Blawnox teen wins full-ride Coolidge Scholarship, only 5 in nation awarded

A rising senior at Fox Chapel Area High School just got a major boost on her career path.

Ulyana Kubini, of Blawnox, earned the prestigious Coolidge Scholarship — a full presidential scholarship that covers four years of tuition, room, board and expenses.

It can be used to pursue undergraduate studies at any accredited college or university program in the country, and is potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“It was definitely a huge surprise,” said Kubini, 18. “I’m so grateful for the community of mentors that I have at Fox Chapel.”

Kubini is among 5,000 students to apply for the merit-based scholarship — and one of only five in the U.S. to earn it for the 2024-25 school year.

She hopes to study public health, neuroscience or human biology.

“Stanford is my dream college,” she said. “But there are several that I have in mind.”

Kubini was born in the U.S. but spent most of her childhood in her parents’ native country of Ukraine. The family returned to the Pittsburgh area in 2014 after war broke out in the eastern region of Donbas following the Russian seizure of several cities.

Kubini still has family that remains in Eastern Europe.

“We never thought we’d leave, and now we have no plans of going back,” she said. “I was unfamiliar with the university system in the United States. No one from my family attended school here, so to get this is a dream come true.”

The merit-based Coolidge Scholarship is awarded by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation to high-achieving high school juniors who embody the values of the 30th U.S. President.

In addition to strong academics, scholars need to show a commitment to public service and an interest in public policy.

Kubini is the president-elect of the high school’s Technology Student Association, where she competes in data science and analytics, and in an event called Debating Technology Issues.

“Freshman year, I randomly signed up and the teacher showed me that it doesn’t matter what kind of connections you have, your skills will take you far,” she said. “That kind of thought allowed me to flourish.”

Kubini has also participated in the high school’s forensics club, where she was the director of speech, and is co-president of the science fair club.

“There aren’t many places in the world that someone can come from my background and get something like this,” Kubini said.

She sent a special shout-out to three district teachers — Daniel Kirk, Lesley Cowles and Justin Papariello — for influencing her academic journey.

Up to 10 Coolidge finalists are flown in for a weekend at the Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, the president’s birthplace.

Winners return to spend several days of orientation, during which they oversee the Coolidge Foundation’s formidable debate programs.

The scholars also return to Plymouth Notch for a week each summer.

Outside of school, Kubini conducts research in ophthalmic microbiology at the UPMC Vision Institute under Dr. Robert Shanks.

She is involved in community service through the Mtindo Network Development Initiative, a free-market think-tank based out of Uganda. The agency, founded by Students for Liberty members in Africa, has distributed more than 10,000 books across seven countries.

“I’m interested in pre-med but also an entrepreneurial path, so I want to combine the two,” she said. “I’d like to work with big data analytics and think-tanks to defend the ideas and values that make the intellectuals in the West so great.”

Two Fox Chapel Area High School students and a recent graduate were selected to have their artwork featured as part of the Society for North American Goldsmiths 2025 Annual Juried Student Exhibition. Colette Walter, a 2025 graduate, and 2024-2025 juniors Emma Kuhns and Umayma Trebak had their pieces selected for the show. Walter’s piece is titled “Chandelier,” Kuhns’ piece is titled “Portrait of Lucian Freud,” and Trebek’s piece is titled “Lidded Box.” Additionally, Fox Chapel Area High School art teacher Sarah Stewart Vasquez also has a piece, “Arrow,” exhibited on the SNAG website.

A total of 44 students from across the nation were selected for the show. The high school exhibition is available online through Aug. 31 and can be viewed at snagmetalsmith.org/2025-jse-hs. A virtual reception was held May 21 for all the participants.

Joseph Kushon was named to the Thiel College dean’s list for the spring 2025 semester. He is studying computer science.

Alexis Quackenbush was named to the spring 2025 dean’s list at Commonwealth University’s Bloomsburg campus.

Daianne Hayashida was named to the dean’s list for the 2025 spring semester at the University of Iowa.

Ella Werner, a Jewish studies and psychology major, made the president’s list at the College of Charleston for the spring 2025 semester. Business administration major Rachel Grimsley and international business and marketing major Paige Theoret made the dean’s list.

Chase Murton, Paige Theoret and Zoey Zoschg graduated from the College of Charleston with bachelor degrees.

Ariya Tayal was named to the dean’s list at Bates College for the winter semester ending in April 2025. Tayal is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in Chinese.