2024-2025 Award Cycle
Eligibility: The James A. Benson Memorial Undergraduate Research Scholarship is awarded annually, and is open to any undergraduate student enrolled at St. John’s University during the Fall and/or Spring semester of an academic year. The research project (e.g.: paper, blog, video, social media campaign, infographic, etc) might cite and synthesize research, and/or might apply E&I principles, practices and strategies.
Note: The application requires valid SignOn credentials.
Application
Application Due: 5pm (Eastern) Thursday April 10
Decisions/Notification: 5pm (Eastern) Friday April 18
Prior Recipients of the James A. Benson Scholarship Award
Congratulations to Tanya Ansari
2024 Recipient of the James A. Benson Memorial Undergraduate Research Scholarship Award!
Tanya Ansari is a junior studying Biomedical Science major with minors in Healthcare Administration and Theology. Her award-winning study examines how cultural factors, such as stigma, collectivism, and acculturation, impact the willingness of self-identifying first-generation South Asian American young adults’ mental health treatment-seeking behaviors. It highlight the need for culturally-sensitive mental health interventions and the development of effective strategies to bridge the gap between cultural values and mental health needs through the Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) Framework.
An active member of the St. John's University community, her many other accomplishments include:
- Lab Coordinator | Rabinowicz KT Lab
- Junior Senator | Student Government Inc.
- President | H.A.R.M.O.N.Y.
- Vice-President | Red Cross
- Co-Vice President | NARI
- Co-President | Omicron Delta Kappa
- Biomedical Science Class Representative | College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
2023 Awardee Olivia Gittens
The University Libraries is pleased to announce that Olivia Gittens is the inaugural winner of The James A. Benson Memorial Undergraduate Research Scholarship Award. The library established the Benson Memorial Award in 2023. A life-long learner and prolific reader, Dr. Benson was a nationally-known visionary in the field of academic librarianship, intentionally pushing the boundaries of what the twenty-first century library should be. The Benson Award is a $300 Research Award to recognize undergraduate students pursuing research projects that focus on issues relating to or strategies for promoting equity and inclusion for historically marginalized populations.
The scholarship committee chose Gitten's project entitled "African American College Age Girls Sexual Health Education" as an outstanding application of Equity and Inclusion principles to research methods in Health Education, to cultural competency in health care, and to addressing disparities in sexual health outcomes for women of color.