2026-27 Graduate Student Seed Grants for Engaged Scholarship

Congratulations to those selected for the 2026-27 Graduate Student Seed Grants for Engaged Scholarship! The grants support graduate students to undertake community-engaged research or community-engaged projects, in collaboration with a community partner, that address a specific need or problem within the community.

Engaging BhutaneseNepali Families in School: A Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)Guided Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study in Central Ohio
Jhuma Acharya, College of Social Work
Amount: $2,500

Know Your Rights, Raise Your Voice: Empowering Families to Advocate for Students with Disabilities
Kioshana LaCount Burrell, College of Education and Human Ecology
Amount: $2,500

Joy in Motion: Memory, Connection, and Social Dance
Shaela Davis, College of Arts and Science
Amount: $2,500

Responding to Urgent Aging Related Needs Through Integrated Social and Nutritional Supports: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of Older Adult Wellbeing in Congregate Meal Programs
Kyra Foster, College of Education and Human Ecology
Amount: $2,500

A Community-Centered Approach to Food Waste Reduction: Upcycling BSG from Columbus Breweries
Veeramani Karuppuchamy, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Amount: $2,500

Thriving Future Cropscapes: Integrating human and biophysical factors to project future cropscapes under climate change
Kaustubh Kumar, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Amount: $1,600

Food for Thought: Embodied Food Stories and Their Power to Coalesce
Liv Bryant, College of Arts and Sciences
Amount: $2,500

Quantification of Polyphosphite in Host Tissues to Aid in the Management of Beech Leaf Disease
Andrew Miles, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Amount: $2,400

Desde el principio: engaging the parents in their childrens learning
Natalia Moreno Buitrago, College of Arts and Sciences
Amount: $2,500

Sustaining habitat for generations: pollinator gardens for bee conservation and neighborhood beautification
Gabriella Muller, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Amount: $2,000

Co-designing with youth: Exploring the lived experiences and dreams of high school aged youth in urban agriculture programs in Columbus, Ohio
Casey Ortbahn, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Amount: $2,500

Ecologies: Co-Creating Just Transition Strategies with Marginalized Appalachians
Brandon Rothrock, College of Arts and Sciences
Amount: $2,500

Diabetes and School Health (DASH) program at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Kelsey Shearer, College of Arts and Sciences
Amount: $2,500

Assessing the Feasibility of Using Task-Based Language Teaching in Community-Based Marathi Heritage Language School
Jaee Sonalkar, College of Education and Human Ecology
Amount: $2,500

An Open Community Event to Enhance Climate Resilience of LGBTQIA+ Populations in Central Ohio
Cyenna Ulrich-Cech, College of Engineering
Amount: $2,500