Meet Some of SALC’s Newest Members

This spring marks the largest graduating class of Student Alumni Leadership Council (SALC) alums, with 19 of our members graduating and going on to be leaders in their lives after college. Because of this, we’ve also seen our largest class of new members, with 23 driven students getting involved with SALC! Read on to learn more about a few of our newest members. 

Hiruni Mendries ’23

By Maggie Attridge ’22

Hiruni Mendries ’23, from North Potomac, Md., is in her third year at the University of Maryland. Hiruni found out about SALC through social media and through her friend, Andrew Tran, who joined the organization in 2020. Outside of SALC, she is involved with Maryland Images and the National Residence Hall Honorary. She also serves as a desk operations supervisor for the Cambridge community on campus. Academically, Hiruni is a part of the American Physician Scientists Association’s undergraduate mentorship program and works in a lab at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Her favorite part of SALC is the people and the relationships she has made in the organization. She hopes to become even more involved once she no longer has night classes. 

Edward Awe ’25

By Luke Amato ’22

Edward (Eddie) Awe ’25 is a first-year student studying government and politics. He is a budding student leader at the university, serving as vice president for the University Honors Student Board, as well as vice president for the Private Equity/Venture Capital Group at UMD, as a member of the Black Venture Capital Consortium, and now as a member of the Alumni Programming Committee for SALC. Eddie was born and raised in Queens, NY in a low-income, single-mother household. At age 14, his family was gentrified out of their neighborhood, at which point they moved down to Anne Arundel County in Maryland. There, Eddie did not let his circumstances weaken his ambition, performing so well that he was able to obtain UMD’s full-ride Banneker-Key scholarship.

Professionally, Eddie is interested in the private equity industry. As a government and politics major who is pivoting into finance, Eddie views private equity as a tool for social change. “I want to be able to put capital into the hands of people of color and other communities who have been historically divested from,” Eddie says. Financing generational wealth-building ventures that will spur economic growth within impoverished communities is an overall passion of his, among other big ideas that Eddie’s head is ostensibly bursting with.

Matthew Walsh ’23

By Malik Oumarou ’25

Matthew Walsh ’23, is a Maryland native hailing from Gaithersburg, Md. currently completing his junior year. He is a general biology major with a focus on pre-med and aspirations of medical school after his undergraduate degree. He originally heard about SALC through I heart UMD week. After talking to a few current members of SALC, he decided to apply and he’s been a member ever since. Matthew currently serves on the Alumni Programming committee of SALC. He said he was drawn to the committee because, “it’s the committee that connects the most with alums and draws them back to campus long after they’ve graduated.” 

Matthew said that the idea of alum outreach and fostering a community of Terps is what drew him to SALC in the first place. Outside of SALC, Matthew is also the treasurer of Maryland club swimming and works as a Maryland tour guide. When he’s not planning events you can find him at his favorite place on campus, the Washington Quad. He said he likes it the most because of how beautiful it is, and how at the top of the hour you can hear the Alma Mater softly play.

Visit the SALC website and follow us on Instagram to learn more about all of the current SALC ambassadors, and how to apply to become a member.

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