2017-2018 Scholars
Jacob Greene - Bellevue, Washington
Jacob is a freshman at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. He is majoring in biomedical computation and hopes to earn an MD and MPH after completing his undergraduate education. As a physician, he hopes to see patients in a clinical setting and carry out clinical research. Later in his career, Jacob hopes to help legislatures write beneficial health-policies and legislation. Jacob was his high school’s Valedictorian. He speaks about parent/doctor/patient dynamics at hospital conferences (including the 2016 North American CF Conference), does research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and has co-founded a health non-profit (Project AmaRNA) with nine other Stanford freshmen. Jacob has competed in track and field for five years, is an Eagle Scout, and was heavily involved in FIRST Robotics. Outside of school, Jacob loves hiking, skiing, water-sports, and camping.
Joy Arnold - Phoenix, Arizona
Joy Arnold is a freshman at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. She is majoring in mechanical engineering and wants to work in robotics upon graduation. Joy was the build lead of the award winning robotics team at her high school as well as being a member of many other clubs. During her time in robotics, the team won a regional and state championship, as well as competing at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in St Louis, Missouri. Besides being a robotics nerd, Joy spends her free time volunteering. In her senior year, she received a community service letter for completing over one hundred hours of community service in a single year. She hopes to be able to continue making the world a better place and to use her education to create things that enhance people’s lives.
Lauren Smith - Lakewood, New York
Lauren graduated Summa Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences from the State University of New York at Geneseo. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Audiology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lauren plans to eventually work with the pediatric population possibly in a hospital setting. She hopes to be able to use her knowledge and skills to help diagnose and treat hearing loss in young children. Lauren recently returned from Beijing, China, where she spent two weeks working in a hospital to advance her clinical skills. She has spoken at many fundraising events for Cystic Fibrosis and has participated in many clinical trials through her lung center. Lauren has also recently taken up running as a means to maintain her health with the goal of running a half marathon sometime within the next year. This is Lauren’s 4th ENF award.
Julia Ruggirello - St Claire Shores, Michigan
Julia is currently in her third year as a special education teacher in the Grosse Pointe Public School district in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She works in an elementary school resource classroom with students ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade with a multitude of impairments. This fall Julia started a Master’s program in K-12 Administration at Michigan State University in East Lansing Michigan. She expects this program will offer a large scope and sequence of education as a whole. Julia works as a waitress several nights per week in the hopes of saving for a home in the coming year. This is Julia’s 5th ENF Scholar award.
Mackenzie Guillford - Findlay, Ohio
Mackenzie is a senior at the University of Findlay in Findlay, OH majoring in Occupational Therapy and has been accepted into the Masters degree program in Occupational Therapy. She hopes to improve the lives of those with illnesses or life threatening diseases like Cystic Fibrosis by using her personal experiences to help others in similar situations. Mackenzie has been named to the dean’s list all 6 semesters and is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She is active in her community, volunteering for organizations such as Kaitlyn's Cottage for children with intellectual & physical disabilities and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Mackenzie is an avid runner and participates in many school organizations including the Student Occupational Therapy Association and Newman Club, where she is the public relations representative also holds an annual fundraiser for the CF Foundation. This is her 3rd ENF Scholar award.
Ian Henne - Pinckneyville, Illinois
Ian is a junior at Maryville University in Saint Louis Missouri, majoring in Occupational Therapy with a minor in Digital Photography. Although Ian was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at six months old, he has not let CF hold him back in any aspect of his life. Throughout childhood and high school Ian was just as active, if not more so, than most of his peers, with his favorite sport being swimming. Ian was in the top ten percent of his class academically. He continues to swim on the Men’s Swimming and Diving team at Maryville University. Outside of school and swimming his free time is spent hiking, reading, taking photographs and spending time with friends.
Emily Capriotti – Howell, New Jersey
Emily is a freshman attending Fairleigh Dickinson University in Florham Park, NJ with a double major in Journalism and Film Studies and a minor in Political Science. Emily is a 17 year-old accomplished student, actor, filmmaker, writer and community leader despite her daily fight with living with CF and P.O.T.S. (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). Emily has been acting since she was 8 and has performed at both Off-Broadway and equity theatres. A play she wrote, directed, and starred in is currently in several International Film Festivals. She plans to continue her fundraising both for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which totals $60,000 to date, and other causes.
Waco Bays – Kimper, Kentucky
Waco "Denham" Bays, IV is a sophomore at Morehead State University (MSU) in Morehead, Kentucky. Denham is majoring in Biomedical Science with the goal of attending dental school after graduation. He is a 6'6" 195 pound 4 sport high school athlete who concentrated on basketball. Denham earned his Eagle Scout award, is a member of the MSU student council, Pre-Dental Club, and Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR) program where he helps incoming freshmen with academic registration. He was a member of his high school student council and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and volunteered in the local animal and homeless shelters in Southeast Kentucky. While at MSU, he plans to observe various dental practices in the Southeast Kentucky area, and he hopes to join an established dental practice upon completion of graduate school. He intends to remain in his home area where dental care is in great need. His family held a walk for the CF Foundation when he was a very young child, and his hometown of Abingdon, Virginia (5,000 residents) was recognized as the largest first-year site ever at that time. He is thankful the record has since been broken, and continues to raise money for the foundation with the East Tennessee CF team from Knoxville, TN.
Grace McNeilly - Gainesville, Georgia
Grace is a freshman at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA. She is majoring in Nursing and hopes to help others the way she has been helped through her journey with Cystic Fibrosis. Her career goal is to earn a Masters degree and become a Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Anesthetist. Grace has found swimming to be very beneficial to her lung health and plans to swim on the Brenau swim team. She also enjoys art, hiking, and spending time with her two dogs.
Tess Dunn - Santa Cruz, California
Tess is a senior at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, where she is completing her degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Her love of writing extends to songwriting. Over the past 8 years, she has released four EPs of original Music and performed extensively along the west coast. Tess uses her music to increase awareness of Cystic Fibrosis, and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc. (CFRI). In addition to CF fundraising, Tess participates in numerous benefit performances for other causes that are important to her, including solutions to hunger, health care access, and support programs for those struggling with depression. While Tess will continue to pursue her musical goals after college, she plans to utilize her writing and social media skills to secure a writing or marketing position in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is her 4th ENF Scholar award.
Matthew Saylor - Reading, Pennsylvania
Matthew Saylor is a freshman at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, majoring in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business. Matthew is motivated by the tremendous progress made in CF drug development from which he has benefited greatly and has chosen a career path in Pharmaceutical Administration. He enjoys soccer, acting in local plays, and travel. Matt decided very early on that cystic fibrosis was not going to stand in the way of living a full and productive life, “CF will not dictate how I live my life; I will.”
Elizabeth Gmelich- Phoenix, Arizona
Elizabeth (Lilly) Gmelich is a freshman at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, majoring in political science on the pre-law track. Upon graduation from USC, Lilly hopes to attend law school. Throughout high school she participated in many activities and organizations such as Student Ambassadors, National Honor Society, soccer, tennis, and gymnastics. In addition, Lilly also enjoyed volunteering in a preschool classroom and volunteering with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Phoenix. Her father is the Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Phoenix, and her extended family in California, Utah, and New Jersey are active participants and supporters of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Lilly is very grateful to all of those who have supported her throughout her life and in her fight with CF.
Brian Burks - Los Altos, California
Brian is a 3rd year Mathematics major at UC Berkeley. This summer, he researched combinatorics at the University of Michigan, and he is on track to attend graduate school and enter academia. Brian is active in Berkeley extracurriculars and is currently academic chair of Cal’s Math Undergraduate Student Association and a member of Effective Altruists at Berkeley. He has performed highly in national math contests, most recently achieving an honorable mention (Top 80) on the national Putnam Competition. In order to maintain fitness, he joined UC Berkeley’s developmental ultimate Frisbee team - Thugmo. Brian’s other interests include piano performance and–mechanical Rubik’s-style puzzles and the puzzle-hunt/escape room variety. Brian has participated in numerous CF research studies, starting with TobiTot on through Orkambi. This is Brian’s 4th ENF Scholar award.
Jacob Greene - Bellevue, Washington
Jacob is a freshman at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. He is majoring in biomedical computation and hopes to earn an MD and MPH after completing his undergraduate education. As a physician, he hopes to see patients in a clinical setting and carry out clinical research. Later in his career, Jacob hopes to help legislatures write beneficial health-policies and legislation. Jacob was his high school’s Valedictorian. He speaks about parent/doctor/patient dynamics at hospital conferences (including the 2016 North American CF Conference), does research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and has co-founded a health non-profit (Project AmaRNA) with nine other Stanford freshmen. Jacob has competed in track and field for five years, is an Eagle Scout, and was heavily involved in FIRST Robotics. Outside of school, Jacob loves hiking, skiing, water-sports, and camping.
Joy Arnold - Phoenix, Arizona
Joy Arnold is a freshman at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. She is majoring in mechanical engineering and wants to work in robotics upon graduation. Joy was the build lead of the award winning robotics team at her high school as well as being a member of many other clubs. During her time in robotics, the team won a regional and state championship, as well as competing at the FIRST Robotics World Championship in St Louis, Missouri. Besides being a robotics nerd, Joy spends her free time volunteering. In her senior year, she received a community service letter for completing over one hundred hours of community service in a single year. She hopes to be able to continue making the world a better place and to use her education to create things that enhance people’s lives.
Lauren Smith - Lakewood, New York
Lauren graduated Summa Cum Laude with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences from the State University of New York at Geneseo. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate Degree in Audiology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Lauren plans to eventually work with the pediatric population possibly in a hospital setting. She hopes to be able to use her knowledge and skills to help diagnose and treat hearing loss in young children. Lauren recently returned from Beijing, China, where she spent two weeks working in a hospital to advance her clinical skills. She has spoken at many fundraising events for Cystic Fibrosis and has participated in many clinical trials through her lung center. Lauren has also recently taken up running as a means to maintain her health with the goal of running a half marathon sometime within the next year. This is Lauren’s 4th ENF award.
Julia Ruggirello - St Claire Shores, Michigan
Julia is currently in her third year as a special education teacher in the Grosse Pointe Public School district in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She works in an elementary school resource classroom with students ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade with a multitude of impairments. This fall Julia started a Master’s program in K-12 Administration at Michigan State University in East Lansing Michigan. She expects this program will offer a large scope and sequence of education as a whole. Julia works as a waitress several nights per week in the hopes of saving for a home in the coming year. This is Julia’s 5th ENF Scholar award.
Mackenzie Guillford - Findlay, Ohio
Mackenzie is a senior at the University of Findlay in Findlay, OH majoring in Occupational Therapy and has been accepted into the Masters degree program in Occupational Therapy. She hopes to improve the lives of those with illnesses or life threatening diseases like Cystic Fibrosis by using her personal experiences to help others in similar situations. Mackenzie has been named to the dean’s list all 6 semesters and is a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She is active in her community, volunteering for organizations such as Kaitlyn's Cottage for children with intellectual & physical disabilities and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Mackenzie is an avid runner and participates in many school organizations including the Student Occupational Therapy Association and Newman Club, where she is the public relations representative also holds an annual fundraiser for the CF Foundation. This is her 3rd ENF Scholar award.
Ian Henne - Pinckneyville, Illinois
Ian is a junior at Maryville University in Saint Louis Missouri, majoring in Occupational Therapy with a minor in Digital Photography. Although Ian was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at six months old, he has not let CF hold him back in any aspect of his life. Throughout childhood and high school Ian was just as active, if not more so, than most of his peers, with his favorite sport being swimming. Ian was in the top ten percent of his class academically. He continues to swim on the Men’s Swimming and Diving team at Maryville University. Outside of school and swimming his free time is spent hiking, reading, taking photographs and spending time with friends.
Emily Capriotti – Howell, New Jersey
Emily is a freshman attending Fairleigh Dickinson University in Florham Park, NJ with a double major in Journalism and Film Studies and a minor in Political Science. Emily is a 17 year-old accomplished student, actor, filmmaker, writer and community leader despite her daily fight with living with CF and P.O.T.S. (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). Emily has been acting since she was 8 and has performed at both Off-Broadway and equity theatres. A play she wrote, directed, and starred in is currently in several International Film Festivals. She plans to continue her fundraising both for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which totals $60,000 to date, and other causes.
Waco Bays – Kimper, Kentucky
Waco "Denham" Bays, IV is a sophomore at Morehead State University (MSU) in Morehead, Kentucky. Denham is majoring in Biomedical Science with the goal of attending dental school after graduation. He is a 6'6" 195 pound 4 sport high school athlete who concentrated on basketball. Denham earned his Eagle Scout award, is a member of the MSU student council, Pre-Dental Club, and Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR) program where he helps incoming freshmen with academic registration. He was a member of his high school student council and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and volunteered in the local animal and homeless shelters in Southeast Kentucky. While at MSU, he plans to observe various dental practices in the Southeast Kentucky area, and he hopes to join an established dental practice upon completion of graduate school. He intends to remain in his home area where dental care is in great need. His family held a walk for the CF Foundation when he was a very young child, and his hometown of Abingdon, Virginia (5,000 residents) was recognized as the largest first-year site ever at that time. He is thankful the record has since been broken, and continues to raise money for the foundation with the East Tennessee CF team from Knoxville, TN.
Grace McNeilly - Gainesville, Georgia
Grace is a freshman at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA. She is majoring in Nursing and hopes to help others the way she has been helped through her journey with Cystic Fibrosis. Her career goal is to earn a Masters degree and become a Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Anesthetist. Grace has found swimming to be very beneficial to her lung health and plans to swim on the Brenau swim team. She also enjoys art, hiking, and spending time with her two dogs.
Tess Dunn - Santa Cruz, California
Tess is a senior at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, where she is completing her degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. Her love of writing extends to songwriting. Over the past 8 years, she has released four EPs of original Music and performed extensively along the west coast. Tess uses her music to increase awareness of Cystic Fibrosis, and has raised tens of thousands of dollars for Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc. (CFRI). In addition to CF fundraising, Tess participates in numerous benefit performances for other causes that are important to her, including solutions to hunger, health care access, and support programs for those struggling with depression. While Tess will continue to pursue her musical goals after college, she plans to utilize her writing and social media skills to secure a writing or marketing position in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is her 4th ENF Scholar award.
Matthew Saylor - Reading, Pennsylvania
Matthew Saylor is a freshman at the University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, majoring in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business. Matthew is motivated by the tremendous progress made in CF drug development from which he has benefited greatly and has chosen a career path in Pharmaceutical Administration. He enjoys soccer, acting in local plays, and travel. Matt decided very early on that cystic fibrosis was not going to stand in the way of living a full and productive life, “CF will not dictate how I live my life; I will.”
Elizabeth Gmelich- Phoenix, Arizona
Elizabeth (Lilly) Gmelich is a freshman at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, majoring in political science on the pre-law track. Upon graduation from USC, Lilly hopes to attend law school. Throughout high school she participated in many activities and organizations such as Student Ambassadors, National Honor Society, soccer, tennis, and gymnastics. In addition, Lilly also enjoyed volunteering in a preschool classroom and volunteering with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Phoenix. Her father is the Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Phoenix, and her extended family in California, Utah, and New Jersey are active participants and supporters of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Lilly is very grateful to all of those who have supported her throughout her life and in her fight with CF.
Brian Burks - Los Altos, California
Brian is a 3rd year Mathematics major at UC Berkeley. This summer, he researched combinatorics at the University of Michigan, and he is on track to attend graduate school and enter academia. Brian is active in Berkeley extracurriculars and is currently academic chair of Cal’s Math Undergraduate Student Association and a member of Effective Altruists at Berkeley. He has performed highly in national math contests, most recently achieving an honorable mention (Top 80) on the national Putnam Competition. In order to maintain fitness, he joined UC Berkeley’s developmental ultimate Frisbee team - Thugmo. Brian’s other interests include piano performance and–mechanical Rubik’s-style puzzles and the puzzle-hunt/escape room variety. Brian has participated in numerous CF research studies, starting with TobiTot on through Orkambi. This is Brian’s 4th ENF Scholar award.