Honored for leadership that reaches far beyond the classroom
Five women from the Women in Engineering (WIE) community have been named 2026 Knights of St. Patrick, one of the college's most prestigious student honors. The award is reserved for those who lead with character, serve their community, and leave it stronger than they found it.
This year's honorees are Aerospace Engineering student Niharika Navin, Nuclear, Plasma and Radiological Engineering student Piper Fernau, Bioengineering student Madison Fanning, Materials Science and Engineering student Allison Lau, and Bioengineering student Sophia Witola Reyes. Each followed a different path through Grainger, but all five share the same instinct: to open doors for the students coming up behind them.
Niharika Navin
For aerospace engineering senior Niharika Navin, leadership has always started with belonging. As president of Women in Aerospace (WIA) for the past two years, she grew the organization's mentorship, professional development and outreach efforts, and worked hand in hand with Women in Engineering as an orientation program assistant, liaison and ambassador. In those roles she met incoming students at the start of their journeys and connected them with the people and resources they would need.
Her reach extends well beyond WIE. As director of student relations for the Illinois Space Society, Navin champions student engagement and belonging, and as a Global Engineering Ambassador she walks alongside international students navigating both academics and campus life. Peers and mentors alike point to her gift for building spaces where students from every background feel they belong.
Madison Fanning
Senior Madison Fanning has built her Illinois experience around the same belief in mentorship. A dual major in bioengineering and chemistry, she serves as an orientation leader, resident advisor and student leader within the Campus Honors Program, guiding incoming students as they find their footing and their confidence.
For Fanning, the most rewarding part is the people. She finds purpose in helping future women engineers work through the very questions and uncertainties she once faced, and in watching them build lasting communities within Grainger. That commitment to a welcoming, inclusive environment is exactly the spirit the Knights of St. Patrick honor celebrates.
Piper Fernau
Piper Fernau has made advocacy her throughline. Since her first year at Illinois, she has been deeply involved in the American Nuclear Society, rising through several leadership roles before becoming
president. Along the way she has represented her fellow students, expanded professional opportunities and strengthened the bonds between students and industry leaders.
Fernau credits the welcoming community within NPRE for shaping both her experience and her leadership, and she has spent her time at Illinois helping others find their own meaningful ways to get involved. Her recognition marks the first time since 2019 that an NPRE student has been named a Knight of St. Patrick, a milestone for her department as much as for her.
Allison Lau, a materials science and engineering senior, has left her mark on some of Grainger's most visible front doors. As director of the ESTAR campus tour guide program, a leader within the Society of Women Engineers, and an organizer of Women in Engineering programming and orientation, she has helped countless prospective and incoming students take their first steps toward feeling at home.
Sophia Witola Reyes, a bioengineering senior and president of the National Society of Black Engineers, has devoted her time to mentorship, advocacy and service. She has driven recruitment and retention efforts for underrepresented engineering students while conducting biomedical research aimed at improving human health, a reminder that lifting others up and pushing science forward can be one and the same mission.
A lasting legacy
Together, these five students show what leadership looks like when it reaches beyond the classroom. Through mentorship, outreach, advocacy and service, they have strengthened the Women in Engineering community and cleared a path for the engineers who will follow. It is a legacy that will outlast their time on campus and carry forward in every student they have inspired.