In honor of the David and Mimi Aloian Memorial Scholarships’ twenty-fifth anniversary, the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has chosen four undergraduates to receive the award this year (instead of the usual two). Recipients have demonstrated solid leadership in contributing to the quality of life in the Houses, traits embodied by the Aloians, who led Quincy House from 1981 to 1986. David Aloian ’49 was also executive director of the HAA. This year’s scholars, Matthew Chuchul ’13, of Pforzheimer House, Laura Hinton ’13, of Cabot House, Abiola Laniyonu ’13, of Lowell House, and Meghan Joy Smith ’13, of Leverett House, were honored on September 27.
Chuchul, of New Hyde Park, New York, co-chairs his House committee. Last year, noting a void in “Pfoho’s” history, he teamed up with the Harvard College Women’s Center to launch the “Radcliffe Revolution”—a photographic retrospective and evening of alumnae recollections of the transition to gender-mixed housing—which drew more than 100 people.
Hinton, of Alameda, California, co-chairs her House committee and is a founding team member of the Cabot Café, which serves hundreds of students, tutors, and faculty members a week, fostering a dynamic atmosphere of intellectual and social conversation.
Laniyonu, of Derwood, Maryland, helped modernize the Lowell House library by creating custom software to analyze its more than 10,000 volumes so users may cross-reference their books against other Harvard holdings. A former secretary of the House Committee, he now serves the community through an at-large leadership position created specifically for him.
Smith, of Campbell River, British Columbia, has helped raise awareness of mental-health issues and helped change student culture by normalizing asking for help with them. She has worked closely with student mental-health liaisons and is a drug and alcohol peer adviser. In addition, she is the captain of Leverett’s intramural crew women’s B boat.
