Cultivating Future Leaders: Recipients of the Inaugural I2EL Scholarship Reflect on TechEX25

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Internet2 welcomed 11 rising leaders in research and education (R&E) to its annual Technology Exchange in Denver, Colo., Dec. 8-12, 2025, as the inaugural cohort of the Internet2 Emerging Leaders (I2EL) Scholarship.

The I2EL Scholarship removes barriers to professional and career development by covering registration, lodging, and travel expenses to Internet2’s Community Exchange or Technology Exchange. This opportunity is afforded to early- to mid-career professionals in R&E. 

By investing in this talent, Internet2 is cultivating a clear pathway for the next generation of leaders to engage, collaborate, and innovate. The I2EL Scholarship enables participants to experience the breadth of the community, explore cutting-edge technologies, learn from others in the field, and build meaningful professional relationships.

TechEX: An Invaluable Opportunity

For the I2EL Scholarship recipients, TechEX25 was more than a technical conference; it was a catalyst for organizational growth.

Luis Marin Vera, IT assistant director at Florida International University, noted that the experience provided “insight into ways that collaboration and innovation create impact at scale,” alluding to the sense of connection and shared purpose at TechEX.

Similarly, Nathan Carlson, systems operations engineer at the University of Minnesota, balanced technical solutions with a global perspective.

“I learned that Internet2 fosters relationships with organizations of all sizes from around the globe,” Carlson shared.

Brian Stookey, network engineer at Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN), noted that the conference deepened his “understanding of emerging trends that will shape the future of networking, AI, optical, and IT infrastructure.”

Moments of Inspiration

Throughout the week, the scholarship recipients engaged with the community in many ways, from technical sessions and poster presentations to informal hallway conversations and discussions during coordinated meals. These informal opportunities proved as impactful as the formal programming.

The conference often sparked “Aha!” moments. Bradly Shoen, a system administrator at the University of Montana, shared that TechEX shifted his perspective on infrastructure resilience after seeing peers migrate IAM to the cloud.

“I left Denver highly motivated to seek out further training in network engineering to better support the intersection of identity services and campus connectivity,” Shoen said.

Reilly Wolfe, network engineer at the University of Idaho, felt a renewed sense of purpose seeing global projects in action. 

“Seeing this work renewed my motivation to keep learning from and contributing to this amazing community,” Wolfe reflected. “I’ve brought these conversations and insights back to my own university.” 

For Pablo Garcia Acuna, network operations field coordinator at Merit, the experience clarified his career path, inspiring him to live an “impactful and fulfilling life.” He was also inspired by veteran speakers and his peers’ work.

A Welcoming Community

According to the scholarship recipients, the recurring theme of the week was the warmth of the R&E community. 

Katie Whitfield, client support specialist at Virginia Institute of Marine Science, appreciated hearing how community connectors got their start. Community connectors are seasoned members of the community who meet with scholarship recipients to share their personal professional stories, offer career advice, and guide recipients on how to make the most of the conference. Taking this approach “made attendees more approachable and the experience easier to navigate,” Whitfield said.

Stella Kwon, project manager at Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), emphasized the value of her fellow awardees and new community. “Engaging with my talented peers allowed me to build a network of colleagues I likely never would have met otherwise,” Kwon said. 

Kwon admits to leaving the event “feeling inspired and more deeply integrated into the larger network of professionals dedicated to advancing research technology.”

That welcoming culture was echoed by fellow I2EL Scholarship recipient Esen Gokpinar Shelton, program manager and UI/UX lead at Indiana University. Gokpinar Shelton highlighted the accessibility of leadership and the rare opportunities to hear “personal stories of career twists and leadership lessons” that would help recipients navigate R&E.

The representation of the R&E community at TechEX was even multi-generational.

Sasmita Mohapatra, high-performance computing (HPC) research scientist at the University of Texas at Dallas, presented alongside her son, Vedant, on their research paper, Affordable Crop Disease Detection with Drone Imagery and Artificial Intelligence. The duo also presented the poster, Efficiency of LLVM Compilers on HPC Architectures.

“The overwhelming enthusiasm and support from the Internet2 community made the experience truly rewarding,” Mohapatra said.

Strengthening R&E Together

Together, the experiences of the inaugural I2EL Scholarship cohort reflect TechEX’s mission as a place where learning is amplified by community and innovation thrives through collaboration. 

As these emerging leaders return to their institutions and organizations, they carry forward not only new knowledge but a shared commitment to advancing R&E through the collective strength of the community.

The I2EL Scholarship is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors: Delinea, Fortinet, Google Cloud-CDW Education, Northern Tier Network Consortium (NTNC), TD Synnex, and Vocareum.

Join the Next Cohort

Are you ready to grow your career or know of an emerging star in R&E? Applications and the nomination process are open for the 2026 Internet2 Community Exchange, to be held in Chicago, Ill., April 13-16, 2026. The deadline to apply is Feb. 11, 11:59 p.m. PT.