The Arnold School is proud of our 2025 graduates, who will go on to change the world locally and globally. Every year, faculty, staff, students, friends and family look forward to celebrating graduates at hooding and commencement ceremonies.
Each year, the Arnold School and our departments recognize outstanding graduate students with awards. Check back to see who won the 2025 Student Awards.
We have featured a few of our outstanding students who are graduating in 2025. Click on the stories below to learn more about their journeys.
After graduating with the Arnold School's 2024 Doctoral Achievement Award, Rajat das Gupta will begin a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to continue his training and research in molecular and genetic epidemiology in cancer.
Outstanding Exercise Science Student Award winner Hailey Karns found her home away from home in the Honors College and completes her tenure at USC this month with Graduation with Leadership Distinction and a 4.0 GPA.
Fahmida Akter graduates in May with a Ph.D. in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior and her priorities clear: a lifelong connection to USC and an unwavering commitment to improving health, particularly for women and children, in low-resource settings.
Zohra Alikhail may have been born and raised in SC, but her Afghan roots have shaped her past, present and future. The daughter of immigrants, she knew she was passionate about advocating for marginalized groups, but she wasn't sure which area to study.
After graduating in August, Jennifer Mungo Graduate Student of the Year Award winner Celine Benedico plans to work with pediatric populations, including bilingual children, who have language and communication disorders.
Through his educational and clinical experiences Taisei Chiba has adopted a holistic approach to patient care - which he will begin applying after graduating in May when he will rejoin the Miami Dolphins as an athletic trainer.
Scout player for Gamecocks Women's Basketball Benjamin White is wrapping up his exercise science degree with a sports performance internship, and it's the perfect segue into the next phase of his USC journey: enrolling in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
Public health major Muskaan Makkar has been awarded the SCPHA Public Health Scholarship. The Honors College student and Stamps Scholar is also a Fulbright France semi-finalist.
Tony Brown's doctoral studies helped refine his evaluation/data analytics and infectious disease expertise, specifically in the areas of HIV and other STIs with the goal of advancing health equity for sexual and racial minority groups.
A Gamecock at heart, Elizabeth Cole knew that studying at South Carolina's flagship university would cement her ties to the state, and she chose the Arnold School's B.S. in Exercise Science program as her major due to its strong scientific foundation.
Bethany Cotton's various leadership roles and volunteer activities - along with a strong foundation from the only accredited school of public health in the state - cemented her commitment to a career in health care.