Princeton University has announced that seniors Sukaina Shivji and Laura Zhang, along with University of Oxford student Darina Andriychenko Leonenko, have been awarded the Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship. This scholarship is among Princeton’s most prestigious honors and aims to broaden recipients’ global experience by supporting study, work, or travel abroad after graduation.
Shivji has been named the Sachs Global Scholar and will pursue a two-year Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Public Health in Disasters, studying at institutions in Spain, Sweden, and Cyprus. Originally from Staten Island, New York, Shivji is majoring in molecular biology with a minor in global health and health policy. She received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence in 2024 and focused her senior thesis on using CRISPR gene-editing technology to study early development in fruit flies.
Her academic work emphasized health inequity and international health systems. Heather Howard, professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), said: “Sukaina brings together ethical imagination, deep compassion, and a strong grasp of the institutional and social forces that shape access to health and wellness.” Elizabeth Gavis, Shivji’s thesis adviser and chair of molecular biology at Princeton, added that she “combines exceptional intelligence and drive with humility.”
Shivji also cofounded Creative Care—a student group—and directed Camp Kesem Princeton for children affected by a caregiver’s cancer. Reflecting on her time at Princeton she said: “I’ve spent so much of my time at Princeton attempting to amplify the voices of others. This scholarship allows me to extend this work beyond Princeton in ways that I never imagined. I hope to always lead with humility.”
Laura Zhang has been named as the Sachs Scholar at Worcester College at Oxford. From Sydney, Australia, Zhang majors in public and international affairs while pursuing minors in humanistic studies and European studies as well as a certificate in history and diplomacy. She plans to complete two master’s degrees at Oxford—one in criminology and criminal justice; another in refugee and forced migration studies—before attending Harvard Law School through its Junior Deferral Program.
Zhang’s interest in refugee rights began during an anthropology seminar where she read about experiences of asylum seekers detained offshore by Australia. Onur Günay, lecturer in anthropology at Princeton noted her “rare combination of intellectual rigor, ethical seriousness, and generosity toward others.” Sophie Meunier from SPIA praised Zhang for producing thoughtful research on deportations during election cycles.
Zhang’s senior thesis examines immigration detention policies by Australia and the UK; she has interned internationally—including with think tanks such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies—and led several campus organizations.
Darina Andriychenko Leonenko is currently pursuing doctoral research on environmental physics at Oxford’s Worcester College. As a Sachs Visiting Scholar next year at Princeton she will collaborate with multiple departments including computer science as well as atmospheric sciences on AI-based forecasting models for extreme weather events.
She explained: “Analyzing where and how AI-based and traditional physics-based simulations diverge serves as an important ‘stress test,’ since predicting extreme events is both challenging and essential for warning local communities… Evaluating these models across different climate scenarios informs longer-term adaptation planning.” Her supervisor Myles Allen remarked: “Princeton and Oxford have been leading the world on application of machine-learning-based weather forecast models… so the Sachs Scholarship is a great opportunity for us to work together.”
Andriychenko Leonenko previously studied tsunami detection technology in Tokyo; ice floe distribution modeling for Arctic shipping; glacial melt rates during fieldwork high up in Peru; holds double first class honors from Cambridge; won several academic awards; led debating societies; coached public speaking; participated competitively both academically (debate) and athletically (chess/rowing).
The Sachs Scholarship was established by friends of Daniel M. Sachs ’60—a former student athlete who attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar before dying young—to honor students whose character reflects his commitment to service.
