The Tulane 34 Award recognizes graduating seniors who have distinguished themselves through exceptional leadership, service, and contributions to the Tulane community. Selected for their impact both inside and outside the classroom, these students embody the university’s commitment to academic excellence, civic engagement, and community spirit. The following School of Liberal Arts students were named among the 2026 Tulane 34 for their outstanding achievements and dedication to making a difference at Tulane and beyond.
Luke Thomas Broussard, School of Liberal Arts
Luke Thomas Broussard, from Lafayette, Louisiana, is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and social policy, with a minor in gender and sexuality studies and a strategy, leadership, analytics minor (SLAM). His involvement with the Tulane Undergraduate Assembly has been central to his time at Tulane. Luke gained experience in leadership, student advocacy and collaboration with Tulane administrators through his many positions in TUA. He served as co-chair of the body this academic year and credits his event planning, leadership and mentorship skills to this work. Luke has also been active with the Office of Undergraduate Admission since his first year, serving as a Green Wave Ambassador and later as vice president for GWA. His most rewarding work was as an intern in the Office of Admission. In addition, Luke was an active member of Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity and served on the School of Liberal Arts Advisory Board. Following graduation, Luke plans to pursue work in government or public policy in Washington, D.C., with the possibility of attending law school in the future.
Emily Eckerman, A. B. Freeman School of Business; School of Liberal Arts
Emily Eckerman, from Saratoga, California, is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in management in finance and a Bachelor of Arts in political economy with a concentration in international perspectives and a minor in French. Emily has demonstrated strong academic achievement and global engagement while at Tulane. She made the Dean’s List every semester while maintaining a rigorous course load of 18 to 21 credit hours. Emily also pursued extensive international study, spending the summer of 2023 in Mérida, Mexico through the Altman Program and her entire junior year in Strasbourg and Toulouse, France. While in France, she developed fluency in French by taking courses at local universities alongside international and French students, including philosophy coursework conducted entirely in French. She was selected to serve as an investment research manager for the Burkenroad Reports after completing the course as a sophomore, contributing to three published equity research reports on small-cap public companies in the Gulf South. Emily also participated in multicultural service-learning experiences, assisting in a French immersion classroom at École Bilingue in New Orleans and working on a sustainable development project in Yaxunah, Mexico. After graduation, Emily will join Morgan Stanley in New York City as part of their investment banking shareholder activism group.
Joanna Fashjian, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, School of Liberal Arts
Joanna Fashjian, from Providence, Rhode Island, is graduating with a bachelor of science in public health, a bachelor of arts in gender and sexuality studies and a certificate in gender-based violence. Jo completed the Tenenbaum Tutorials, an independent research program open to only 12 students, on online spaces’ use as a site of care for people with disordered eating. She co-authored a publication for mHealth journal on community health workers and social media, and interned with ReproTLC where she now works. At ReproTLC, Jo creates educational content and researches reproductive issues facing the country. For fun, Jo served as program director at WTUL, Tulane’s non-commercial student radio station, where she kept up with more than 120 DJs and created a 24/7 show schedule every semester. She also hosted multiple progressive, jazz and local music shows as DJ Poundcake. Following graduation, Jo will continue her work with ReproTLC and will also be researching injury prevention at the University of Washington Harborvier Injury Prevention and Research Center through their INSIGHT summer program. She plans to either complete her master’s in public health or apply for doctoral programs in gender and sexuality studies in the future.
Ian Faul, School of Science and Engineering; School of Liberal Arts
Ian Faul, from New Orleans, is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in psychology, a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a minor in French. Ian was editor-in-chief of The Tulane Hullabaloo student newspaper for two years. He helped create a newspaper that was more responsive to a rapidly evolving media landscape by doubling the number of active staff, founding a new section for science, technology and quantitative analyses, and increasing engagement through data-driven strategy. As a result, the organization was a finalist in the American Collegiate Press Pacemaker competition, the highest award in college journalism. Ian also worked for six semesters in the Social Memory Lab, a cognitive neuroscience laboratory, where his research on the neural underpinnings of social reasoning resulted in an honors thesis and two first-author manuscripts. This work, along with his weekly volunteering at University Medical Center and an Alzheimer’s clinic, reaffirmed his desire to pursue medicine as a career. After graduation, Ian will spend the summer researching treatments for autism and OCD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and will also work as a contributing writer for the science and health section of “The Advocate”.
Kosisochukwu Ifeji, School of Liberal Arts
Kosisochukwu Ifeji, from Bangor, Maine, is graduating with a bachelor of arts in sociology and a bachelor of arts in Africana studies as well as a minor in Latin American studies. They received the 2025 Udall Scholarship, a national award recognizing the work of undergraduates who have done significant work in conservation, stewardship or environmental policy. Kosi was both an undergraduate research fellow and undergraduate administrative assistant in the Department of Africana Studies. They worked with the Black Studies Book Club in the department and helped with the planning of semesterly events where Black Studies scholars give lectures about their recent publications in addition to participating in smaller discussions. With the support of the Gordon Summer Fellowship, Kosi conducted fieldwork in Johannesburg, South Africa to better understand the sociopolitical landscape of queer African migration. Following graduation, Kosi will be attending Columbia University for their doctorate in African American and African Diaspora Studies. They will be focusing on how Black queer immigrants living in Brazil and South Africa create community and how they think about home and citizenship.
Rubén Morales Forte, School of Liberal Arts
Rubén Morales Forte, from Fraijanes, Guatemala, is graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology. He received support for his work through the American Council of Learned Societies Dissertation Innovation Fellowship and a fieldwork grant from the Endangered Languages Fund, as well as additional funding from Tulane programs, to conduct sociolinguistic fieldwork in the Ch’orti’ region of Guatemala. Through the Mellon Community-Engaged Internship program, Rubén mentored undergraduate students participating in the Maya Scripta Project in collaboration with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. He has also contributed to scholarship in his field through two peer-reviewed publications and has served as a reviewer for two more publications. After graduation, Rubén will begin a tenure-track position as assistant professor of anthropology at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California. He will teach courses in archaeology and linguistic anthropology while continuing research on Maya culture in collaboration with local, indigenous and descendant communities, including projects focused on sociolinguistic patterns of Ch’orti’, the Dolores Slow Archaeology Program, and the Maya Scripta initiative.
Autumn Sommers, School of Liberal Arts
Autumn Sommers, from Shreveport, Louisiana, is graduating with a bachelor of arts in political economy and a bachelor of arts in philosophy. Autumn was editor-in-chief of the Tulane Journal of Policy and Political Economy where she led a team of 35 students to produce the peer- and faculty-reviewed academic publication. In this role, she has also organized events featuring state and federal legislators, political scientists and economists to foster dialogue on pressing issues. Autumn competed in the University of San Diego Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law Research Competition and placed first one year and second the next. She also led Tulane students as an Ethics Bowl site leader as they delivered philosophy and critical thinking workshops to New Orleans high school students. On campus, Autumn was a Civic Engagement Coalition Fellow where she organized and hosted events focusing on voter education, participation and the importance of informed democratic involvement. Following graduation, Autumn plans to work in free speech policy in Washington, D.C. to gain hands-on experience in the development, analysis and advocacy of policies that protect and promote free expression. She later plans to attend law school.