Leigh Krompasky and Grace Lee Receive the John W. White Graduate Fellowship

The Penn State University Faculty Senate awarded Leigh Krompasky, a senior majoring in Science, and Grace Lee, a senior majoring in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Genetics & Developmental Biology, and a Schreyer Scholar, with the John W. White Graduate Fellowship.

The fellowship recognizes outstanding undergraduate students who are graduating with highest distinction and who plan to enroll in graduate study. The scholarship provides $1,000 to be used for graduate education at Penn State or another institution. Krompasky and Lee were recognized at the April 19 Faculty Senate meeting.

"I was delighted to learn that Leigh and Grace were selected for this prestigious recognition by the Faculty Senate. I commend them for their exceptional accomplishments and wish them the very best as they graduate from the Eberly College of Science and take the next steps in their careers," said Mary Beth Williams, senior associate dean and professor of chemistry in the Eberly College of Science. Williams also serves as a faculty senator on the Faculty Senate.

“I am thankful to have received the award because it will help me pay for graduate school. It was also very meaningful to have my hard work recognized by the Faculty Senate,” Krompasky said. After she graduates in May, Krompasky plans to attend Lock Haven University to earn a master’s degree in Health Science and become a physician assistant.

Lee is also very appreciative of the award, which she will be using to fund her medical school studies that begin this summer. “Receiving this award means a lot to me because it provides not only financial support but emotional and mental support as well, which encourages me to move forward towards my goal. I am very grateful for the support that Penn State is offering me even after graduating from the institution.”

Lee, who has been an undergraduate researcher in Gong Chen's lab since her sophomore year, hopes to take that experience and grow it into a medical career as a physician-scientist. In the Chen lab, she investigates the role of small molecule compounds in chemically reprogramming human astroglial cells into functional neurons. In addition to receiving the White Graduate Fellowship, she has also received the Academic Scholarship Award from the Penn State Multicultural Resource Center and is a student marshal for the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The John White Fellowship is one of the oldest fellowships at Penn State. The award was established in 1902 by James Gilbert White to honor his father, Rev. John W. White of Milroy, Pennsylvania.