University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame News
Author: Kate Morgan
The University of Notre Dame’s Division of Student Affairs recently recognized 15 junior undergraduate students with scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year for their demonstrated leadership and ongoing commitment to the holistic development of Notre Dame students.
After reviewing nominations from across campus, a selection committee composed of representatives from Student Affairs and the academy awarded three Lou Holtz Leadership Scholarships and 12 Hipp-Beeler Scholarships to a diverse group of outstanding students.
The scholarships are designed to provide additional resources to students who have excelled as leaders in various areas of student life, including residence hall programs, spiritual activities, community service, student government, student activities, entrepreneurial projects and interhall sports.
Established in 1995 by alumnus Mike Harper, the Lou Holtz Leadership Scholarship encourages recipients to cultivate leadership qualities akin to those of former Notre Dame football head coach Lou Holtz. This year’s Lou Holtz Leadership Scholarship recipients are as follows:
Noah Allen, a mechanical engineering major with a minor in theology from Catonsville, Maryland, is a cadet in Notre Dame’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps who will commission as the second lieutenant in the United States Space Force. He has served as a Saint Andre Committee member and as a retreat leader in Dunne Hall where he also helped to organize the “Pull-Ups for Patriots” initiative on behalf of the Joshua Chamberlain Society. He is currently the team lead on the Notre Dame Robotic Football mechanical design team and, in Campus Ministry, he serves as a small group leader in the Compass faith sharing group and as an altar server in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
Bernice Antoine, a business analytics major in the Business Honors Program from Trinidad and Tobago, has held a variety of campus leadership roles, serving as director of international engagement and outreach for Student Government and co-chair of The Plunge: Black First-Year Retreat offered through Campus Ministry and Multicultural Student Programs and Services. Antoine is also a McNeill Common Good Fellow through the Institute for Social Concerns and an entrepreneurial fellow with the IDEA Center. Additionally, she works as an international scholar for the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.
Sonia Lumley, a political science major with a minor in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service from Merced, California, is the current student body vice president. Lumley has also served as the diversity and inclusion co-chair for Walsh Hall, a student government liaison for the Latino Student Alliance and a public relations/social media officer for Shades of Ebony. In addition, Lumley plays piccolo for the Band of the Fighting Irish. In her time at Notre Dame, she has worked as an intern for the White House, the Office of the New York State Attorney General, University of Notre Dame Press, NDBridge (Costa Rica) in the Institute for Social Concerns and in the University’s Office of General Counsel. She is a Harvard Kennedy School PPIA Fellow, a Hesburgh Democracy Fellow, an AnBryce Scholar, a QuestBridge Scholar, a Building Bridges Mentee, and is a member of the Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society.
The Hipp-Beeler Scholarship, established in 1992 by Student Government, honors the memory of student-athletes Colleen Hipp and Meghan Beeler who died when their team’s bus crashed while returning home from a competition. This year’s Hipp-Beeler Scholarship recipients are as follows:
Blessing Akinro, a physics major with a minor in history from Indianapolis, Indiana, serves as the secretary of the Multiracial/Multiethnic Students Association of Notre Dame and is an ambassador for Black women living in McGlinn Hall.
Genesis Argueta, a computer science and mathematics major from Santa Ana, California, serves as a mentor in the McInerney Fellows Program and is an active member of the Computer Science for Good student club. She has also worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant for ASCEND and an undergraduate research assistant for Ethical and Professional Issues and the Computer Vision Research Labs.
Sofia Benigno, a double major in neuroscience and behavior and theology from San Bernadino, California, has served as a Campus Ministry Anchor Intern for Sacramental Preparation and Catechesis, a student leader in the McGrath Institute for Church Life, a music mentor for Notre Dame Vision, a research assistant for the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health and as the inaugural fellow for the Sullivan Family Saints Initiative. Benigno is also a member of the Notre Dame Magnificat Choir.
Gjon Curanaj, a double major in finance and theology from White Plains, New York, is involved in the Student International Business Council, Unleashed Social Ventures, and the Notre Dame Investment Club. Curanaj is also a board member of the First-Generation Advisory Council and the founder and co-president of the Albanian Society.
Liliana Hobday, a sociology major with minors in education and public service from St. Paul, Minnesota, served as an intern in the College of Arts and Letters’ Washington Program. Additionally, she has served as a math tutor for Tutor-ND, a pre-international scholar for the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and a hospitality team member for the Institute for Social Concerns.
Neyra Ledesma Nieto, an accountancy major with minors in Latino studies and social entrepreneurship and innovation from Chicago, Illinois, serves as a member of the McInerney Fellows Program and participated as a travel team member for the Student International Business Council. She also works as a social media and marketing assistant in the Office of Student Enrichment.
Jakob Lopez, a business analytics and Latino studies major from Orange County, California, has served as the president of the Undergraduate Business Analytics Club and vice president of the Latino Student Alliance. He is also a board member for the First Gen Careers Initiative in the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development, the diversity and outreach coordinator for Alumni Hall and an intern in Undergraduate Admissions.
Sydney O’Malley, an accountancy major with minors in journalism and Catholic social tradition from Yonkers, New York, is an active member of the McInerney Fellows Program and leads first-generation initiatives in Cavanaugh Hall. O’Malley also serves on the board of the Best Buddies and the Bald and Beautiful student clubs, is involved in the Notre Dame Venture Capital club and Tax Assistance Program and received a summer fellowship with the Institute for Social Concerns,.
Kaeli Rinken, a neuroscience and behavior major from Crete, Illinois, is a QuestBridge scholar whose campus involvement includes working in RecSports as a sports program supervisor and manager-on-duty.
Ashley Schilz, a finance and economics double major with a minor in real estate from Denver, Colorado, serves as an interview center supervisor and career assistant for the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development. She is also a member of the Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership allyship and mentorship program, a team lead for the GoDo Consulting Project, and a member of Active Minds ND.
Michelle Miller, a double major in marketing and theology with a sociology minor from Phillips, Maine, serves as a Campus Ministry Anchor Intern for Multicultural Student Ministry and as president of the Black Business Association of Notre Dame.
Owen Van Horn, a physics major from Monroeville, Indiana, serves as a residence hall ambassador for the McInerney Fellows Program and is an active member of both the French Club and Society of Physics Students. He also previously served as chair of the belonging committee in Siegfried Hall.
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