Julia Behlmann is a mechanical engineering major with a passion for mathematics and science. Solving problems brings her joy and a sense of accomplishment, and that motivation has led her to participate in a variety of extracurricular student groups. In fall 2019, Behlmann was elected president of LaFortune House’s government and, in the following spring, treasurer of the TU Two-Step Club. In pursuit of her passion to help others, Behlmann became a team leader in Make a Difference Engineering at TU, where her team is helping disabled children learn to ride bicycles safely. On top of this, Behlmann is a resident assistant, a Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge Scholar, a member of The Sound of the Golden Hurricane Marching Band and a part of TU’s Honors Program. Although actively involved in extracurriculars, Behlmann has thrived academically, ending her year with a 4.0 GPA. Brett Bowman is a finance and energy management double major who is a Presidential Scholar, Treasurer of the Tulsa Energy Management Student Association, and a Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge Scholar. Bowman prides himself on being a champion of TU. As one of the first students from his high school to attend TU, Bowman has made it a personal mission to reach out to incoming students from his home state of Colorado and be a friendly face. He has also taken on the role of University Ambassador, helping everybody feel welcome. Bowman serves as Associate Director of Social and Community Engagement with the Student Association, the Standards Chairman for the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and is continuing his Finance Summer Internship with a wealth advisory firm during the school year. Megan Herrington is a chemical engineering major who strives to combine her philanthropic and professional ambitions within the engineering community. As a TU Presidential Scholar, Herrington is an ambassador for the university. She is also involved in the Freshman Orientation program, the Society of Women in Physics, and the Honors Student Association. Herrington’s diverse interests extend beyond chemical engineering to include a wide range of personal studies and interests, including philosophy and mathematics. Throughout her freshman year, she exemplified this in various ways – from working on the Honors Program Selection Committee to volunteering with Tulsa Girls Math Circle. Outside of that, Herrington aims to find links between science and philosophy while empowering others to get excited about learning. Ha Huynh is a biology major who is involved with many extracurricular activities at TU. She is not only the treasurer of the Student Nurses’ Association, but Huynh is also treasurer of the Asian American Student Association and involved with the Vietnamese Student Association and Future Alumni Council. As a first-generation college student, one of Huynh’s primary goals was to increase opportunities for other first-generation students. She hopes to accomplish this through her roles in various student organizations such as Student Association. Huynh is involved in research at TU in Biology and Psychology and hopes to pursue a medical career. Her goal is to serve others, especially the underprivileged population that she holds dear to her heart. Emma Linn is a biology major who wasted no time making TU her home. Linn is involved in a number of extracurricular activities, including working as an undergraduate researcher, serving as an advisor for the Office of Integrated and Experiential Learning, participating in University Ambassadors, taking part as a member of the Honors Program Selection Committee and Mathematics Association of America, and having served in LaFortune House’s government. Linn also exceeds academically: she is a Presidential Scholar, Presidential Leaders Fellow, Global Scholar and Honors Scholar, and she was a Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge Scholar. While her freshman year at TU was full of uncertainty because of COVID-19, Linn says she learned the value of being comfortable in the unknown. One of her goals is to share this newfound appreciation of uncertainty with others. Danita Mathew is a Biochemistry major with minors in Neuroscience and Spanish, a Presidential Scholar and a member of a number of student organizations. She is secretary of the TU chapter of the American Red Cross, a speaker liaison with TEDxUTulsa, a member of the Future Alumni Council and a Presidential Leaders Fellow. In addition, Mathew belongs to the Indian Students Association and performs with TU’s Chorale. To further her passion of pursuing a career in medicine, Mathew belongs to Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-med honor society. She is a member of the Iyer Lab at The University of Tulsa where she performs undergraduate research as well as a TURC scholar. Through active participation in these groups and organizations, Mathew is embarking on a personal challenge to learn more about herself. Myranda New is a mechanical engineering major passionate about networking, creativity and learning new things. She attends as many on-campus events and is involved in as many extracurricular activities as she can in order to connect with the campus and TU community while also meeting new people. New is vice president of the Society of Women Engineers, a section editor for The Collegian and a project leader with Make a Difference Engineering. Besides extracurriculars, she is also a Presidential Scholar, Presidential Leaders Fellow and Honors Scholar. New says her path to becoming an engineer has not always been easy, but the challenges are pushing her to recognize her passions within her studies and interests. While working as a Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge Scholar, New wrote chapters for a book about engineering disasters, which not only helped her learn about engineering concepts, but also broadened her writing and publishing skills. Asa Scott is a political science and chemistry double major who is putting his stamp on TU by helping amplify the voices of others. For Scott, making it possible for other students to be heard is a passion that has led him to serve as a senator for the Student Association. Scott started his own student organization, TU Speech and Debate and is a Presidential Scholar. Scott came to Tulsa with the goal of making a positive impact on people with poor living conditions around the world, and this passion led him to select two majors that he feels will put him in the best position to make this happen. While Scott is currently improving the lives of TU students through his work with the Student Association, after graduation he plans to continue helping others through his career. Iyan Smith Williams is double majoring in mathematics and Spanish in the International Science and Language Program. Not only is he an Honors Scholar and a Global Scholar, but Smith Williams is also a Peer Mentor for the Office of New Student Programs, where he works alongside the Student Success Team to engage incoming students and help facilitate a smooth transition to college life. Smith Williams currently serves as the Executive Director of Student Awareness for Student Association Cabinet and a speaker curator for TEDx UTulsa, continuing the event programming work he did as freshman with Student Association’s department of Diversity and Educational Programming and Hardesty Hall Government. He also participates in La Tertulia and the Mathematical Association of America, focusing on developing the skills to be an effective educator. Til Zinnhardt has not yet declared a major with the Collins College of Business, but he intends to pursue either an entrepreneurial or accounting career. Zinnhardt both succeeds in the classroom and makes a difference on the soccer field as a TU student athlete. In addition, Zinnhardt is a member of the Emerging Leaders Team, a student athlete representative and a reading partner who reads to children in local elementary schools. Because he came to TU from Germany, Zinnhardt says he “hopes to bring a small part of German cultural background to the unique blend that is The University of Tulsa.” While his first home is overseas, Zinnhardt proudly shares his culture, engagement and involvement with the TU student body — and men’s soccer team — every day.
2021-22 Top Ten Freshmen
2019-20 Top Ten Freshmen