SU's Alberi Selected as Rhodes, Gates Cambridge Finalist

By SU Public Relations

SALISBURY, MD---Stephora Alberi ’25 had an eventful senior year at Salisbury University.

In addition to serving as the undergraduate student speaker for SU’s 100th Commencement exercises, she was named a Fulbright Student alternate, and earned a David L. Boren Scholarship through the Defense Language National Security Education Office (DLNSEO), on which she currently is conducting research in Estonia (during which she remains enrolled at SU).

The Salisbury resident also applied for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the world’s oldest international graduate awards, funding postgraduate study at the University of Oxford, England. Recently, she was named a finalist for the scholarship, the third from SU in the past five years.

Finalists for the prestigious award attend an informal cocktail hour with judges and each other prior to going before a more formal interview panel, which ultimately selects the winners. This year, 32 were chosen from a field of 965 candidates nationwide. 

“It’s an honor,” said Alberi. “I was in a room full of very accomplished individuals. It allowed us to showcase who we are and what we’ve done in a very relaxed environment. You talk to people who have done so many amazing things and have such accomplished backgrounds. I was inspired after hearing everyone’s stories, and I made some really close friends whom I’m still connected to. It was a great, amazing experience.”

At Oxford, Alberi would have pursued her Doctorate of Philosophy in engineering, researching computer vision techniques that could be used to further developments in smart microscopes and image analysis. These enhancements ultimately could assist in studying issues such as water scarcity in some parts of the world, she said.

She still plans to enroll in a graduate program — after completing her current research on feature detectors for Kuupkulgur, Estonia’s first lunar rover, slated to reach the moon by 2030.

Through the Boren Scholarship, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, she is conducting that research through the University of Tartu’s Observatory Space Technology Department. The appointment, which continues through June, also includes studying the Russian language (Boren Scholars are compelled to study a language deemed critical by the DLNSEO.)

The opportunity marks Alberi’s second experience at the University of Tartu. As the 2025 beGirl.world All-Country Scholar, she participated in the university’s Vision in Space course in summer 2024, following her junior year at SU.

“I fell in love with it,” she said. “It’s the biggest thing that catapulted me in the direction I’m going right now.”

She said her time at SU was instrumental in preparing her for these opportunities.

“SU gave me everything I needed, starting from my freshman year,” she said, making special note of the undergraduate research opportunities she received through the Computer Science Department.

These included the chance to participate in the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates initiative at SU. During the 10-week summer program, working with Dr. Enyue (Annie) Lu, she used SU’s Henson High-Performance Computing Lab to work on a parallel algorithm project while networking with other participants from across the country.

At SU, she also conducted research in artificial intelligence via a deep-learning project with Dr. Shuangquan (Peter) Wang, laying the foundation for the work she currently is doing with her supervisors, Ric Dengel and Saimoon Quazi Islam, at the University of Tartu.

Beyond the classroom, she credits SU’s Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office and its director, Dr. Kristen Walton, with helping her take advantage of her opportunities in Estonia by shepherding her through application and interview processes for programs like the Fulbright, Boren, and Rhodes.

Through that office, Alberi also applied for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which provides students from outside the United Kingdom with the opportunity to pursue a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in England. She recently learned she is a finalist for that award, as well.

“SU has played a very vital role in getting me where I am right now,” she said.

Students interested in applying for the Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, or other nationally competitive fellowships or scholarships should fill out an online interest form or email Dr. Kristen Walton, director of SU’s Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office.

Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at the SU website.