Ingrid Cheung

STEM Scholarship Recipient, 2021

Ingrid Cheung, McC ’22, from Cleveland, Ohio, is a double major in biomedical engineering and Asian languages and culture. One of her goals is to conduct research in South Korea in the biomaterials area after receiving her PhD. Ingrid is a Questbridge National College Math Scholar and has participated in the Summer Excel Program for incoming first-year scholars in the field of engineering. She also studied the Korean language at the Ewha Womans University in Seoul with the Undergraduate Language Grant and a grant from the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship for study abroad.

Emily Harriott

Senior Woman's Award for Volunteer Service Recipient, 2019

Lucia Brunel

Senior Woman's Award for Volunteer Service Recipient, 2018

Heather Headley

Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipient, 2020

The Alumnae Award recognizes a woman who has brought honor to Northwestern University through outstanding professional contributions in her field and who has attained national recognition. Established in 1976, the Alumnae Award has been presented every year to an alumna who has had a significant impact in her field of endeavor. Educators, journalists, doctors, scientists, and artists are included among The Alumnae’s roster of awardees.

Heather Headley, singer, songwriter, and actress, is the recipient of The Alumnae of Northwestern University’s 2020 Alumnae Award. She was honored with the 2000 Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her role in Aida. “As the 44th recipient of our Alumnae Award, Heather will join a distinguished group of women bringing honor to Northwestern University,” say Alumnae Award committee co-chairs Mary Schuette and Susie Stein. 

Following high school participation in choir and musicals, the multi-faceted Headley attended Northwestern University, studying communications and musical theater until the last day of her junior year on 1996, when she made the decision to become part of the musical Ragtime and drop out of school. In 1997, she originated the role of Nala in the Broadway musical The Lion King. Following, she originated the title role of the Nubian princess in the Broadway adaptation of Aida, earning the Tony Award for Best Actress in 2000.She has performed in other musicals including Do Re Mi, Dreamgirls, and Promises, Promises. From November 2012 until August 2013, Headley played the role of Rachel Marron in the musical adaptation of Whitney Houston’s 1992 movie, The Bodyguard, at London’s Adelphi Theatre. She was nominated for an Olivier Award and a What’s On Stage Award for this performance.2In 2016, she assumed the role of Shug Avery from Jennifer Hudson in a revival of the Tony-Award winning The Color Purple and co-starred in the Spike Lee reboot of She’s Gotta Have It as Dr. Clara Jamison.Musically, she released her debut album, This Is Who I Am, in October 2002 with RCA Records. The work on this album earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and for Best New Artist, making her the first Tony Award winner to be nominated for this award. Two songs from this album emerged as Top 5 R&B and Dance chart hits. A song from her second album, In My Mind, served to promote Headley’s March of Dimes educational campaign “I Want My 9 months.”In 2010, she won her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album for Audience of One on the EMI Gospel label. She has appeared with Andrea Bocelli on his Christmas tour and on America’s Got Talent television show.In 2017, Headley began appearing in recurring roles on the TV series She’s Gotta Have It and the following year, she began appearing as Gwen Garrett in a recurring role on the TV series Chicago Med. In 2019, Headley was cast as one of the three leads in the Netflix series Sweet Magnolias, which has been renewed for a second season.

She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three children.Among her many awards, Headley received the coveted Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and was listed as one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and Essence magazine’s 30 Women to Watch.Heather Headley will receive her award virtually on Monday, October 19, 2020, at 10 a.m. She will be introduced by noted opera singer Nancy Gustafson (The Alumnae’s 2007 Alumnae Award recipient), and Dominic Missimi (founder and former director of Northwestern’s Music Theater Program and former director of Waa-Mu, having staged 17 of the original student reviews).

Andre Schweizer

STEM Scholarship Recipient, 2018

Andre Schweitzer, McC, industrial engineering, from Rio De Janeiro, hopes to simultaneously obtain a master’s degree in transportation systems. While in high school, he led a community service organization that received first place in the Brazil Prudential Spirit of Community Award competition. He was selected as salutatorian and best performing math student in his high school graduating class. At Northwestern, he was on the dean’s list three times and received two high honors in math. He hopes to work in developing economies, especially in Latin America, to create and maintain efficient transportation systems, especially in terms of logistic planning and long-term returns. He describes the challenges he has faced as an international student to “catch up” with classmates who have stronger backgrounds than he, for example, in chemistry.

Abigail Smith

STEM Scholarship Recipient, 2018

Abigail Smith, McC, industrial engineering, from Aurora, Colorado, was valedictorian of her high school class, received multiple departmental awards and was a four year varsity athlete. At Northwestern, she was selected to be a Murphy Scholar through the Murphy Institute within McCormick. Further, she has started her own company, RefundGenius. Through her STEM studies, she hopes to have the tools to answer difficult questions through unconventional solutions. In her first quarter of freshman year, she reports learning a vital lesson through her design class. The requirement was to overcome a problem and work as a team with a real-world client. She and her team needed to work with a plethora of professional people and make the best decisions they could.

Chloe Wong

Senior Woman's Award for Volunteer Service Recipient, 2021

Chloe Wong is the recipient of the 2021 Senior Woman’s Service Award given by The Alumnae of Northwestern University. The award, established by The Alumnae in 2002, honors a senior woman who has demonstrated outstanding volunteer service to the campus and community while at Northwestern University.

“Chloe is a model for volunteer service on the Northwestern campus. She embodies the mission and spirit of the Senior Woman’s Service Award – what an amazing woman,” notes Julie McDowell, chair of The Alumnae’s Senior Woman’s Service Award committee. She adds, “Chloe embodies the character and accomplishments The Alumnae is looking to honor.”

Chloe, from New York City, NY, is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. Other majors are: Global Health Studies and Asian American Studies. Chloe received honors such as: Dean’s List in 2019, Council of 100 Trailblazer Award, Academic Year Undergraduate Research Grant, Diamond Scholarship, Bonnie and Mike Daniels’ GESI Scholar, and Clinton Global Initiative Fellow.

While at Northwestern, Chloe volunteered for Supplies for Dreams, a nonprofit that provides extracurricular experiences to students in the Chicago public schools. She began as a mentor, opting to stay at the same school every quarter to be able to build relationships with students. She became a School Coordinator, leading 5-10 Northwestern students in mentoring sessions and mini-activities every week. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

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