Ferrer is named 2026 Schonfeld Scholar
Giselle Ellen Ferrer, a junior at UC Irvine majoring in language science, has been named the 2026 Elena B. and William R. Schonfeld Scholarship recipient. The honor is awarded annually in the School of Social Sciences to the outstanding undergraduate who combines excellence in scholarship with dedication to the university community and the highest level of achievement in other fields.
The award committee described Ferrer as perfectly embodying the spirit of this honor due to her remarkable GPA and her exemplary contributions across campus and within her discipline.
They write: “Working as a vital member of Dr. Xin Xie’s research lab, Ferrer has engaged in every phase of the research pipeline—from experimental task design to advanced data wrangling and statistical analysis. Her dedicated work has resulted in a UROP award, a scheduled presentation at this year's UROP symposium, and first authorship on an abstract accepted to LabPhon, a flagship international linguistics conference, where she will present her work this June. Ferrer serves as the Chapter Secretary for the UCI chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA). Furthermore, she was one of only eight students selected from eighty applicants for the highly competitive UCI Rehabilitation and Academic Mentorship Program, shadowing clinical speech therapists at the UCI Medical Center. Beyond her academic and clinical pursuits, Ferrer has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to community service through years of math, reading, and French tutoring for younger students, as well as volunteering as a language instructor at a local elementary school. Intellectually serious, deeply reliable, and a proactive leader, she truly uses her abilities to strengthen the communities around her.”
Below, the outstanding scholar from Lake Forest shares more about her work, her research and her future plans.
Q: What made you decide to pursue language science as a major, and specifically at UCI? What interests you most about your work?
A: Ever since I was little, I remember going to my grandparents’ house and hearing overlapping conversations in three languages: French, Spanish, and English. Growing up, I took this situation for granted, not realizing how difficult it was to learn multiple languages or the extent to which grammar systems differed until I started developing my French literacy in high school. Ever since then I’ve been curious about the human ability to use and learn language and was excited to see that UCI had many labs focusing on bilingualism and psycholinguistics. Now, as a language science major, I love learning about the psycholinguistic aspects of language- how our brains process, learn, and use language in everyday life.
Q: When do you plan to finish your degree and what are your plans thereafter?
A: I plan to finish my degree next year, Spring 2027, and then apply to Speech Language Pathology graduate programs in order to earn a master’s degree. My dream would be to work as a pediatric Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), but I haven’t yet decided whether I’d like to work in a clinical or school-based setting.
Q: What would you consider your biggest accomplishment at UCI?
A: I’m extremely proud of the research projects I’ve been involved in this year, and of the research-related funding awards I’ve earned. Specifically, the UROP Research Experience Fellowship (REF) as well as a Spring and Summer travel/publication award which I will be using to attend two conferences, SRCLD and LabPhon20.
Q: Tell us more about your undergraduate research activities.
A: I’ve been an RA for the HABLA and DISC labs since spring 2025 where I worked on transcribing bilingual parent-child interactions in English and Spanish. More recently I’ve deepened my involvement in that project and we are now developing a codebook in order to quantify the types of intentions parents exhibit when communicating with their children across multiple languages. Additionally, as part of a team with Dr. Xin Xie, Dr. Shawn Cummings, and Kaitlin Lee, I’ve been studying the processes listeners use to identify ambiguous sounds in the absence of lexical context.
Q: Who has played an important mentorship role in your life thus far and why? Specifically at UCI?
A: My parents and grandparents have been extremely encouraging and supportive of my efforts in school and truly act as my safety net. They give me the confidence to try new things and to push myself without fearing failure. Additionally, at UCI specifically, I’m extremely grateful to Professor Xin Xie for her belief in me, incredible guidance, and for all that she’s taught me about how to be a good researcher this past year.
Q: Are there any unique circumstances that have played a role in where and who you are today?
A: I moved-in and have been living with my grandparents since last year to provide support and care for my grandmother with dementia and for my grandfather who had been battling leukemia and lymphoma. Despite the sadness of recently losing my grandfather, I believe that this experience has helped me to grow as a person, and specifically taught me to value my health, my time, and daily interactions that I used to take for granted. Caring for my grandmother now has only reinforced my desire to pursue a career in healthcare where I can continue to give back to and take care of others.
Q: Where can you most often be found on campus?
A: I’m usually studying at Langson Library and eating lunch around the Social Sciences Towers/Plaza.
Q: What’s your best memory thus far from your undergraduate experience at UCI?
A: One of my best memories at UCI was when I first heard about the establishment of NSSLHA, a club for pre-SLP students, advertised during one of my classes. I was so excited to discover there were other students in a similar situation to me and from whom I could seek help and support from. Today I’ve made many close friends through NSSLHA and have had so many positive experiences both as a member and executive board member in the chapter.
Q: Any other interesting tidbits you would like to share?
A: I really enjoy speech and debate, and in high school, was an active member of my school’s Model United Nations (MUN) club.