2024 Scholarship Recipients
2024 Scholarship Recipients
We are proud to announce the 15 students selected to receive The Neurodiversity Scholarship for the 2024-25 school year. These applicants stood out among many impressive applicants from across the country due to their determination, resilience, achievements, and commitment to the neurodivergent community, and we are excited to invest in their continued academic and personal success.
Sasha Johnson
Sasha Johnson is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in Seattle, WA. Sasha is considered a “2e” or “twice exceptional,” which means she is gifted in certain aspects and challenged in others. When she’s not studying , she loves reading and anime, and learning Mandarin Chinese.
Jadyn Weatherspoon
Jadyn Weatherspoon is originally from Pittsburgh, PA. Jadyn’s autism makes her passionate about interests like math, design, and engineering. She loves utilizing hands-on learning and problem-solving skills as a way to explore new information. In her spare time, Jadyn loves to play the flute, travel, exercise, build LEGOs, and spend time with friends & family.
Sasha Stoppi
Sasha Stoppi is from Miami, FL. Sasha's Autism makes them exceptional in art and language arts abilities. They love weaving, soft sculpture and illustration. They are passionate about animals and nature. They like to learn by researching online and taking studio art classes. In their free time, Sasha plays the guitar and is a Dungeons & Dragons Master. They also love to create unique wearable sculptures.
Pearl Zhang
Pearl Zhang is originally from Temple City, CA and she loves exploring and learning from new streams of information, whether that be through listening to a podcast episode, reading a newsletter, or debugging a software program. In her free time, she enjoys baking and cooking, writing and reading fiction, and singing.
Kian Quinn
Kian Quinn is from Chicago, has Dyslexia and ADHD, and is interested in Psychology and Theater. Some of Kian’s hobbies are theater (rehearsal and watching theater performances), playing video games, spending time with friends, and playing with their three amazing (and massive) dogs.
Izzy May
Izzy May is originally from Broomfield, Colorado. Her ADHD allows her to have a heightened excitement for topics she is interested in, such as mathematics and entrepreneurship. She especially loves learning by doing through hands on projects and activities to explore new information. In her free time, Izzy loves the outdoors and enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing, backpacking, and mountain biking.
Rithik Sinhasan
Rithik Sinhasan grew up in Cincinnati, OH. He is a non-speaking autistic which means that his voice cannot articulate the countless words teeming in his brain. He communicates via a text to speech app on his iPad. Rithik is an auditory learner and is intellectually curious about many things. He enjoys abstract painting, rock climbing, creative writing, and swimming.
Meredyth Cohen
Meredyth Cohen is from San Francisco, CA. She has been diagnosed with OCD and ADHD and has an IEP under the category of OHI and SLD. The best way she learns is through conversation and being involved in community is something that is critical to her. Some of her favorite things are food and travel.
Lee Trombly
Lee Trombly is from Boulder, Colorado. They have ADHD and uses it as their superpower in their College Improv Club. They love to learn about art history and engage with it all the time, like covering their bedroom in posters of fine art and spending every day out at a museum. In their spare time, they like to read and write poetry, experiment with fun outfits, and be bad at karaoke with their friends.
Alexandria Mulqueen
Alexandria Mulqueen is originally from Southern California, although she spent five years of her adolescence as an expatriate in Singapore. Alexandria has ADHD and is proud to identify as neurodivergent. She loves to learn through exploring psychological journal articles, getting hands-on experience, and having meaningful discussions with her peers and professors. Some topics that particularly pique Alexandria’s intellectual interest are linguistics, language acquisition, positive psychology, and child development. In her spare time, Alexandria enjoys spending time in nature, going to concerts, reading memoirs, and learning new recipes.
Maggie O'Hagan
Maggie O'Hagan is originally from Denver, CO, has lived in Massachusetts and California, and now resides in Omaha, NE. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in occupational therapy. To meet the demands of that curriculum, Maggie creates colorful notes and drawings that align with her visual and active kinesthetic learning styles. You can often find her studying by drawing and writing on the large whiteboards in study rooms. Maggie's learning styles are influenced by how her ADHD and dyslexia cause her to think and learn differently. In her free time, Maggie enjoys running, boxing, reading, playing guitar, and spending time outdoors.
Zakilya Brown
Zakilya Brown is originally from New Jersey, right outside of New York City. Her whole life she's been heavily interested in psychology, biology, and creative writing. In her spare time she loves to watch documentaries on random topics, and listen to video essays about media she never has (and never will) consume. When she's in the mood, Zakilya plays video games such as Minecraft, Animal Crossing, Identity V, and Roblox. Zakilya was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 19 (but she always knew), and channels her energy into researching neuro-developmental disorders and earning her PhD.
Tory Ridgeway
Tory's hometown is Upper Marlboro, MD. Diagnosed with Autism at age 4, Tory embraces the benefits of being able to focus for extended periods of time. He uses that strength to build unique and intricate Lego creations including Naval aircraft and ships. Tory also enjoys and 3D printing and embraces his meticulous attention to detail in his designs. Tory is a history buff and has a wealth of knowledge of military aircraft and their flight characteristics.
August Alderman
August Alderman is originally from Roanoke, VA, but currently attends school in Pennsylvania. Having ADHD alongside PTSD, depression, and anxiety has driven August to become a big advocate for mental health and the importance of acceptance and self-love. They love reading and have collected 204 books, in addition to learning how to become an activist for different communities, which has become a favorite pastime.
Imaani Din
Imaani Din is a sophomore at Penn State University, majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. She is passionate about writing, reading and helping people with special needs. She believes her autism and ADHD are her superpowers, allowing her to be creative and empathize with others. She loves anime and Harry Potter as well as singing.