Emory University seniors Sharan Dodwani from men's soccer and Cece York from women's swimming & diving have been named 2026-27 recipients of the prestigious Sonny Carter Scholarship.

The award provides $25,000 toward senior year educational expenses. Applicants must have an outstanding academic record, demonstrated involvement and leadership in the community, moral qualities supporting the common good, and evidence that physical activity is a regular part of the applicant's life.

During Dodwani's time with the men's soccer team, he has been part of back-to-back UAA Championships teams as well as the Final Four run in 2025. As a sophomore, Dodwani came up with a crucial last-minute game winning penalty save against NYU to put the Eagles in the lead to clinch the UAA with two games to play, resulting in him receiving UAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. That season, he led the UAA with a .875 save percentage and a .400 shutouts-per-game average and finished second in the conference in goals against average at 0.73. He has also been recognized twice on UAA All-Academic Team. 

Away from the field, Sharan serves as a Pre-Health Advising Peer Mentor, a select cohort of 30 pre-health juniors and seniors who serve as mentors to fellow Emory students. Furthermore, he also serves on the executive board of multiple clubs, including Emory's Chapter of the Ronald McDonald House Organization and Pakistani Students Association, while being a member of Emory's Phi Delta Epsilon Chapter. In the Atlanta community, he works with Emory's Hypertension Awareness Program to conduct blood pressure screenings and test cholesterol and hemoglobin levels at mosques, churches, community centers, and shelters across Atlanta to support underserved communities. Outside of clubs, he has volunteered in a spiritual health research lab in Emory's School of Medicine where he primarily focuses on a project studying the adverse effects of psychedelic usage. Back home, Sharan has spent countless hours volunteering with non-profit organizations like Supplies over Seas, where we collect lifesaving medical equipment and supplies and distribute it to the communities in need around the world. Following the completion of his Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology degree, he hopes to attend medical school post-grad and dedicate my career to caring for patients as a physician.

Cece has been a member of the swimming & diving team since her arrival on campus, garnering a pair of CSCAA Scholar All-America Second Team honors, while contributing to several campus and community organizations in leadership roles. Outside of the pool, she has served as an Institutional Advancement Intern with The Institute of World Politics, a teaching assistant with the DC Pathways Scholars Program through Emory Pathways Center, a research assistant in the Emory Violence and Identity Lab, an undergraduate scholar with Emory Law and Religion Undergraduate Fellow, and a Religious Demographics Research Intern with Pew Research Center.

As a Dean's List member, she additionally acts as a standards chair and liaison for Kappa Alpha Pi, Pre-Law Fraternity, President of the Ministry Team for the Reformed University Fellowship and Volunteer Coordinator and President for Emory Library Student Ambassadors. Furthermore, she was selected earlier this week to be an undergraduate fellow with the Emory's James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference here, where she will be writing my honors thesis on religion and law on the Civil Rights Movement focused on my hometown of Mobile, AL.

The Sonny Carter Scholarship memorializes former Emory soccer player, physician, test pilot, and astronaut: Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr., '69C, '73M. This merit-based scholarship was established by Mrs. Dana Carter, '70C, and Dr. David Short, '70C, along with other family and friends of Sonny Carter. The Sonny Carter Scholarship is awarded each year to an Emory College of Arts and Sciences student who demonstrates a commitment to developing his or her full human potential and who clearly strives to use his or her intellectual, physical, and moral qualities for the common good.