Each year, the Georgia Tech Honors Program (HP) recognizes one student who is graduating in the current academic year with the Outstanding Student Award.  The competition is stiff, as so many students excel in the criteria for the award: academic achievement, leadership, creative endeavors, curiosity, and community building (especially in the HP community).  This year’s winner is Samantha Mutiti, a fall 2023 graduate who majored in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Computing and Intelligence and graduated with the designations of Completion of the Honors Program and Distinction in the Research Pathway, as well as a perfect 4.00 GPA.

Samantha was a dedicated member of the HP community, serving on the Honors Leadership Council (HLC) for most of her time at Georgia Tech.  She was the Chair of the New Student Onboarding Committee and served as Director of Internal Affairs, one of the two co-executive director positions on the HLC.  Samantha was also a guide and facilitator at our incoming new student retreats, helping to welcome new first-year and transfer students joining the HP in the fall. Her dedication to service extended beyond just the HP, however.  She served as the Secretary of the Lambda Sigma service organization and spent hours volunteering as a mentor for young women in STEM (both GT and high school students) and planting trees and working in food pantries around the Atlanta area.

As a scholar, Samantha excelled, particularly in the area of undergraduate research at the intersection of biomedical engineering and computing. She was accepted into the St. Jude Symposium for Predoctoral Research for research focused on the genetic and mechanical control of uterine elastogenesis (which is important for proper functioning during pregnancy and childbirth).  She also received the Stephen E. Brossette Scholarship for research combining Biomedical Engineering and Computing and was recognized with a Georgia Tech President's Undergraduate Research Award (PURA) for her work.  She also brought her expertise and enthusiasm into the classroom and labor force, serving as a teaching assistant for Biostatistics, Biomechanics, and Conservation Principles and a Research and Development intern for Proctor and Gamble. Samantha also utilized Georgia Tech’s resources to explore interests in music and video recording, including making recruitment videos for the HP!

While Samantha’s accomplishments to date have been impressive, she holds even greater promise for what she’ll accomplish in the future. She stated that, “Tech was so great I wanted five more years in college” and plans to begin graduate school in fall 2024.  In the meantime, she is continuing to pursue her passion for research, doing work in molecular biology and coding for a geophysics laboratory.  Samantha’s life goals include improving healthcare through research and mentoring young people and fellow scientists.  We have no doubt that she will achieve these goals and are proud that she will be representing the HP.  Congratulations to Samantha Mutiti on being the recipient of the Honors Program Outstanding Student Award.