Meet this year's Finnegan Award winner
Characterized by instructors and advisors as possessing an unyielding thirst for knowledge, with a health care vocation grounded in both science and empathy, Hayoung Cho is the recipient of the 2025 Edward H. Finnegan, S.J., Award as the graduating senior who best exemplifies Boston College’s motto, “Ever to Excel.”
The Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences grad and South Korean native was presented with the honor by University President William P. Leahy, S.J., at Commencement Exercises on May 19.
“I am tremendously fortunate and blessed to have been selected for this award,” said Cho in a recent interview. “The moment I found out I was nominated, I immediately thought of everyone who contributed to my miraculous journey at Boston College. The award symbolizes the countless moments of support and encouragement from my parents, mentors, and peers, who inspired me to dream big. I am incredibly lucky and humbled by the honor and will cherish it for a lifetime.”
A double major in Human-Centered Engineering and chemistry who earned a remarkable 163 credits while maintaining a nearly perfect 4.0 GPA, Cho is a member of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars program and part of BC’s first cohort of HCE graduates.
“Hayoung embodies cura personalis in all she does,” said Morrissey College Associate Dean Thomas Mogan. “Whether advocating for Alzheimer’s policy reform with local legislators, mentoring peers, or engaging in BC’s community life with humility and quiet determination, she is a woman of integrity, thoughtfulness, and purpose. She is a scholar and servant leader of extraordinary promise, and an excellent role model for all BC students who strive to live lives of meaning and purpose.”
Cho’s outstanding academic rigor has earned her recognition as a Sophomore Scholar, Dean’s Scholar, and induction into honor societies Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Sigma Nu, and Iota Sigma Pi. She is a semi-finalist for a Fulbright Research Grant to continue her biomedical research with Mass General Hospital in Ghana.
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Hayoung Cho (Lee Pellegrini)
As a researcher, Cho has undertaken several projects with real-world impact. In partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and institutions in Ethiopia, she tackled global health challenges, developed neonatal nutrition monitoring systems, and traveled to the East African country to train local medical staff.
Under the guidance of Mass General Hospital, Cho assisted in the development of biosensor technologies and published results from a cancer research project in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Biotechnology. While at the University of Oxford, she contributed to pioneering work on microbubble technology—an innovative field that involves the creation and application of tiny, gas-filled bubbles—in lung surfactants, which line the inner surface of the organ’s air sacs.
According to Mogan, “her sustained engagement in biomedical science and engineering reflects an impressive maturity, vision, and desire to serve others through the integration of knowledge and compassion.”
A co-founder and president of BC’s Engineers Without Borders chapter, Cho led a multi-year, interdisciplinary initiative to provide clean water access to a Tanzanian village, spearheading the engineering design and fundraising efforts, and forming global partnerships that called for solidarity and global justice. Her leadership at the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society and the SSC Venture Studio—an arm of a BC alumni-managed venture fund that provides resources and support for students to launch and grow their startups—along with her work as a teaching assistant for several courses, further reflected her passion for community building and mentoring.
Cho’s desire to serve also encompasses Boston’s most vulnerable populations. Extending her PULSE service commitment to over three years, she volunteered at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and Mass General Brigham, exemplifying the Jesuit mission of being “men and women for others.”
“Growing up, I vividly remember seeing my family give back to their communities,” said Cho. “They showed me how to freely love another, do good work in the community, and acknowledge our blessings. My desire to give back blossomed when I came to BC. As I served patients at the St. Francis House Foot Clinic and worked with students and professionals to implement a borehole project in Mkutani, Tanzania, I was reminded of the love that I received and the impact that care and respect can have. Serving others and applying my education to real-world challenges felt like a natural fulfillment of cura personalis.”
“Through every obstacle, I felt unwavering support from everyone around me. They inspired me to strive higher and gave me a profound sense of purpose in my life. BC has provided me opportunities to shape not just my skills, but transform my heart, mind, and soul in ways that have given me a clear direction and fiery passion.”
From the moment she stepped off the plane in Boston, Cho recalled, she was resolved to become the best version of herself.
“I wanted to welcome every challenge as an opportunity to learn, find joy in life’s small moments, and live each day with intention,” she said. “As a member of the HCE major’s inaugural class, I was thrilled to be accepted into a closely knit community and to collaborate across disciplines to solve real-world problems. Learning about the critical issues in environment, health, and energy, I now aspire to serve the world’s evolving needs as a responsible global citizen and physician-scientist.”
She credits her BC mentors for their guidance along the way, including Danielle Taghian, a professor of the practice in biology; Kathleen Bailey, professor of the practice in political science and director of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program; Glenn R. Gaudette, the John W. Kozarich ’71 Chair of the Department of Engineering; Kenneth R. Metz, a professor of the practice in chemistry; Lorenzo Alexander L. Puente, a professor of the practice in English; and Hakho Lee, a professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Biomedical Engineering Program at the Center for Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital. One advisor, however, particularly stood out.
“[Ferrante Family Assistant] Professor Bryan Ranger has been my greatest role model, a true superstar whom I looked up to every day,” said Cho of Ranger, an Engineering faculty member. “I’m so grateful to have met and researched with him since my first year.”
Cho said her four years at BC—a blend of rigorous learning and a caring community—has left an indelible impression on her.
“Through every obstacle, I felt unwavering support from everyone around me. They inspired me to strive higher and gave me a profound sense of purpose in my life. BC has provided me opportunities to shape not just my skills, but transform my heart, mind, and soul in ways that have given me a clear direction and fiery passion.”
Julie Caputo-Depina, Chris Carrabes, and Lily Fleming (Lee Pellegrini)
Finalists for the 2025 Finnegan Award
Julie Canuto-Depina
Connell School of Nursing
Major: Nursing
Montserrat Coalition Student Ambassador; Thea Bowman AHANA Intercultural Center student ambassador; Cape Verdean Student Association; Black Excellence Gala Committee; Undergraduate Government of Boston College class representative; Women’s Training Center Bystander program; CSON Senate; Emerging Leader Program; McNair Exploratory Program; Jamaica Magis Service Immersion Trip; Cura Series, Civil Rights Immersion Trip
Christopher Carrabes
Carroll School of Management
Majors: Management and philosophy
Student Executive Board, Edmund Shea Center for Entrepreneurship; Fulton Leadership Society; teaching assistant, Carroll School Business Law Department.
Lily Fleming
Lynch School of Education and Human Development
Majors: Elementary Education; Perspectives on Spanish America; Transformative Educational Studies
Lynch School Education Policy Council; peer mentor, Experience, Reflection, Action First-Year Program; McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program; La Escuela Carlos Aguilar (Ecuador) volunteer; Design for ImpACCt Initiative; Restorative Justice and Prison Reform (Australia).