Hopkinton’s Zain Ali, an introduction to data science (IDS) curriculum and instruction major at Lasell University in Newton, was acknowledged as a mentor for high school students taking dual-enrollment college-level courses in the 2020-21 academic year.

Ali partnered with high school students who might otherwise not easily access Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment courses to guide them in college-level studies and career exploration.

“The mentors were Lasell students majoring in that subject area, who supported the high school students with course content and shared information about further studies in that field,” explained professor Claudia Rinaldi. “The goal was to encourage more career and higher education exploration among the high school participants.”

The program, made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, was designed to offer high-level course access across various fields to underrepresented minorities in local partner high schools. Those schools are part of eight school districts involved in Lasell’s Pathways to Diversity program: Nantucket, Waltham, Lawrence, Andover, Marlborough, Milford and the Lexington and Lincoln-Sudbury METCO programs.

More than 130 students in those school districts participated in biology, education, global studies, business, criminal justice, American Sign Language, psychology and communications courses, all taught by Lasell faculty.

Local students shine

The University of Massachusetts announced its dean’s list for the spring semester, and a number of Hopkinton residents were on it. The list includes Freeman Alfano, Molly Andrews, Julia Annenberg, Hayden August, Haley Auslander, Kalina Bergmann, Haley Bernardo, Aayushi Berry, Jade Bolger, Tess Bouvier, John Buday, James Cavallo, Alan Chen, Jordyn Cheverie, Olivia Coelho, Ryan Covino, Maeve Cross, Brett Daley, Michael Domingo, Anne Feather, Natalia Gomez Donate, Christopher Hadley, Lauren Hamm, David Hart, Robert Hart, Zachary Holbrow, Zachary Horgan, An-Chi Huang, Luke Joseph, Devin Kelly, Victoria Kray, Alexandra Lazarov, Jake Leblanc, Allison Leeret, Madeline Mace, Justin Mak, Sophia Malik, Gianna Mangano, Dawson McMillan, Emma Meek, Samuel Morningstar, Peter Morse, Hannah Murphy, Robert Pagliuca, Ryan Palmer, Astha Parmar, Kyle Perkins, William Quinlan, Devontae Rivera, Jack Rodgers, Danielle Sullivan, Amber Walsh, Patrick Webb and Emily Whelan. …

At the University of New Hampshire, several Hopkinton students were recognized for academic achievement in the spring semester. Receiving highest honors were Alexandra Lee, Jacqueline Lupinski and Abigail Wilson. Earning high honors were Adara Groman, Anthony Zeissig, Elizabeth Liberta, Jessica Mellor, Isabella Houley, Galen Graham, Cole Stukel, Allison Scimone, Olivia O’Connor and Samuel Lozeau. Honors went to Paige Harvey, Lia Brossi, Kayla Murphy, Ivy Missaggia, Peter Mitchell, Ivy Gogolin and Jonathan Goldberg. …

Ashley Kaiser celebrates her Ph.D. from MIT.

Ashley Kaiser received a doctorate degree from MIT in materials science and engineering. She has moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she is working for 3M as a senior research engineer. …

Carly Chase graduated cum laude from Western New England University with a degree in marketing communication/advertising. …

At Rochester Institute of Technology, Charlie Baker (computer science), Jack McCabe (mechanical engineering) and Kira Hanson (film and animation) were named to the dean’s list. …

Ava Floyd graduated from William James College in Newton with a doctor of psychology in clinical psychology. …

At Holy Cross, Anne Comcowich (political science and philosophy), William Moore (environmental studies), Emily Taylor (psychology), Sara Cahill (biology) and Katharine Lagasse (English and visual arts: studio) were named to the dean’s list. …

Scott Babigian and Avery Knous were named to the president’s list at Siena College …

Sydney Joyce graduated from Ithaca College with B.A. in writing. …

At Curry College, Timothy McGrath received a B.A. in criminal justice, while Julie Tarantino earned a B.S. in nursing. …

Jeremy Hazzard, an economics major, received a B.A. from Hamilton College. …

At Quinnipiac University, William Abbott, Allison Burdulis, Isabella Callery, Tess Greenwood, Madeleine Hildreth, David Sloan and Marina Yasuna were named to the dean’s list. …

Elisabeth Christ, a senior majoring in environmental engineering, was named to the dean’s list at WPI. …

At Merrimack College, Natalie Calkins, a health science major, and Katelyn Distasio, majoring in early childhood education, were named to the president’s list, and Gabriel Lopez, a criminal justice major with a minor in pre-law, was named to the dean’s list. …

Emilee Trudeau was named to the president’s list at Framingham State University. …

At Clark University, William Livis graduated with an M.S. in data analytics, Eric Crain graduated with a B.A. in biology, Melinda Marchand graduated with a Ph.D. in history, and John Rooney graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in screen studies. …

Connor Best graduated from Mercer College, where he was studying in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. …

At Emerson College, freshman Jiaqian Bai (marketing communication major), sophomore Eugenia Camacho (business creative enterprises), sophomore Brittany Forsmo (theatre and performance) and junior Brianna Maloney (media arts production) were named to the dean’s list. …

Sarah Todd was named to the dean’s list at Providence College.

Editor’s note: Information for college honors is provided by the schools. Those interested in being included in this section should forward the information or request for the school to email it to: editor@hopkintonindependent.com.