Mr. UAB, Eli Ussery, and Ms. UAB, Isabella Mak Isabella Mak of Dothan and Eli Ussery of Columbus, Georgia, have been named Mr. and Ms. UAB, a scholarship competition presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s National Alumni Society.
Lakshmi Subramani of Madison and Daniel Alejandro Mendoza of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, were named first alternates.
The Mr. and Ms. UAB Scholarship Competition is one of UAB’s oldest Homecoming traditions. This is the competition’s 35th year. The finalists were presented and the winners were named during halftime of the UAB Green and Gold Football Game held Thursday night as part of Homecoming Week.
The winners of the Mr. and Ms. UAB competition each receive a $2,500 scholarship and serve as ambassadors of UAB in the coming year. The first alternates each receive a $1,000 scholarship. The 10 finalists were selected through two rounds of interviews and a student vote, held during Homecoming Week, Oct. 16-22.
Mak, 20, is a junior in the UAB Honors College Global and Community Leadership Honors Program, majoring in neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is director of the Undergraduate Research Ambassadors, vice president of YouAB Learning and a 2015-2016 resident assistant. She volunteers as a nursing ambassador and tutor at Children’s Hospital of Alabama and is a member of the Alabama Student Advisory Council at American Association of University Women. She is the daughter of ZhiRui Mai.
Ussery, 20, is a junior majoring in industrial distribution in the Collat School of Business and is in the Honors College Personalized Curriculum. He was named Orientation Leader of the Year, is corresponding secretary for Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity. He is the son of Brent and Gina Ussery.
Subramani, 20, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in molecular biology and philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is in the Early Medical School Acceptance Program, is an orientation leader and is a volunteer at Children’s Hospital of Alabama. She is the daughter of Gowri Subramani.
First alternates Daniel Alejandro Mendoza and Lakshmi Subramani Mendoza, 21, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a Gates Millennium Scholar recipient and a new member educator for Theta Chi Fraternity. He is the son of Mirna Pineda.
The competition finalists:
- Graham Christopher Dupont, 21, of Springville, son of Christopher and Leslie Dupont, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Destiny Houston, 20, of Hoover, daughter of Dontrell Samuel, is a junior majoring in social work from the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Bobby Ijeoma, 20, of Marietta, Georgia, son of Sonny and Christy Ijeoma, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in chemistry.
- Sandhya Krishna, 20, of Madison, daughter of Shiva Krishna, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in biology.
- Oladele Osisami, 20, of Powder Springs, Georgia, son of Oladele and Ikepo Osisami, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in biology.
- Gina Sherman, 20, of Birmingham, daughter of John and Cathy Sherman, is a junior in the Honors College majoring in biology with a minor in secondary education from the School of Education.