Senior Carolina Aguilera-Garza’s journey to Cornell began in Paul Gaba’s classroom. It was there that one of the top scholars at the College of Arts and Sciences honed her debate skills, shaped her passion for politics and found her voice.

“As someone who wants to be a public servant and be an advocate, not only did you help me find my voice, but you helped me find it in a way that would bring positive change to the world,” said Aguilera-Garza, a government and American studies double major with a minor in law and society, expressing gratitude for the lifelong lessons she learned from Paul Gaba, her high school debate coach – “not only a teacher and a mentor, but a friend that I will carry with me forever.”

Aguilera-Garza was one of 31 Merrill Presidential Scholars who gathered at the 38th annual Merrill Presidential Scholars luncheon May 19 at Willard Straight Hall to celebrate the high school and Cornell mentors who contributed most significantly to their early education and college experience, respectively. The scholars are graduating seniors selected by deans of the university’s 10 undergraduate colleges and schools based on outstanding scholastic achievement, evidence of leadership and their desire to positively affect the world beyond Cornell.

The high school mentors, who represented disciplines ranging from history and math to arts, music, design and rhythmic gymnastics, traveled from 12 U.S. states, with one mentor coming from Slovenia.

“Cornell means so much to so many, and does so much, that it’s important that we have these reminders that the central function of any university is teaching new generations of students: opening their minds to the world of ideas, and preparing them for lives of greater meaning and impact,” President Michael I. Kotlikoff said in his opening remarks.

The high school educators and mentors are brought to Cornell, all expenses paid, for the two-day program, which includes dinner with students and high school mentors, a professional development program led by Cornell staff and the luncheon.

During the ceremony, each dean took to the stage to recognize students and their impact at Cornell. Students then publicly thanked the people they chose to honor.

This year, Andrew James ’26 became the second-generation Merrill Scholar, following in the footsteps of his father, Dustin James ’97. An agricultural sciences major at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and active member of the Department of Music in A&S, the younger James chose to honor his sixth-grade percussion director, Nathan Lewis, who “nurtured the potential in all of us,” and helped inspire his love of music.

Yacqub Mohamed ’26, a computer science major at the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Engineering and Information Science, credited his high school teacher Claudia Krochta for being “fundamental in my development as a mathematician and problem solver.”

Recalling his struggles in her precalculus class, Yacqub remembered “all the help she gave me and it was absolutely one of the most confidence-building times of my life.” Mohamed, who is also a Tau Beta Pi honor society member, recently presented his operating systems and distributed systems?? research at Cornell’s BOOM technology showcase in April.

A chemical engineering major in the Duffield College of Engineering, Amy Wu ’26 honored Kevin Crowthers, her STEM and technical writing teacher at the for being her first research mentor who “taught me all the foundational research skills I still use every day.”

A recipient of an undergraduate research grant to develop polymers for geothermal energy systems in 2025, Wu is the author of three peer-reviewed journal publications. He thanked Crowthers for “always encouraging my curiosity” and for “sparking my love of science and research.”

Created in 1988 by the late Philip Merrill ’55, the Merrill Scholars program recognizes outstanding educators who prepare students for college and help them succeed at Cornell.

“This program started as a conversation between then-President Frank Rhodes and my father, who said it’s the best thing he’s ever done,” said Doug Merrill ’89, M.Eng. ’90, MBA ’91. “Cornell is great because we have great students. We have great faculty and they stick around for a while, but students cycle through every four years. We need to keep bringing in great students and who better to help us find them than the teachers who are guiding our best and brightest in the first place.”

Since 1989, Special Teachers Are Recognized (STAR) Scholarships named in honor of the teachers honored by Merrill Scholars have been awarded to Cornell students with financial need from each scholar’s hometown, a program established by Margi Berens ’47 and the late Don Berens ’47.

Sydney Rosenberg ’26, a senior in the Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, thanked her high school teacher, Ellen Kruger, for challenging her to think critically, showing her the power of mentorship and instilling a love of learning.

“She taught me that relationships extend far beyond the classroom and that learning should continue long after the bell rings,” said Rosenberg, a Cornell Tradition Fellow who also serves as co-chair of the Dean’s Student Advisory Board. “She created a space that always felt safe, comforting and inspiring and she’s someone I still learn from constantly.”

Ben Badua is a creative content manager for Student and Campus Life.