Two N.C. A&T Students Selected as 2024 Astronaut Scholars

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 13, 2025) – Two North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University undergraduate students have been selected as 2024 Astronaut Scholars. This scholarship is awarded annually to undergraduates in their junior and senior years who demonstrate high academic achievement and are pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees.

Honors College students Breyana Robinson and Kennedy West each received up to $15,000 for eligible educational expenses and lifelong engagement with astronauts, executives, STEM researchers and innovators, Astronaut Scholar alumni and the Astronaut Scholars Foundation (ASF).  

The foundation was created in 1984 by the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts with the objective to encourage university students to pursue scientific advancement and ensure the country’s global leadership in technology. Over the past 40 years, more than $8.3 million has been awarded to more than 850 students. 

In 1994, A&T became the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to be an ASF Partnering Institution. In 2023. A&T became the first HBCU to have two Astronaut Scholarships available in an application cycle, resulting in three Astronaut Scholarship recipients. 

“ASF is continually honored to partner with North Carolina A&T State University,” said Caroline Schumacher, president and CEO of ASF. “Since the beginning of our partnership in 1994, we have selected 20 exceptional students, including Breyana and Kennedy, to receive 23 Astronaut Scholarships. These brilliant minds are leaders in varying STEM disciplines and are truly making a positive impact on our world. We look forward to welcoming more students from N.C. A&T into the 2025 class of Astronaut Scholars and beyond.”   

Scientific Applications International Corp. co-sponsored one of A&T’s 2024 Astronaut Scholarships; annual sponsors include former astronaut Bernard Harris, M.D., and the HBCU Astronaut Group and Lenovo. 

Robinson, a graduating senior from Garland, Texas who is pursuing dual degrees in laboratory animal science and animal science in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) is a two-time recipient of the Astronaut Scholarship. She is the first female A&T student to be selected twice for the Astronaut Scholarship as well as the first student selected for the Astronaut Scholarship from CAES.  

Maintaining a 3.81 GPA and earning a spot on the Chancellor’s List every year, Robinson is also a Lewis and Elizabeth Dowdy Scholar, one of A&T’s most prestigious and preeminent scholarships that is awarded to incoming freshmen who exhibited excellence in academics and leadership during their high school years. Additionally, she earned her Veterinary Assisting Certification through the Texas Veterinary Medicine Association in high school, and is a Diversity In Veterinary Medicine Coalition Scholar. 

Robinson’s research portfolio is extensive, including work with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a branch of the National Institutes of Health; Huntsman Cancer Hospital Department of Pathology in Salt Lake City; A&T Department of Agriculture as an undergraduate research scholar; and Boehringer Ingelheim, a research-based pharmaceutical company known for developing, manufacturing and selling healthcare products for humans and animals. Her research focus at the NIEHS is studying the impact of exercise on the placenta. Upon graduating, she plans to pursue a dual Ph.D. and DVM, and then pursue pharmaceutical research to cure disease and then conduct medical research with animal models to both train the next generation of researchers and advance knowledge. 

“Receiving this prestigious award has broadened my horizons and connections in the scientific community, focused my graduate school plans, and motivated my research,” said Robinson.  “Earning the Astronaut Scholarship has brought greater attention to my research and motivated me to continue my work to release a journal article this academic year. I now have articles in several research magazines dedicated to the work that I’ve done to solve the cattle industry’s million-dollar headache, acidosis.” 

West, a graduating senior from Lithonia, Georgia who is pursuing a degree in chemistry and a minor in biology, is an undergraduate chemistry researcher in the College of Science and Technology (CoST). She maintains a 3.90 GPA, consistently securing her place on the Chancellor’s List. In spring 2024, she was awarded the Outstanding Honor Student Award from CoST during the Honors Convocation. Additionally, she received the Chancellor’s Award from the Chemistry Department in the same spring semester. These honors showcase her exceptional achievements in her field. 

West also holds recognition as an NC GlaxoSmithKline Scholar, Corning Scholar and Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI Scholar), with each scholarship furthering her research techniques and sharpening her professional development skills. She serves as the president of the Chemistry Honor Society and is an Emerging Student Pharmacist Liaison for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. 

West co-authored the research article “Microscopic and Spectroscopic Understanding of Non-Metal Dopants in the Photocatalytic Properties of Titania” in Microscopy and Microanalysis. Her research, which began during the Dow Chemical Summer Undergraduate Research Experience and has continued for nearly four years under the leadership of Bishnu Bastakoti, Ph.D., focuses on synthesizing titanium oxynitrides for enhanced photocatalytic activity with potential applications in energy, electronics, and biomedicine under ultraviolet radiation. 

West has been accepted into the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report. There, she will pursue a PharmD, driven by her passion to unite scientific research with healthcare to uplift human well-being. She hopes to gain valuable experience in patient care and research, with a strong commitment to developing cures for infectious diseases. 

“It resonates deeply with me that, to whom much is given, much is required. I am grateful for the invaluable opportunities and experiences I gained at the esteemed North Carolina A&T State University,” said West. “I am thrilled about the opportunities and the programs offered by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation to support my ideas, dreams, growth, and development.”   

Robinson and West were endorsed to apply for the 2024 Astronaut Scholarship through NCAT Extraordinary Opportunities (NCAT EO) after campus review. 

“Breyana and Kennedy are poised to make significant contributions through their STEM research and innovation that can help all people live healthier lives,” said Alsace-Lorraine Gallop, A&T’s national scholarships and fellowships coordinator and Fulbright Program Adviser. “Both of these Aggie Astronaut Scholars represent the caliber of intellectual excellence fostered here at N.C. A&T.” 

Students and faculty should email Gallop at acgallop@ncat.edu to learn more about the required endorsement application process for the 2025 Astronaut Scholarship in advance of the required campus deadline of 5PM ET Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.