Recognizing Our 2022 Scholarship Recipients

October 17, 2022
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Recipients of Soka University of America’s top academic honors pose for a photo with their awards.

The recipients of Soka University of America’s top academic honors—the Ikeda Scholarship, the John D. Montgomery Scholarship, the Soka Merit Award, and the Academic Excellence Award—met with President Ed Feasel, Dean of Students Hyon Moon, and Interim Dean of Faculty Robert Hamersley and took a commemorative photo in mid-September in Founders Hall.

The Ikeda Scholarship, SUA’s most prestigious academic award, covers full tuition and room and board. The scholarship is presented annually to a second-year, third-year, and fourth-year student.

The John D. Montgomery Scholarship is a $20,000 award given annually to a student for academic excellence and contributing to the university. The award honors the late Dr. Montgomery, a member of the Board of Trustees who helped guide SUA from its inception until his death in 2008. Dr. Montgomery also served as director of the Pacific Basin Research Center at SUA and director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

Ikeda Scholarship

  • Kaori Nemoto ’25
  • Yuichi Matsuna ’24
  • Kentaro Shintaku ’23

John D. Montgomery Scholarship

  • Pablo Zavala Reina ’23

Soka Merit Awards

This year’s Soka Merit Award covers $5,000 in tuition and was presented to three students in the Class of 2023, 2024, and 2025.

  • Class of 2025
    Nugnandini Chhetri
    Devin Weber
    Gray White
  • Class of 2024
    Hiromi Nitaguchi
    Katelyn Grundy
    Taiji Morgan
  • Class of 2023
    Yixin Wang
    Risa Sugihara
    Asahi Kitamura

Academic Excellence Awards

Academic Excellence Awards were presented in three categories. Faculty members nominated students for the awards, which were granted to undergraduate students who excel in the following areas.

  • Excellence in Academics: William de Melo ’23
  • Excellence in Research: Qiankuan Yang ’23
  • Excellence in Creative Arts: Katelyn Grundy ’24

Honorary Scholarships

Each year, the Office of Development awards scholarships named in honor of members of the community. The Kevin Hodes and Bob and Jane Hodes Memorial Scholarship was established by SUA Professor Emerita of Chinese Language and Literature Nancy Hodes to honor her son and her parents and their contributions to scientific research, the arts, world peace, and social justice.

  • Kevin Hodes and Bob & Jane Hodes Memorial Scholarship
    Anjan Rana Magar ’23

The Brian Daisaku McCloskey Memorial Scholarship honors a young man who turned his life around to become a role model for others and whose motto was to “Dream the impossible! Do the impossible.”

  • Brian Daisaku McCloskey Memorial Scholarship
    Petrus Lima ’25, Tanvi Jain ’23, Gudari Castillo ’23, and Manal Atty ’23