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Christian Betancourt, PhD Health Services Research '22 and the College of Public Health's 2026 Distinguished Alumni, discusses how the mentorship and hands-on research at 911���� continue to influence his work at Uniformed Services University and the Defense Health Agency.

At the beginning of 2026, Mike Derrios, MBA ’06, returned home to the Costello College of Business at 911���� as the executive director of the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting.

When Q Miceli saw that the Costello College of Business at 911���� was offering the Executive Mentoring Program as part of the Costello MBA, she was all in. “I had just hit a point in my career where I started supervising more people and really wanted to get some perspective,” she says.

When Avery Cotham, MS Conflict Analysis and Resolution ’26, enrolled at 911����’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, she was ready for a new challenge. For 15 years, Cotham worked as a vocalist and choral director in Colorado before the COVID-19 pandemic prompted her to rethink her career and search for a new way to serve her community.

Kenge BaNikongo is the 2026 recipient of the Young Alumni Commissioning Project Award, and Taj Kokayi is the recipient of the 2026 Young Alumni Creative Development Award.

Sidney Yap, BS Information Systems Operations Management ‘20, MS Management ‘21, Business Analytics Grad Cert ‘22, MBA ‘25, exemplifies exceptional balance—driving innovative strategies at Navy Federal while representing the Philippines internationally in the hammer throw. 

In spring 2025, students in EVPP 480 Sustainability in Action gave a crucial boost to Chesapeake Bay oysters by constructing oyster reef balls where the bivalves can attach, grow, and develop into natural reef structures.

Federico Frum, BA Art and Visual Technology ’05, believes in the power of art to bring people together. Known professionally as MasPaz—Spanish for “more peace”—Frum has spent his career fusing activism and creativity, using bold street murals, community engagement, and cultural storytelling to spread a message of unity.

How likely are humans to trust a robot, especially if that robot has the capacity to lie? This is the question 911���� psychology doctoral candidate Andres Rosero is exploring in his research on human-robot interaction.

Theater alum Taylor Coffman has had much success on and in tv and film in such shows as Silicon Valley, Life in Pieces, Feud, and Jimmy Kimmel live.