Jade Cindy Foka ’28 Becomes Third Student in Southwestern University History to Earn Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
The nationally-competitive scholarship is awarded annually to the country’s top aspiring research scientists pursuing careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
Jade Cindy Foka ’28 has become just the third student in Southwestern University history to earn the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. The nationally-competitive Goldwater Scholarship is the most prestigious award in the country for undergraduate students seeking research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering fields.
A sophomore from nearby Leander, Texas, Foka is pursuing a biochemistry major and a sociology minor with sights set on earning a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry or pharmacology.
“It is very gratifying,” she said. “This award really helped me solidify that I can become a researcher in the future and that I can really aspire to do great things in this field. I thought maybe I would not do as much research and focus on medicine, but this has really grounded me and given me the boost that I need to feel like I can really do this.”
Established by the United States Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry Goldwater, the Scholarship helps ensure that the U.S. is producing the number of highly-qualified professionals that the nation needs in critical STEM fields. Foka first learned of the Goldwater Scholarship while serving as a professional development associate at Southwestern’s Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD).
Senior Associate Director of the CCPD Alexandra Anderson serves as Southwestern’s designated campus representative for the Goldwater Scholarship and supported Foka throughout the Scholarship’s rigorous application process.
“On a recent Sunday afternoon, I was on campus attending an alumni speaking event taking place in the Fondren Jones Science Center,” Anderson said. “And there I saw Cindy alone in a classroom, with books spread out all around her and equations all over the white board, studying organic chemistry. This experience exemplifies the work ethic I associate with Cindy, along with her intelligence and initiative.”
F oka discovered her passion for biochemistry research during her first semester at Southwestern. Originally a biology major, Foka shifted to biochemistry after participating in Dilani Koswatta’s general chemistry lab.
“I really fell in love with chemistry at Southwestern,” Foka said. “Gen chem involved a lot of inquiry-based chemistry, so we got to do a lot of our own experiments and discovery. I really enjoy that aspect of science.”
Through her mentor, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Sara Massey, Foka was connected with a National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. During the summer after her first year at SU, she collaborated with a team of researchers to design and test new types of drug molecules designed to help make blood thinners safer and more targeted.
Foka was recently invited to present about her NSF REU experience at the Spring 2026 American Chemical Society National Conference in Atlanta. She participated in an event that was catered toward helping first-year students develop their poster and presentation skills while learning about the ethics of research.
“That experience was amazing,” she said. “That’s what sparked most of my passion for research, being able to pour time into it for hours over the course of the summer. I got to do research in a medicinal chemistry lab, so the work translated a lot into medicine, which is what I ultimately want to do. I was able to see how drug discovery connects to patients, and how the human aspect is really in the intersection between the doctors and researchers creating drugs.”
As part of her NSF REU experience, Foka gained a first-hand look at a variety of fields, from working with blood-related diseases in hematology research, to shadowing leading doctors, pharmacists, and oncologists.
“It would be very rewarding to get to do translational research, as well as see patients,” Foka said. “I’m considering an M.D. or a Ph.D. of some sort in oncology, pharmacology, or hematology. Being able to do work that directly translates to making treatments for patients, that gets me excited to get up in the morning.”
Back in Georgetown, Foka has seen first-hand the human impact behind drug research as part of her job as a pharmacy technician at the CVS Health location less than a mile from campus. There, she supports pharmacists in preparing and dispensing medications, in addition to processing prescriptions, managing inventory, verifying insurance, and assisting patients with compassion and professionalism.
“The drugs that I’m seeing in the lab, I’m giving to patients,” she said. “I know exactly what it is and what it’s for. Being able to make those connections has been really cool. Seeing the demographic that we’re helping with the drugs that were created in the lab, it’s nice to know that people in need are actually getting help with these drugs.”
In addition to including funding for her remaining two years at Southwestern, the award signals that Foka is one of the top aspiring research scientists in the United States. With the award, she joins Brian Armijo ’25 and Paul Price ’92 as Southwestern University students to win the Goldwater Scholarship.
“From getting to work with Cindy as part of the Center for Career & Professional Development student staff during her first year, to continuing to walk alongside her as she pursued, and landed, a summer research experience through the National Science Foundation, on-campus research, and now the Goldwater Scholarship, I am so happy for Cindy’s achievements to be recognized at this scale,” Anderson said. “She is an outstanding young scholar!”
Southwestern University published this content on April 29, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 29, 2026 at 18:09 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]
