When Logan Kavanaugh 24PhD left college after her first year, she wasn’t sure she’d ever return. The first-generation student had earned a spot in a biology program, but financial strain and personal hardship forced her to step away. For four years she worked as a bartender, uncertain if she’d ever pick up where she left off.

Everything changed with a single microbiology class at a community college. The course reignited her passion for science and set her on a new path — one that led to a bachelor’s and master’s degree, groundbreaking research into antibiotic resistance and ultimately a doctorate from Emory in August 2024.

At Emory's Laney Graduate School, Kavanaugh thrived as both a scientist and a leader. She joined the Conn Lab, where her work focused on how pathogenic bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics — a growing global health crisis — and how new therapies might block that resistance. Along the way, she mentored first-generation and women-in-science undergraduates, advocated for her peers as president of the Graduate Division Student Advisory Council and helped shape campus dialogue on science and policy through the Emory Science Advocacy Network.

Financial support was pivotal to that success. Kavanaugh was selected as an ARCS Scholar (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists), a prestigious award that provides funding and mentorship to outstanding graduate researchers. The experience connected her with influential supporters and opened professional doors. 

At one ARCS luncheon where she presented her research, a supporter introduced her to Yogi Patel, the future CEO of TopoDx, a microbial diagnostics startup born out of research at Emory and Georgia Tech. It was a connection that would eventually lead to her dream job.

She also benefited from the generosity of donors John and Linda McGowan, whose support not only made her education possible but also provided mentorship and inspiration. 

“My ARCS donors, John and Linda McGowan, have been incredibly kind and gracious, not only with their money, but also their time,” Kavanaugh says. “John was actually here at Emory University as a professor, where he studied antibiotic resistance, so we share the love of the field.”

After graduation, Kavanaugh completed a brief postdoctoral appointment at Emory before stepping into her current role as lead research scientist at TopoDx. She heads all biological research and development for the company, which combines expertise in pathology, physics and AI to address an expensive barrier in efforts to mitigate the global threat of antibiotic resistance: the lengthy process of identifying a drug-resistant infection. “Without that ARCS introduction, I would not be in my dream job actively contributing to a cause that is dear to me,” she says.

Looking back, Kavanaugh says what she’s most proud of is her perseverance. “Some days when startup life is difficult or science isn’t going according to plan, looking back at all I have accomplished brings me a sense of relief knowing that this too will be another stepping stone to my next adventure,” she says. “These experiences of success and failure truly make me appreciate the small things.”

She credits Emory — and particularly the microbiology and molecular genetics program — with helping her discover and nurture her potential. “Emory has had such a major positive impact on my life,” she says. “I’m grateful that I was given the opportunity to find my path as a scientist through the dedication of the professors in the program. They are the real rockstars.”

It’s stories like Kavanaugh’s — marked by resilience, mentorship and opportunity — that illustrate how Emory transforms potential into purpose. And she’s not alone. Across schools and disciplines, Emory students are turning challenge into leadership — whether that means guiding others toward compassionate care or breaking barriers in pursuit of justice and equity.

LEADING WITH EMPATHY

The path to leadership for Matthew White 22C began long before he stepped onto Emory’s campus. “I remember being a young kid and seeing different leaders in my community and thinking to myself, I want to be like them,” he says. “I wanted to be someone who has a positive influence — someone others look up to as a role model.” 

That determination helped guide him through a childhood shaped by both challenge and grit. The youngest of four in a single-parent household, White grew up in a low-income community, where, as he puts it, “It was a battle. There were many distractions that could have taken me off course.” Instead, he chose persistence. Mentors at Emory describe him as someone who had what it took to be a community leader, a change agent — a student who learned to ignore what might have been happening around him and just really focus on his learning.

At Emory, White turned those qualities into action. He immersed himself in leadership roles across campus — from residence life to pre-health advising — and became a trusted advocate for his peers, especially students of color. “He’s somebody that students trusted,” says Gregory Hollinger, associate director of pre-health advising. “He’s somebody that’s always advocating for students to make sure that they’re getting the best experience.”

Scholarship support was pivotal in making that impact possible. As the recipient of the 50th Year Reunion Scholarship, White says the award came at a critical time. “I didn’t know how I would be able to fund college, especially being an 18-year-old kid coming from a first-generation family who didn’t have many resources,” he says. 

“I wanted to be someone who has a positive influence — someone others look up to as a role model.”

—Matthew White 22C

Today, as he works toward his master’s degree at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine to become a physician’s assistant, White is already putting those dreams into practice. “Not only do I get to make great connections, but I also get to meet patients,” he says. “I get to practice that compassionate care that I was taught really matters in health care.” It’s a philosophy — grounded in empathy, shaped by experience and fueled by opportunity — that continues to guide his journey forward.

TURNING ADVERSITY INTO ADVOCACY

For Marwah “Mari” Ismail 24C, leadership was forged in adversity. The daughter of Somali refugees and a recipient of the Bill Fox Scholarship and the Susan A. Cahoon Scholarship, she came to Emory with a deep sense of purpose. However, her path was quickly complicated by a rare cancer diagnosis that changed the course of her college journey. The eye condition she had battled throughout her life turned out to be a rare malignancy.

During her junior year, Ismail underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment while continuing her coursework remotely as a full-time student. She then returned to campus wearing a prosthetic and an eye patch. After a few months, she ultimately ditched these devices — the cancer that took her eye could never take her resolve. “I wanted to fully embrace my uniqueness and proudly reflect my story,” she says.

Marwah Ismail gave a TEDxEmory Talk in early 2024 that detailed how she embraced optimism during her long battle with cancer.

Her determination shaped everything she did at Emory. Majoring in religion and minoring in Italian studies, she explored questions of culture, justice and identity while taking on leadership roles that connected her academic work to the real world. She cofounded the Kappa Alpha Pi pre-law fraternity and served in student government as a congressional council judge, experiences that strengthened her voice as an advocate.

Ismail’s interest in public service led to opportunities in Washington and beyond. She completed congressional internships where she gained firsthand experience in constituent services, policy research and the legislative process. Those experiences cemented her belief in the law as a tool for systemic change and deepened her commitment to justice. After graduation, she spent a gap year expanding her legal experience, including work as a trademark analyst at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton and a fellowship with the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network, where she supported efforts to advance immigration justice.

Her perseverance and growing impact were recognized nationally when she received a prestigious graduate fellowship — one of just 30 recipients across the country. “It’s been a lot these last four years, but I was never alone because I had people who had faith in me,” she says. “It’s an absolute honor to be part of a program that invests in my potential and motivates me to continue working hard.”

Now pursuing her law degree at Columbia Law School as a recipient of the Bridge to Opportunity Scholarship, Ismail is preparing to channel her lived experience and legal training into a career centered on advocacy, equity and the empowerment of others. “Mari has the moral conviction to want to make a difference and the intellectual curiosity and sheer grit to do it,” says James Hoesterey, her honors thesis advisor. 

Photos courtesy of Logan Kavanaugh, Matthew White, Marwah Ismail and Advancement and Alumni Engagement.