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Student Scholars

2022
2021
2020

2022 Scholarship Recipients

The Wheatley Institute is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of the Jack & Mary Lois Wheatley Endowed Leadership Scholarship.

The Wheatley Scholarship is a three-year program that supports the final year of undergraduate study at Brigham Young University, followed by equivalent support toward two years of graduate study at an accredited graduate institution of the student’s choice.

Wheatley Student Scholars do not apply for the scholarship or ask faculty to recommend them. Rather, they are nominated by faculty who notice a student’s selflessness, concern for important matters beyond their personal agenda, and success in enlisting others to help improve the world around them. This year the following 20 recipients were selected from the large pool of nominations for the Wheatley Scholarship (see below for bios):
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Sarah Beecroft

Sarah Beecroft is an English Language major at BYU. She wants to be a stay-at-home mom as she believes it Is important for child development and is a fulfilling path. Regardless of career development... Read more.
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Leanne Chun

Leanne Chun is majoring in Editing & Publishing at BYU while minoring in Korean and TESOL. She is passionate about English as a language, due to her experiences of trying to teach English to non-native speakers as... Read more.
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Daycy De Gamez

Daycy De Gamez studies Sociology and History at BYU. A landmark in her decision to study sociology was the Latino Civil Rights seminar at BYU, where she had the opportunity not afforded her during... Read more.
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Noriadnys Gomez

Noriadnys Gomez studies Sociology and social impact at BYU. Sociology has helped her better understand herself as a bi-cultural individual. Originally from Venezuela, her parents came to the United States when... Read more.
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David A. Hill

David A. Hill is majoring in Electrical Engineering, with minors in both Computer Science and Mathematics at BYU. He is a group leader in the computational photonics research lab, where he has contributed... Read more.
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Collin Jacobsen

Collin Jacobsen studies Neuroscience at BYU. He is intrigued by the unknown complexity of the brain and appreciates how his major has broadened his scope of medicine beyond the ... Read more.
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Annie Johnson

Annie Johnson is a Family Life student who transferred from BYU-Hawaii. She has been inspired by how research can lead to positive changes in individuals, groups, and cultures that can result in greater unity and... Read more.
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Giselle (Gigi) Valentine Knapp

Giselle (Gigi) Valentine Knapp is a Media Arts major at BYU. She is intrigued by how media defines our leisure and times of stress, with more thought taking place than an initial glance may... Read more.
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Austen Lambert

Austen Lambert studies environmental science and sustainability, with an emphasis in soil science and conservation. He is a project lead in the Biophysical Soil Chemistry lab, which led to his internship with... Read more.
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Alexa Lowman-Tucker

Alexa Lowman-Tucker is a Chemical Engineering student at BYU. She has an interest in the automotive/power industry that is inspired by the technical challenges that arise... Read more.
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Garrett Maxwell

Garrett Maxwell is pursuing a double-major at BYU in Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern Studies & Arabic. He has a deep interest in the comparative theology, languages, eastern religious... Read more.
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C. Max Moore

C. Max Moore is a Strategic Management student at BYU’s Marriot School. He operates a small business that provides educational consulting and tutoring services. He has worked and interned as a research... Read more.
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Brynn Morse

Brynn Morse is a Middle East Studies & Arabic major, minoring in International Strategy & Diplomacy. She is concerned about the persistence of inequality, underdevelopment, and authoritarianism... Read more.
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Jacob Newell

Jacob Newell is a Political Science student at BYU, focusing on International Strategy and Diplomacy. He has loved learning about the way society is organized and, from his experience in Model United... Read now.
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Skylar Oreno

Skylar Oreno is completing a double-major in both Marketing and Sociocultural Anthropology at BYU. He loves to understand people to more effectively problem-solve. Following his studies, he wants to implement... Read more.
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Bryce Palmer

Bryce Palmer studies Cell Biology and Physiology. His research has led him to a personal love for truth. He hopes to obtain an M.D. and Ph.D. to advance both his medical and scientific training. He is interested.... Read more.
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Emily Quan

Emily Quan studies Computer Engineering at BYU, with a minor in Computer Science. She is fascinated by cybersecurity and censorship and is concerned about the growing trend of digital authoritarianism... Read more.
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Sylvan Scott

Sylvan Scott studies Piano Performance at BYU’s School of Music. He enjoys teaching music, both in his private studio as well as through the Piano by Pictures Academy. With the help of a professor... Read more.
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Sarah Sowards Taylor

Sarah Sowards Taylor is an Anthropology major at BYU. She wants to develop a lifelong skill of sensitivity to the diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives of anyone she meets. In particular, she has... Read more.
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Abigail Woodfield

Abigail Woodfield is double majoring at BYU in Political Science and Psychology with minors in European Studies and Global Women’s Studies. She primarily studies political psychology in the... Read more.
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2021 Scholarship Recipients

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Katelyn Cranney

Katelyn Cranney was born in Monterey, California and raised in Denver, Colorado. The oldest of five girls, she loves anything and everything outdoors – hiking, rock climbing, rafting, etc. Katelyn is an Economics... Read more.
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JB Eyring

JB Eyring is from Bountiful, Utah studying Public Health and Human Development. His research interests include the social determinants of women’s health, sexual functioning in committed relationships, and... Read more.
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Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson grew up in Woodland Hills, Utah, in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountain Range. He is an avid mountain biker, rock climber, and hiker. He studied at Brigham Young University... Read more.
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O'Kara Kramer

O’Kara Kramer loves people: their passions, needs, hopes, and dreams. While serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Jose, California, her eyes were opened... Read more.
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Sarah Kroger

Sarah Koger found her passion for science as she worked in a climate change lab on BYU campus. An Art History-turned-Biology and Arabic major, Sarah’s path towards becoming a scientist has not been easy... Read more.
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Nate McGhie

Nate McGhie is studying economics at BYU. His family has moved several times, so he spent his childhood in Indiana, Chicago, Russia, and The Netherlands. After exploring an unreasonable number... Read more.
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Rachel Miner

Rachel works at the intersection of economics, human rights, and policy to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief, also known as freedom of conscience. As executive director of Bellwether International... Read more.
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Keegan Peterson

Keegan Peterson is a Physiology and Developmental Biology major at Brigham Young University. He has a particular interest in orthopedics and sports medicine and plans to someday attend medical... Read more.
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Joseph Rowley

Joseph Rowley is majoring in Interdisciplinary Humanities with an emphasis in Art History and a minor in Statistics. If asked, he would say that he’s not really sure how that happened either. Joseph and his... Read more.
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Megan Van Alfen

Megan Van Alfen is a Family Life major at BYU with an emphasis in Family Services. She enjoys exploring complex topics such as media, body image, and LGBTQ+ communities and looks forward to participating... Read more.
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Maihcen Ware

Maihcen Ware is a Family Studies major who is passionate about helping, educating, and healing families. She has worked as a teaching assistant as well as a research assistant with various professors in... Read more.
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2020 Scholarship Recipients

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Sarah Allsup

Sarah Allsup is a native of Utah valley, the youngest of four kids, and an avid advocate for the welfare of our earth and its inhabitants. She recently got married, and she and her husband enjoy hiking, traveling... Read more.
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Tom Bryan

Tom Bryan attended BYU studying Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. The second of four brothers, he grew up in Portland, Oregon. Tom enjoys hiking and backpacking in the Central... Read more.
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Haley Graver

Haley Graver is studying Family Studies and Statistics. She is currently involved in research studying modesty, body image, and perfectionism in members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Read more.
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Justin Hendricks

Justin Hendricks graduated from BYU in April 2021 with a major in Family Studies and a minor in Psychology. He will start a master’s program in Marriage, Family, and Human Development at BYU fall of the same... Read more.
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Joey Sheppard

Joey Sheppard is one of the 2020 recipients of the Jack & Mary Lois Wheatley Endowed Leadership Scholarship.
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Grace Soelberg

Grace Soelberg is from Kaysville, Utah and pursued her education at BYU. She will be graduating with a History major along with minors in Africana Studies and Sociology. Grace is also in the universities... Read more.
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Clayton Van Woerkom

Clayton Van Woerkom studies anthropology and Middle East studies/Arabic at BYU. In the future, he plans to pursue a PhD in socio-cultural anthropology. His academic interests... Read more.
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Eliza White

Eliza White studied Neuroscience and Mathematics at Brigham Young University. In the coming years, she hopes to earn a PhD in Computational Neuroscience. From there, she hopes to conduct research... Read more.
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