For the first time since 2019, Georgia Tech’s top honor for graduating students has been awarded to not one, but two seniors.

Caleb Adams, a business administration major, and Marielle Frooman, a biochemistry major, have charted their own distinct paths, yet both equally embody the academic excellence, leadership, and impact at the heart of the Love Family Foundation Award.

The winners are selected by the academic associate deans in coordination with the Office of Undergraduate Education and Student Success, and each recipient will receive a $6,000 monetary award.

“The selection committee felt that both finalists exemplified the spirit and intent of this award,” said Steven Girardot, vice provost for Undergraduate Education and Student Success. “From a pool of six outstanding finalists, it was clear that these two students stood apart. Rather than forcing a distinction between equally exceptional individuals whose achievements span very different disciplines, the committee chose to recognize both. Caleb and Marielle represent an exceptional level of achievement, curiosity, and commitment to impact that defines the very best of Georgia Tech undergraduates.”

Building a Business Career

Finance captured Caleb Adams’ attention early, sparked in part by conversations with his father — a Georgia Tech mechanical engineering alumnus — and solidified when Adams bought his first stock at 13. Captivated by the way investing touches everything and everyone in the economy, Adams set his sights on an education in Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business.

A Stamps President’s Scholar, Adams embraced the scholarship’s emphasis on academic excellence, leadership, and service. His academic path was shaped as much by the classroom as by the opportunities he pursued beyond it.

Adams has immersed himself in campus life, seeking experiences that have allowed him to explore finance in academic and extracurricular settings while consistently finding opportunities to give back to his peers. One of the most influential was his role on the Georgia Tech Student Foundation Investments Committee, where he served as technology sector head and managed a $300,000 portfolio. Working with actual money and real stakes, he sharpened his financial modeling and presentation skills while directing funding back to student organizations across campus.

As a Scheller Business Ambassador, Adams welcomed prospective students and families and had the space to share student perspectives with college leadership. That commitment to helping others navigate business and finance also showed up in his participation in the Scheller Mentor Program, hosting personal finance education workshops, and working as a teaching assistant for an accounting course he took as a first-year student. In earlier semesters, Adams explored finance and strategy through the Venture Capital Club, Undergraduate Consulting Club, and Emerging Leaders Advisory Board.

His journey was intentional from the start, and faculty who have worked with him recognize him for his accomplishments and everything it took to get there.

“Even as a first-year student, Caleb wasn’t just chasing the next opportunity,” noted Craig Womack, associate dean for undergraduate programs at Scheller. “He was thoughtful about how each experience connected to the kind of person and leader he wanted to become.”

Womack was instrumental in Adams’ decision to attend Georgia Tech, providing guidance before Adams began as a first-year and helping connect him with professors and organizations that would influence his academic and professional journeys.

Adams’ intentionality extended beyond the classroom, and when finance wasn’t capturing his attention, travel offered another way for him to feed his curiosity of how the world works. In 2025, Adams helped organize the Academic Search for Knowledge trip to Japan for fellow Stamps President’s Scholars, which helped his goal of visiting every continent and further broadened his global perspective.

The focus and discipline characterizing Adams’ academic journey has also guided him through a demanding slate of internships, including roles at Capital One, Airbnb, AeroVect, and ultimately Morgan Stanley, where he earned a full-time offer and will begin his career as an investment banking analyst in New York City after graduation. Working for Morgan Stanley had been his goal long before his first day of college.

“It’s definitely an intense job,” he acknowledged, “but it’s incredibly interesting, high-value work. The exposure you get, the training you get, the skills and networks — they’re unbeatable and unmatched.”

As he prepares to graduate and step into the fast pace of Wall Street, Adams sees the award less as a finish line and more of a reminder of where he started and the community that shaped him along the way.

“More than anything, it’s solidified how connected I feel to Tech,” he said. “I want to stay involved and give back so future students have the same kind of support and opportunity I did.”

Finding Joy — and Purpose — in the Lab

Where Adams found his footing in finance, Marielle Frooman discovered hers in the lab, driven by an insatiable curiosity and infectious enthusiasm for chemistry.

Frooman was drawn to Georgia Tech by its research culture and the energy of its student community. She joined her first lab early in her undergraduate career, unsure of exactly where that path would lead, but eager to get hands-on experience as soon as possible.

For two years, Frooman conducted biochemistry and structural biology research in the McShan Lab, working under Andrew McShan, assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Frooman’s time in the McShan Lab was foundational in shaping her technical abilities and preparing her for a research-intensive career.

“I had never done research before, and I wasn’t equipped to handle the amount of failure that comes with it,” Frooman said, reflecting on the formative experience. “Professor McShan really helped me change my outlook, to see failure as a learning experience and to use it to push a project forward.”

McShan described Frooman as an exceptional undergraduate researcher and peer leader.

“Marielle is not only an extremely talented researcher, but also a caring mentor and motivated future leader who wants to change the world,” they said. “She is the best undergraduate researcher I have ever worked with, and I guarantee she will make a big impact in whatever field she chooses to pursue.”

That strong biochemistry foundation gave Frooman the confidence to follow where her curiosity led next. After falling in love with organic chemistry through coursework and serving as a synthesis lab Teaching Assistant and organic chemistry peer tutor, she transitioned into researching with Will Gutekunst, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The shift built directly on the skills she developed in the McShan Lab while clarifying her long-term goals of pursuing graduate study and eventually contributing to the synthetic field as an academic researcher.

That trajectory has already earned her national recognition. Frooman is a 2026 recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program for chemical synthesis and was also named one of the year’s Outstanding Undergraduate Biochemistry or Chemical Biology Students by the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Division of Biochemistry and Chemical Biology.

Outside of research, Frooman’s energy spills into nearly every corner of campus life. She has served as president of the Student Affiliates of the ACS, president of Cleanup Crew, president of public relations for the GT tour guides, and an active member of Greek life — all while pursuing research and mentoring fellow students.

“Everything I do, I do because I love it,” she said. “If I wasn’t this busy, I’d feel like I was missing out on something that really matters to me.”

As Frooman heads toward graduation and prepares to pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Michigan, receiving the Love Award feels deeply validating, both personally and for those who helped get her here.

“It’s invigorating,” Frooman said, reflecting on the honor. “It’s a culmination of my undergraduate work, but even more, it’s a testament to how supportive this community has been over my four years here. I would not be receiving this award without everyone who was right next to me along the way.”

A Shared Recognition

Adams and Frooman took different routes at Georgia Tech, but each approached their time here with intention. While one followed markets and global finance and the other immersed herself in scientific discovery, their stories converge in the values the Love Family Foundation Award was created to recognize: academic excellence and a commitment to making a difference.