When Fanta Dicko received the email saying she was chosen as a Remembrance Scholar, she said she smiled and began to shake.

“I didn’t even read the full email until 30 minutes after,” said Dicko, a junior in the School of Information Studies, in an email. “I just read the first line that said congratulations and began to call all my friends and family.”

Syracuse University announced the 35 students who will serve as the 2015–16 Remembrance Scholars on Friday. The scholars, chosen by the Remembrance Scholar Committee, will pay tribute to the 35 SU students killed in the Dec. 21, 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The students chosen, all juniors, will receive a $5,000 scholarship for their senior years at SU. The scholarships are funded through an endowment supported by donations from alumni, friends, parents and corporations, according to an SU News release.

Mehak Ali, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said in an email that working with S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications professor Lawrence Mason, who taught eight of the students who died on Pan Am Flight 103, convinced him to apply for the scholarship.

“I learned about Remembrance Week through someone who had witnessed the devastation it had caused,” Ali said. “Dr. Mason’s stories connected me to the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland and to the tragic event on a personal level.”

Judith O’Rourke, director of student engagement and center for fellowship and scholarship advising coordinator, said choosing only 35 scholars was a difficult task. She said the students chosen as scholars are among the university’s “best and brightest.”

“I am confident they will continue to use their leadership skills and talents to enhance the culture of remembrance on our campus and will advance the Remembrance Scholar mission to ‘Look Back, Act Forward,’” O’Rourke said in an email.

The scholars are responsible for helping to plan Remembrance Week, an annual event that takes place in the fall semester and honors the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.

Both Ali and Dicko said in addition to the scholarship, being a Remembrance Scholar is first and foremost about representing the 35 students who died in the terrorist attack.

“Being a Remembrance Scholar means acting in their memory,” Ali said. “It not only means living in accordance with the 35 students’ aspirations to achieve greatness, but also actively aspiring to achieve greatness and make a difference in society.”

The scholars will be recognized during a convocation in Hendricks Chapel on Oct. 30. In addition to the Remembrance Scholars, the 2015–16 Lockerbie Scholars were selected. Each year, two students from Lockerbie come to SU for a year of study through the Syracuse-Lockerbie Scholarships. This year’s Lockerbie Scholars are Joanna Barrie and Ellen Boomer, according to an SU News release.

The full list of 2015 Remembrance Scholars is as follows:

• Mehak Ali – College of Arts and Sciences/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Samuel Bailey – College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Julie Bengis – David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics/Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Cheyenne Cheathem – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Sarah Dalusma–Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Fanta Dicko–School of Information Studies
• Jessica Faunce–Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs/College of Arts and Sciences
• Kenyon Fitzpatrick–College of Arts and Sciences/Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Katherine Frega–College of Arts and Sciences
• Leah Garlock–College of Visual and Performing Arts/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Virginia Giannini–College of Arts and Sciences/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Taylor Henry–College of Visual and Performing Arts
• Daniel Hopkins–School of Architecture/Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
• John Huang – College of Engineering and Computer Science/Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Jennifer Hylkema – College of Arts and Sciences
• Lisa Kranz – College of Visual and Performing Arts/School of Education
• Haley Kulakowski – College of Arts and Sciences
• Christina LiPuma – David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics/College of Arts and Sciences
• Cameron MacPherson – College of Arts and Sciences/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Sara McNamara – College of Arts and Sciences
• Alexis Pena – College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Luke Rafferty – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/College of Arts and Sciences. Rafferty is also a staff photographer for The Daily Orange.
• Juan Rangel – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/College of Arts and Sciences
• Jacqueline Reilly – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and College of Arts and Sciences
• Nina Rodgers – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/College of Arts and Sciences
• Heather Rounds – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/College of Arts and Sciences
• Shannon Salem – College of Arts and Sciences
• Summer Schneider – S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/College of Arts and Sciences
• Anthony Schramm – College of Arts and Sciences
• LaVerne Sessler – College of Engineering and Computer Science/Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Molly Smith – Martin J. Whitman School of Management/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Kanique Swinson – Martin J. Whitman School of Management
• Hannah Visnosky – David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics/College of Arts and Sciences
• Yuqing (Tessa) Xie – College of Arts and Sciences/School of Information Studies
• Hugh Yang – College of Engineering and Computer Science/Martin J. Whitman School of Management

Published on April 26, 2015 at 9:30 pm

Contact Rachel: rsandler@syr.edu