U of A Honors College Selects 2026 Fellows Class

The U of A Honors College has selected 75 exceptional high school students, including 72 from Arkansas, to receive Honors College Fellowships.   

The fellowships, which award up to $80,000, largely cover tuition, fees, books, room and board, and other academic expenses over four years, providing these students the freedom to pursue original research, study abroad service learning and other academic interests.   

The fellowship funds can also be combined with other scholarships and grants, such as the more than $1 million in study abroad and research grants that the Honors College awards to students each year.  

"This year, the Honors College arguably had its most competitive fellowship applicant pool in its history," said Noah Pittman, associate dean of enrollment for the Honors College. "We reviewed over 1,000 applications for endowed fellowships. Our 75 new Honors College fellows are stunningly bright and accomplished, and we look forward to helping each of them achieve their goals at the University of Arkansas and beyond." 

The new fellows boast an average grade point average of 4.33 and an average composite ACT score of 34.21. Also, 10% of the students are the first in their families to attend college.   

The members of this distinguished class plan to study a diverse range of subjects, from studio art and history to civil engineering, environmental science and architecture. 

Many have achieved notable recognition. Within this group of new fellows, 28 were named National Merit Finalists. Overall, each of these new fellows has an impressive record full of accomplishments.   

The fellowship application process is rigorous. Students must score at least 32 on the ACT and achieve a minimum 3.9 grade point average to apply. Each student's application is then reviewed by Honors College administrators and faculty for evidence of intellectual curiosity, leadership potential and community involvement. The selection process also involves a timed writing test and a campus interview for finalists.  

Including the 2026 recipients, a total of 1,951 students have benefited from the Honors College Fellowship program. Recent fellows include Truman, Goldwater and Udall Scholars, Fulbright award winners and an Olympic pole vaulter.   

Fellowship alumni are launching startups, taking leadership roles at international corporations and nonprofit organizations and pursuing higher degrees at schools such as the California Institute of Technology, Cambridge University, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Georgetown Law School, Harvard Law School and Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Tufts University School of Medicine, the University of Chicago Medical School and the University of Virginia. 

The Honors College Fellowships were made possible by a portion of the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation's $300 million gift to the university in 2002.  

Honors College Fellows, Class of 2030 

• Alina Alam - Southside High School, Fort Smith  

• Samuel Antin - The New School, Fayetteville  

• Hannah Atungulu - Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville  

• Caroline Beneux - Southside High School, Fort Smith  

• Jillian Berry - Benton High School, Benton  

• Aakash Bhattacharyya - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock 

• Grace Bishop - Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville  

• Mia Bonifazi - Bentonville West High School, Bentonville  

• Beckham Branham - Maumelle Charter High School, Maumelle  

• Cole Britt - Conway High School, Conway 

• Seth Brown - Carl Junction High School; Joplin, Missouri  

• Stephen Brown - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock  

• Bentley Burris - Valley View High School, Jonesboro  

• Caroline Chrysler - Conway High School, Conway  

• Jack Coleman - Mountain Home High School, Mountain Home  

• Brynlee Cotney - Haas Hall Academy, Huntsville  

• Alexander Cox - Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts; Russellville  

• Cooper Ellington - Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville  

• Gidian Fuller - Russellville High School, Russellville  

• Keegan Fuller - Russellville High School, Russellville  

• Gauri Ghate - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock  

• Emma Gilmer - Lamar High School, Clarksville  

• Alexandra Good - Saint Joseph Academy; O' Fallon, Missouri  

• Aarush Goyal - Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts; Bentonville  

• Justin Han - Southside High School, Fort Smith  

• Isabella Hancock - Pulaski Academy, Little Rock  

• Jovie Harrell - Conway High School, Conway  

• Caitlin Hayes - Rogers High School, Rogers  

• Schuyler Henehan - Southside High School, Fort Smith  

• Gabriel Hereth - Rogers Academy of Leadership & Innovation, Rogers  

• Channing Hinton - Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville  

• Mai-Lan Ho - Batesville High School Charter, Sulphur Rock  

• Blake Holsted - Alma High School, Mountainburg  

• Kai Hutcheson - Rogers Heritage High School, Bella Vista  

• Roja Jeyam - Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville  

• Tyler Johnson - Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville  

• Sumedh Kalyankar - Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville  

• LalitAditya Kameshwaran - Bentonville West High School, Centerton 

• Owen Kight - Providence Classical Christian Academy, Springdale 

• Nathan Lam - Sylvan Hills High School, Sherwood  

• Carter Lee - North Little Rock Center of Excellence, North Little Rock 

• Adaleigh Leffingwell - Don Tyson School of Innovation, Springdale 

• Tristan Marrufo - De Queen High School, De Queen  

• Omkaara Mehta - Bentonville West High School, Bentonville  

• Hudson Merrick - Cabot High School, Cabot  

• Aubrey Michaels - Conway High School, Conway  

• Thomas Miller - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock  

• Madeline Moran - Benton High School, Alexander  

• Jacek Morgan - Benton High School, Benton  

• Errol Nagy - Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts; Little Rock 

• Akshath Narravula - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock  

• Juliana Neesvig - Episcopal Collegiate School, Bryant  

• Tyler Nelson - Providence Classical Christian Academy, Bentonville 

• Eli Newell - Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville  

• Kaden Nguyen - Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville  

• Riley Paharia - Bentonville High School, Bella Vista  

• Christian Parks - Van Buren High School, Van Buren  

• Gavin Pate - Bentonville High School, Bentonville  

• Tucker Russell - Shiloh Christian School, Fayetteville  

• William Schlientz - Conway High School, Conway  

• Andrew Simmons - Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville  

• Nathan Skinner - Stuttgart High School, Stuttgart  

• Siddharth Sridharan - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock 

• Leah Stallcup - Fayetteville High School, Prairie Grove  

• Adam Stanisor - Cabot High School, Cabot  

• Naira Tariq - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock  

• Ashira Thadisena - Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock  

• Preston Thai - Bentonville West High School, Bentonville  

• Sophia Thomsen - Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville  

• Rylee Vaught - De Queen High School, Horatio  

• Jacob Vo - Rogers High School, Rogers  

• Audrey Walters - Elkins High School, Elkins  

• Caroline Walters - Elkins High School, Elkins  

• Damien Wicker - Central Arkansas Christian School, Little Rock  

• Garrett Woodall - Sabine High School; Kilgore, Texas