MENU Three CSE students named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars
Three CSE students at the University of Michigan have been named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars for their outstanding academic performance in addition to their athletic achievements. Samantha Hastie of women’s track and field and cross country; Oli Raimond of men’s track and field and cross country; and Sophia Tuinman of the women’s swimming and diving team earned the distinction.
Awarded to student-athletes with a GPA of 3.7 or higher over the prior academic year, U-M boasts a record 139 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars this year, a testament to the Michigan difference both on the field and in the classroom.
Samantha Hastie is an incoming senior majoring in data science who competes on the women’s track and field and cross country team. Samantha is a distance runner, participating in events ranging from 800m to 6k. Her junior year, she claimed two top ten finishes at the Big Ten Championships for outdoor and indoor track and field.
Samantha is an Ann Arbor native and has been running competitively since elementary school. Her academic career in data science is a more recent venture, the result of an EECS class she took her sophomore year. Shortly after taking this course, Samantha declared as a data science major and is also pursuing a minor in public policy.
Oli Raimond (BSE CS 2024) is a recent computer science graduate who competed on the men’s track and field and cross country teams. A distance runner, Oli ran in a variety of events ranging from 800m to 10k in distance. During his time at U-M, his athletic achievements include two top 10 finishes in the 5k at the Big Ten Outdoor Track Championship, running a sub-four minute mile during the 2022 season, and participating in a winning distance medley relay team at the Big Ten Indoor Track Championship in 2023.
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Oli’s athletic and academic pursuits have taken him across the globe. He is passionate about software development, particularly in the aviation industry, an interest he pursued while at U-M. Last semester, he served as an instructional assistant for EECS 441: Mobile App Development for Entrepreneurs, and he looks forward to starting his new job as a software engineer at Gulfstream soon.
Sophia Tuinman (BSE CS 2024) is a recent computer science graduate who was a valuable member of the women’s swimming and diving team during her time at U-M. Specializing in backstroke, she claimed top 5 finishes in several events against top competitors and swam in the Big Ten Championship all 4 years.
Originally from Northville, Michigan, Sophia has always been a determined student and athlete and enjoys mentoring others. She was able to put this skill into practice as an instructional assistant for EECS 492: Intro to Artificial Intelligence, where she helped foster an engaging learning environment.
