dream come true. "I can't express how thankful I am for your donation. … Thank you for making this experience possible for me."

Kye Burchard '21 was named the 2017 scholarship recipient. Kye is a trumpet player, debate champion, student government leader, and Popular Science enthusiast.

Hailing from Great Falls, Montana, Kye dreamed about attending MIT since childhood. "MIT has been my dream school ever since I was a little kid. … Reading about MIT in magazines and the research and projects going on here got me interested, and the more I researched MIT, the more it seemed the perfect school for me."

With a passionate interest in AI, Kye is studying Computer Science and is also discovering other academic areas. In his first few months at MIT, Kye feels at home and appreciates being part of a diverse community that values STEM and rigorous learning.

Benjamin T. Collins '17, a five-time scholarship recipient (2012-16), is the son of Timothy Collins '89 (Course 15, Management Science) and grandson of Joe Collins. Joe retired from the MIT Alumni Association and serves as co-chair of the Association of MIT Retirees. As his graduation approached, Ben shared these reflections about his MIT career. "My MIT experience has forced me to grow in ways I never thought possible and I am confident that even after I graduate, my ties to MIT will continue to mold me for the rest of my life. The rigors of MIT have certainly instilled in me a new self-confidence that I am capable of conquering any challenge. Although I will dearly miss MIT, I am excited to use what I have learned to make the world a better place."

Charlotte A. Clark '14 from Pittsburgh, PA was named the 2010 and 2011 scholarship recipient. Charlotte is the granddaughter of William H. Ramsey '51 (Course 6, Electrical Engineering) who was the director of special engineering programs including Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) and the Engineering Internship Program. Charlotte is interested in becoming a robotics engineer, specifically with programming and software. Describing why she selected MIT, Charlotte said, "I wanted to challenge myself further by going to a school that is known for being extremely hard in its course load." Charlotte graduated in 2014 with a major in Course 6-3, Computer Science and Engineering. She now works as a software engineer!

Elizabeth H. Bellocchio '10 from Haverhill, MA was named the 2009 MIT Retirees recipient. Elizabeth is the great-granddaughter of Karl Taylor Compton, MIT president 1930-49. Elizabeth studied abroad in the spring of '09 through the International Honors Program, which took her to Brazil, South Africa, and Vietnam to study city growth and urban issues. She worked on a UROP for Professor Annette Kim which entailed traveling to Vietnam to study street life and sidewalk use in Ho Chi Minh City. She plans to pursue a career in urban planning.

Mary A. Hatch '09, from McMurray, PA, was awarded the fund’s scholarship in 2008. After finishing her undergraduate education, she planned to enroll in medical school and specialize in both psychology and linguistics. Mary's grandfather, Charles E. Muehe, Jr. '52, was an employee at Lincoln Lab for 34 years.

Laura Harris '08 from Clifton Park, NY was the fund’s first scholarship recipient in 2008. She is the granddaughter of retired Lincoln Laboratory employee Paul J. Harris. Laura was a Course VI (Computer Science) major who worked on a UROP developing vision capabilities for a robotic arm.