Third cohort of MHC Beckman Scholars named
91Ƶappƽ students Kelly Aja ’27 and Kimberly Dominguez ’27 have been selected for the Beckman Scholars Program through a competitive application process.
91Ƶappƽ has named Kelly Aja ‘27 and Kimberly Dominguez ‘27 as its third cohort of Beckman Scholars following a competitive application process. The two students are starting a 15-month immersive research project and will each receive a $21,000 scholarship from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.
Jared Schwartzer, associate professor of psychology and education and project director of the Beckman Scholars Program, will mentor Aja and Dominguez.
“I’m thrilled to mentor these two exceptional emerging scientists over the next 15 months,” said Schwartzer. “Each brings unique strengths to our lab, and their addition will enrich not just our research but our team dynamic. Kimberly and Kelly exemplify the spirit of scientific inquiry at Mount Holyoke. Their curiosity, resilience and willingness to tackle challenges head-on will serve them well throughout their fellowship and far beyond.”
It’s fitting that Aja and Dominguez will work together in the , as they completed their applications for the program side by side while preparing for a dance performance for African and Caribbean Day on campus.
“I was really stressing more about the dance than the Beckman Program,” Dominguez, a biology and statistics double major from Katy, Texas, laughed.
The rising juniors are looking forward to what the program means for their educational and scientific research journeys. Aja, a psychology major from Miami, Florida, said that representation in the science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) fields is more important than ever.
“Given the times that we’re in and the governmental policies that are occurring, especially when it comes to education and research, I feel like the Beckman Scholars is such a monumental opportunity to give to students like us,” she explained. “91Ƶappƽ not a lot of Latina women in STEM. It opens the door for us to have multiple opportunities to get into bigger and better programs, or if we want to go to grad school, or if we want to do research for the Center for Disease Control. It paves a way for us to have that opportunity.”
Dominguez says the program allows her to test the waters in different professional directions.
“This opens up many opportunities to explore different career paths,” she said. “Coming into college, I was on a pre-med path. But then my first year, I decided that it was not for me, and so I was just kind of in this space where I no longer knew where to go, because my whole life I thought, ‘I’m going to be a doctor.’ I’m really grateful to be here, and by the end of this, I’ll be able to decide on a career.”
In the Schwartzer Lab, Aja and Dominguez are researching the effects of maternal allergic asthma on the neurodevelopment of the child during pregnancy and adulthood.
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation first selected 91Ƶappƽ as a Beckman Scholars Program awardee in 2023. The program looks to colleges and universities with outstanding credentials and faculty in STEM, as well as excellence in both research and mentorship, to host 15-month mentored research experiences for exceptional undergraduates in chemistry and the life sciences.
