4 Pomona Students Earn Top Honor with Perfect GPAs

Four students at Pomona College just proved that academic excellence and deep purpose can go hand in hand. Arenaria Cramer, Thomas Shaw, Josephine Yip, and Grace Zheng earned the Rena Gurley Archibald High Scholarship Prize after maintaining perfect GPAs throughout their undergraduate years.

The award isn't just about grades. These students were selected from all graduating seniors with perfect GPAs based on their senior projects, variety of coursework, and other scholarly achievements.

Cramer's story shows how personal experience can fuel academic passion. As a caregiver for his sister who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, he researched Oregon's history of institutionalizing people with developmental disabilities. He won multiple awards for his thesis and will continue studying disability history at Cambridge University this fall.

Shaw started community college at just 16 years old. After transferring to Pomona, he battled imposter syndrome while studying transgender and non-binary experiences of romance and intimacy. "There were a lot of times where I thought, 'I'm not good enough to be here,'" he says.

Yip transferred to Pomona specifically to study linguistics, which her previous university didn't offer. She juggled two majors and wrote senior theses on both Cantonese language patterns and how culture shapes the way parents teach emotional regulation. Next, she'll teach English in South Korea through the Fulbright program.

Zheng balanced her double major in politics and economics with serving as student body president. She championed student voice in campus governance while conducting research on anti-immigration political candidates in Ireland.

Why This Inspires

These four students didn't just chase perfect grades. Cramer turned his family experience into disability advocacy. Shaw overcame self-doubt to become a department leader. Yip switched schools to pursue her passion. Zheng served her community while excelling academically.

Each chose research topics that could create real change: disability rights, LGBTQ+ relationships, culturally sensitive mental health care, and understanding political extremism. Their academic excellence stems from wanting to make the world better.

As Cramer noted, the prize "recognizes the remarkable mentors I've found in my time here." Their success proves that perfect performance and meaningful purpose aren't opposites.