Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship

Colombe Akpaca

Khoury’27, Data Science

Colombe Akpaca is a Data Science student pursuing a Bachelor of Science with a French minor. She aspires to leverage data-driven solutions to address health disparities in sickle cell disease, a cause she hopes to dedicate her career to in the years following graduation. Her academic foundation includes coursework in discrete structures, algorithms, data structures, and database systems — an area she found particularly compelling, producing several notable database projects. Colombe further applies her technical skills through a co-op with Northeastern’s Office of Information Security, where she contributes to the ITS team. Outside the classroom, she is an active member of ColorStack, Naso Dancers, Agape, NSBE, and the Legacy Mentoring Program. She also enjoys the gym, dancing, and outdoor activities.

Tristan Bernard

E’27, Mechanical Engineering

Tristan Bernard is a Junior Mechanical Engineering Major at Northeastern University with experience in various fields like aerospace engineering and robotics. He has previously worked at GE Aerospace as an Engineering co-op, tackling various problems that help develop the future of flight. He also has experience in AeroNU on the propulsion and drone teams, and is an active member in Northeastern’s BESS (Black Engineering Student Society).

Celine Chreiha

S’28, Biology

Celine Chreiha is a Biology major pursuing a Bachelor of Science, with aspirations of entering the medical field. She is interested in addressing healthcare disparities and improving patient-centered care, driven by exposure to diverse healthcare systems and clinical environments. Her experiences as a Patient Care Technician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Research Assistant at Center for Translational Neuroimaging have strengthened her skills and deepened her commitment to compassionate care. Celine serves as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant and College of Science Peer Tutor, while also leading Project Sunshine and volunteering at Boston Children’s Hospital, demonstrating dedication to service and community engagement.

Kayleen Kang

Khoury’28, Computer Science

Kayleen Kang is a Computer Science student at Northeastern University pursuing a combined BS/MS degree with a concentration in Artificial Intelligence and a minor in Business. She is passionate about building AI systems that are both technically strong and helpful to diverse users. Her interest in AI began during an internship at Giant Step, a global creative tech studio, where she trained Stable Diffusion models aimed to help overworked Webtoon artist in Webtoon production. She has since explored distributed systems through a collaborative project in Sydney, Australia, extending database benchmarking tools across MongoDB and Cassandra on AWS. In coursework, she has built Q-learning agents and constraint solving algorithms that deepened her understanding of search, optimization, and decision making under uncertainty. Outside of academics, Kayleen enjoys sampling perfumes with exotic notes and creating art with new mediums.

Ian Rocha

E’25, Chemical Engineering

Ian is pursuing their BS in Chemical & Environmental Engineering. They are passionate about sustainability, scientific innovation, and music. In their current work, they are dedicated to using material science and chemical engineering to solve high-impact climate issues. Throughout their degree, they have completed 4 co-ops at Electric Hydrogen, Tender Food, Caltech, and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. They have also been involved on-campus in the Northeastern Chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, serving as President from 2023-2024, and as an undergraduate lead in Research Alliance in Science & Engineering (RAISE).

Diego Tellez Diego

DMSB’28, Business Administration

Diego is a Business Administration major with a concentration in finance, working toward his Bachelor of Science degree. He is passionate about supporting clients through difficult financial problems, a drive fueled by his interest in navigating market challenges in the world.

His professional experience is built on four diverse internships and a co-op at Wayfair, where he gained hands-on experience in corporate finance and investments. Currently entering his fifth internship at Loomis Sayles in June, Diego has built his experience through these rigorous roles. Outside of his professional pursuits, he is an active member of PODER (poh-DEHR), a first-generation program, and the Latin American Student Organization.