Several MCB-affiliated students have been recognized with prestigious Student Leadership Awards from the Dean of Students Office.
Each spring, the Dean of Students Office celebrates individuals and student organizations across the College who demonstrate outstanding leadership and make meaningful contributions to student life.
This year’s MCB-affiliated honorees include:
Adam Bartholomew (MCB) ‘26 — Dean of Students Bonds and Bridges Award
A resident of Adams House and student in the Harvard–Berklee Joint Studies Program, Adam explores the intersection of music and film through coursework in Music and Art, Film and Visual Studies at Harvard and Film Scoring at Berklee. While concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology, he has also pursued creative projects that connect artistic practice with cultural storytelling and community-building. In the spring of his first year, for a Harvard musicology course, Adam directed and edited a documentary on his uncle’s pioneering jazz steelpan ensemble, Panazz, from Trinidad. The film won the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and has since screened internationally, from London to Japan. Through a sponsorship from the MITTCO Ltd. Steelpan factory that supported the film’s Digital Cinema Package production, Adam acquired steelpans that helped launch the Harvard College Steelpan Ensemble, which he co-founded with Elizabeth Bennett ’26 in September 2024. Rehearsing in Adams House and open to musicians of all experience levels, the ensemble fosters a welcoming space for collaborative music-making while sharing the vibrant tradition of steelpan music with the Harvard community. In January 2026, after a year of fundraising, the ensemble traveled to Trinidad to engage with the instrument’s cultural roots and collaborate with leading steelpan virtuosos in a culminating concert.
Hannah Niederriter (Neuro) ‘26 — Harvard Foundation Distinguished Senior Award
In her role as an intern at the former Office of BGLTQ Student Life, Hannah designed and executed community-building initiatives, including events and affinity spaces, to support LGBTQ+ undergraduate inclusion and belonging. She also provided tailored information, referrals, and peer guidance, and served as chair of the Queer Advisory Council, where she led a team in reviewing grant applications and managed a $15,000 budget to support LGBTQ+ student initiatives and programming.
Over the past three years as a Peer Advising Fellow (PAF), Hannah advised first-year students on academic, extracurricular, and professional development, while also offering specialized pre-health advising to an additional cohort of students.
As Co-Chair and former Community Engagement Chair/Team Leader of FYRE (Harvard’s pre-orientation program for first-generation, low-income students), she directed programming for 150 first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students. In this capacity, she managed a team of 40 peer leaders (including six steering committee members), led hiring and training alongside the FYRE Director at the Foundation, designed and executed a week-long schedule of panels, workshops, and community-building events, and coordinated logistics with administrators, residential life staff, and campus offices to align with equity and inclusion goals.
As Co-Director and Co-Founder of Harvard Undergraduate Queer Advocates (HUQAD), she curated a queer art exhibition that attracted 300 visitors and raised more than $500 for Lambda Legal, GLAD Law, and MTPC; co-authored and distributed a statewide policy brief on GSA best practices in collaboration with 30 universities; and mobilized a campus-wide gender-inclusive restroom campaign involving 27 student organizations and 240 individual supporters. She is also currently planning the annual LGBTQ+ graduation celebration across all Harvard University schools.
In addition, Hannah has been extensively involved in mental health advocacy on campus. As the former president of Harvard Active Minds, she coordinated and facilitated mental health workshops for 1,600 first-year students, organized suicide intervention training for 30 students, and planned other awareness, resource, and advocacy events. She also previously served as a peer counselor with Contact, providing non-directive, confidential counseling to Harvard students in distress.
Umme Anushka (Neuro) ‘28 — Women’s Leadership Impact Award
Through mentorship, peer counseling, public service, and global policy education, Umme has demonstrated a sustained commitment to supporting students and advancing equity-centered care. As a Peer Advising Fellow, she supports first-year students as they navigate the academic, social, and personal transition to Harvard. Through one-on-one conversations, community-building efforts, and guidance around campus resources, she helps students feel more grounded and supported during their first year.
She has also been deeply involved in mental health advocacy through Indigo Peer Counseling, where she serves as both a peer counselor and Resources Director. In these roles, she provides nonjudgmental peer support to students and works to strengthen the organization’s resource systems so that undergraduates can more easily access care, crisis support, and campus/community mental health resources. Her work with Indigo reflects her broader commitment to making mental health support more visible, approachable, and student-centered.
Beyond campus mentorship and counseling, Umme has engaged in public service through the Phillips Brooks House Association, where she has focused on community-based approaches to care, equity, and social support. Her service work connects closely to her interest in expanding access to compassionate, non-carceral forms of crisis response and addressing the everyday barriers that shape health and well-being.
Umme has also brought her commitment to gender equity and global health into her leadership with Harvard Model United Nations. As Director for HMUN’s World Conference on Women committee, she authored a background guide on period poverty and maternal health, helping students examine how gender, public health, poverty, and policy intersect across global contexts. Through this role, she guided hundreds of delegates in discussing urgent women’s issues and encouraged thoughtful engagement with solutions to maternal health disparities and menstrual inequity.
Together, her work reflects a sustained commitment to mentorship, mental health access, public service, and women’s leadership within and beyond the Harvard community.
We extend our congratulations to Adam, Umme, and Hannah for their exceptional leadership and impact within the Harvard community.
