2024 has been a year of significant accomplishments for Noah Medrano. The second-year Computer Science/ Humanities and Technology double major was named a Mandel Undergraduate Fellow before his first year of college was over, and he was recently named a Hispanic Scholarship Fund scholar. Medrano is one of 10,000 university students of Hispanic descent nationwide who received a scholarship.
During the 2023-2024 academic year, Medrano participated in Esperanza Inc.’s Líderes Avanzando first-year student program. The program coordinators encouraged him to apply for a scholarship. He used his application to showcase his strengths, educational values, and commitment to his studies and goals.
Medrano received $3500 in funding as a Hispanic Fund Scholarship scholar, which he plans to put toward his tuition. Though academically successful, some of his most significant accomplishments throughout his undergraduate career have come outside the classroom. As an active member of the Human Fusions Institute’s SaPHaRI (Social and Physical Human-Robot Interaction) Lab, he leads the Affect-Sensing Wearables project. This project will collect physiological signals and estimate the user’s emotional state, then encourage third parties to provide social touch to improve the wearer’s mood. He plans to conduct an experiment before the end of the academic year.
Outside of the academic arena, Medrano hosted the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fair earlier this year. He worked with Case Western Reserve University’s Residence Hall Association to showcase resources to minority students on campus. Over 300 students attended the fair to meet representatives from eight university offices and more than fifteen student organizations, a testament to Medrano’s impactful leadership abilities.
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with Noah Medrano, and I am thrilled to see him recognized as a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar,” said Assistant Professor Alexis E. Block, director of the SaPHaRI Lab. “Noah’s hard work, diligence, and creativity have made a phenomenal addition to the SaPHaRI Lab. Beyond his talent, Noah is a wonderful person whose kindness and passion inspire everyone around him. This recognition is a well-deserved testament to his incredible potential, and I can’t wait to see all he accomplishes in the future.”
