Each semester, the University of Nevada, Reno and its Alumni Association honor an undergraduate student from each school or college who meets the exceptional Senior Scholar program standards. The Senior Scholar then selects the faculty mentor who played the most significant role in his or her scholastic achievement. The accomplishments of these individuals have helped develop the University as a center of academic excellence.

2021 Senior Scholars

Miranda Billings

Meet Miranda Billings, Senior Scholar from the College of Education & Human Development! She chose to attend Nevada because they offered a variety of social science majors for her to choose from. The campus is also beautiful and extremely interactive. Also, faculty support and involvement on campus was a major factor for Miranda.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “My favorite college memory is working closely with the faculty throughout my junior year, when I served as a research assistant for the HDFS department.”

Congratulations, Miranda! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Lindsey Bondiek

Meet Lindsey Bondiek, Senior Scholar from the School of Social Work! She chose to attend Nevada because she grew up here and wanted to stay in state for college. After she toured the school, she fell in love with campus and knew that’s where she wanted to be.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared, “Some of my favorite memories of college are sitting on the quad during the spring or fall. My friends and I would hang out there often either reading or relaxing.”

Congratulations, Lindsey! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Faith Evans

Meet Faith Evans, Senior Scholar from the Reynolds School of Journalism! She chose to attend Nevada because during her Nevada Bound tour junior year of high school, she fell in love with the Reynolds School of Journalism—that's how she knew UNR was the right choice for her. It felt like home from the start.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “I'll never forget reporting at Indigenous People's Day of Rage Against Colonialism in downtown Reno. It was an all-day event, and I came home sunburned and exhausted, but happier than I've ever been. Meeting new people, taking pictures, transcribing interviews late into the evening—all of it reenforced my love of breaking news.”

Congratulations, Faith! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Joseph Hill

Meet Joseph Hill, Senior Scholar from the College of Engineering! He chose to attend Nevada because he grew up in Elko, Nevada and wanted to stay in-state to save money while attending college. He was drawn to UNR because of the engineering programs and facilities. Joseph also liked that Reno was only a few hours always from most of his relatives, which allowed him to see them semi-often.

When asked about his favorite college memory, he shared “My favorite college memory would be working on my 1969 C10 pickup. Over the last few years, I have worked to restore the truck and make it more fun to drive. Last year, I swapped in a motor from the salvage yard in Sparks with the help of a few of my friends. One day, I hope that I can use it as my daily driver.”

Congratulations, Joseph! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Abagail Horner

Meet Abagail Horner, Senior Scholar from the Orvis School of Nursing! She chose to attend Nevada because she was born and raised in Reno and knew that the Orvis School of Nursing was present within the University to help her achieve my goal of completing a BSN. She also loves UNR's campus and the comfy, learning-conducive atmosphere that it possesses.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared, “When I try to think of my favorite college memory, the first thing that pops into my head is all the days I spent studying in the sun somewhere on campus grounds, waiting for my next class. Whether it was at the top of the Joe, in the quad, or anywhere there was a nice and sunny bench, I was enjoying my time gaining knowledge.”

Congratulations, Abagail! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Natalie Huddy

Meet Natalie Huddy, Senior Scholar from the School of Medicine! She chose to attend Nevada after interviewing for the Bonner Leader Program. Civic engagement has always been a passion of hers, and she was excited for the opportunity to connect to the Reno community. Natalie found some of her closest friends and what she would consider to be her second family through the Bonner Organization. She also chose to attend UNR due to her love for the outdoors and ability to travel to beautiful locations, such as Tahoe, on the weekends.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “In the first year of my undergraduate education, I had the time of my life. This was due to the amazing friendships that I was able to build while living on campus. I felt such pride to be a student at UNR and was surrounded by an amazing sense of community.”

Congratulations, Natalie! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Mary Kramp

Meet Mary Kramp, Senior Scholar from The College of Business! She chose to attend Nevada because it had a beautiful campus, and the faculty members she talked to were all very helpful and nice. It looked like the professors truly cared about the success of their students, so Mary knew that this was the college for her!

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “My favorite college memory is when I attended my first Prepare for the Fair. I was able to receive a professional headshot for free, and I was able to practice interviewing with employers before I started to interview with companies I was interested in. I love this memory since I was able to get a lot out of the experience, and it is still helping me today as I apply for post-graduation jobs.”

Congratulations, Mary! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Lily Liu

Meet Lily Liu, Senior Scholar from the Honor’s College! She chose to attend Nevada because it was the perfect school for her to experience some independence while also being relatively close to home. She wants to build a future in Nevada so she did not feel any hesitation in coming to UNR for her undergraduate career. Also, most of her high school friends ended up coming here as well so she felt like she had a family throughout her four years.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “It is difficult for me to pick my favorite college memory but I think all the spontaneity that I got to experience here would be some of the best memories I would have. I will miss the times that my friends and I would study while goofing off at the KC before having random food adventures at the night. I will miss the spontaneous sleep-overs and get-togethers that we would have all the while spending so much time helping each other learn and grow. College truly is one of the best experiences I could have had.”

Congratulations, Lily! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

William Na

Meet William Na, Senior Scholar from the College of Liberal Arts! He chose to attend Nevada because it is close to home and he was interested in the Army ROTC program on campus. William was also drawn to the renowned faculty at the political science and history departments.

When asked about his favorite college memory, he shared “My favorite college memory is when I attended a four-day Field Training Exercise with the Army ROTC program. Every night, we slept outdoors in the cold and on the dirt at Stead Mountain. We trudged around the patrol base every night pulling security in rotations with our poncho liners (called “woobies”) draped over our backs like cloaks and our rifles slung over our shoulders, basking in our collective misery and pondering how, of all the choices we had made in life, that we had ended up here. I fondly look back at this because it was an experience shared with good friends, which made it all the more enjoyable and memorable.”

Congratulations, William! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Raquel Wescott

Meet Raquel Wescott, Senior Scholar from the College of Science! She chose to attend Nevada because she fell in love with the beauty of the campus after visiting campus and knew she would enjoy spending the next four years here. She also really liked that she could have small to medium sized classes and that there were many opportunities to get to know professors or work with them on research and undergraduate teaching. In addition, the school spirit that the students seemed to have at football and basketball games as well as their general school pride drew her in and she knew she wanted to be part of the wolf pack.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “I have several favorite college memories, all of which involve the friends that I made here. Whether it was trips to Lake Tahoe, grabbing food, or staying up late studying and laughing together, I know that my greatest memories are those that I made with my closest friends. Looking back on my college experience, I am so thankful for the people that I met and the happy memories that I am graduating with because of them.”

Congratulations, Raquel! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Jordan Wolff

Meet Jordan Wolff,  Senior Scholar from the School of Community Health Sciences! She chose to attend Nevada because after spending her first semester of college at a school in Oklahoma, she quickly realized that university was not for her. Being from Las Vegas, the University of Nevada felt like a much better fit for her. Transferring to UNR was one of the best decisions she has made. Jordan loves everything about the University of Nevada community.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared, “It is so hard for me to pick my favorite college memory. The best part of college overall was just meeting so many new people and getting to pursue so many different unique opportunities. I made some of my best friends in college and learned so much that will stick with me well beyond my college years.”

Congratulations, Jordan! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!

Yazmeen Ybarra

Meet Yazmeen Ybarra, Senior Scholar from the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources! She chose to attend Nevada not only because of the beautiful campus but she heard of great experiences regarding the pre-veterinary program at UNR and wished to be a part of such a great community of students and professors. UNR is also a great distance from her hometown - far enough to be able to experience life on her own, but close enough to be able to visit when she was feeling homesick.

When asked about her favorite college memory, she shared “I have many favorite memories from my academic career, such as all the good weekends I’ve had with my friends, finding hobbies that I really enjoy, or the feeling after my classmates and I aced an exam that we studied so hard for. However, my most favorite college memory is when I realized how much I loved to learn, especially when it came to animal science and medicine. This definitely allowed me to appreciate the world and knowledge in a different way, and makes me that much more excited to start my career.”

Congratulations, Yazmeen! We are so proud of all you’ve accomplished and we’re proud to welcome you into a vibrant alumni Wolf Pack family!