Two graduates recognized as Jack Welch Scholars May 6, 2021 AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst will honor the exemplary achievement, initiative and leadership of some of its most talented and accomplished graduating seniors during Undergraduate Commencement ceremonies taking place Friday, May 14 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Four smaller, socially distanced ceremonies will take place at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Ten members of the graduating class will be honored as 21st Century Leaders at Undergraduate Commencement: Jason Biundo of Burlington, Mass., is a Commonwealth Honors College student who is graduating with degrees in biology and neuroscience. He was named Residential Life Peer Mentor of the Year. In his sophomore year, he joined the Moorman Lab, a neuroscience lab that studies motivation and addiction, and propelled that experience into being accepted into an immersive summer program in computational neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University. In the fall of his junior year, while serving as a resident assistant, active in two science clubs and logging many hours in labs, Biundo suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed below the waist. After a year of intensive therapy, during which he continued his coursework, he returned to campus. He resumed his research, worked as a teaching assistant, completed his honors thesis, revitalized the BioSci club and served as a resident assistant. After graduation, Biundo will do spinal cord research at Boston Children’s Hospital in the lab of Zhigang He of Harvard Medical School. He eventually wants to obtain his Ph.D. and become a professor.