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2026 Top 10 Under 10 Alumni Award Recipients

These 10 accomplished alumni from the past decade have achieved professional success, continuously work to better their communities and serve as loyal alumni role models.

Do you know an alum we should recognize who graduated in the past 10 years? Please nominate them for recognition in spring 2027. Self-nominations are also encouraged!

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Morgan Bodenarain ’18
Policy Director and Counsel, the Congressional Black Caucus 

Morgan Bodenarain graduated with degrees in policy studies and political science from Elon in 2018 before completing law school at George Washington University in 2021. She currently serves as the Policy Director and Counsel for the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in the 119th U.S. Congress where she leads policy priorities and advocacy efforts for all 61 members.

Morgan’s congressional career began with Congressman G.K. Butterfield, where she advanced the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act, signed into law by President Biden in 2022, to address the link between maternal health and internet access. Later, she worked as Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, focusing on broadband equity and access. Morgan was honored with the National Black Lawyers’ Top 40 Under 40 Award and the National Bar Association’s Nation’s Best Advocates Award in 2025.

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Colby Bracy ’16
Director of Human Resources & Philanthropy, The Nonantum Resort and Owner, Hello Humans Consulting

Colby Bracy graduated with a degree in accounting in 2016. After two years in the accounting industry after graduation, Colby pivoted to working in her family’s business, The Nonantum Resort in 2018, where she became the HR Director in 2021 and added Operations Director to that title in 2024. She has led the The Nonantum’s efforts to become a certified Recovery Friendly Workplace and has championed the business’s efforts to hire individuals reentering the community following incarceration.

Colby is also the owner of her own human resources consulting firm, Hello Humans Consulting, and holds many roles in local boards and committees, including the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce, Long Creek Youth Development Center, Recovery Friendly Workplace Maine, and the Kennebunks Prevention Initiative. In 2024, she was honored with the North Star Award from the American Hotels and Lodging Association.

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Michaela Fogarty ’19
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist, Upstream USA 

Michaela Fogarty graduated with a degree in international economics in 2019. She began her professional career at Planned Parenthood Federation of America as a data analysis and visualization specialist before starting her master of health science program at John Hopkins University’s department of population, family and reproductive health.

After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Michaela worked at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a data manager in the division of global women’s health, and is now the monitoring, evaluation and learning specialist at Upstream USA, a nonprofit working to expand contraceptive access for all. She has published three research papers including her most recent in the Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology in 2023 titled, “Underage vaping behaviors and perceptions: Evidence from a social media survey of youth and young adults in New York State.”

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Vice President, Guggenheim Partners

Michael Goldstein graduated with degrees in finance and accounting in 2017. A CPA since 2019, Michael began his career at Grant Thornton before joining Houlihan Lokey in Transaction Advisory Services. Recently promoted from Investment Banking Associate to Vice President at Guggenheim Partners, Michael focuses on medical devices and technology and has helped advise on transactions exceeding $5 billion.

In support of Elon students, Michael led the creation of the first annual award for an outstanding senior transfer student, as well as a new Goldstein Family Endowed Scholarship for transfer students in the Love School of Business.

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Gary Grumbach ’16
Legal Affairs Reporter, NBC News

Gary Grumbach graduated with a degree in journalism in 2016. Currently the Legal Affairs Reporter for NBC News, he covers the Supreme Court and federal courts on-air and in print. Gary has reported from inside the courtroom on several high-profile cases including the Trump hush money trial in New York, Hunter Biden’s gun charges trial in Delaware, and the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case in Maryland.

Since joining NBC News in 2016 as a desk assistant, Gary has held roles as a researcher for “Meet the Press,” as well as a campaign embed during the 2020 presidential election traveling across the country to report on the Bernie Sanders campaign. His reporting has also been recognized with three NBC GEM Awards, and team honors for coverage of the Trump trial and 2020 and 2024 elections.

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Emmanuel Morgan ’19
Sports Reporter, The New York Times 

Emmanuel Morgan graduated with a degree in journalism in 2019. Following graduation, Emmanuel served as a Los Angeles Times sports reporter, primarily covering NFL enterprise stories with a focus on the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. After being hired by The New York Times, he has distinguished himself as a New York Times culture reporter, covering the NFL and combat sports nationally. Emmanuel’s work includes reporting on the ground from five Super Bowls, being a part of the New York Times’ team in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympics, and reporting on Damar Hamlin’s near death during an N.F.L. game. He has also interviewed various athletes and celebrities.

In 2023, he was awarded the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Salute to Excellence Award – National Sports Coverage for his New York Times feature, “For Dreadlocked N.F.L. Players, Hair Is a Point of Pride”.

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Daniela Pereyra ’16
Real Estate Broker, Dalton Wade Real Estate Group and Founder, Dare to Jump

Daniela Pereyra graduated with a degree in cinema and television arts in 2016. Currently a real estate broker licensed in North Carolina and Delaware, Daniela is ranked as a Top Producer within her firm. During her first year as a real estate agent, she earned recognition as the #5 real estate agent in Delaware for Century 21, tripling her sales in her second year, and receiving the Top Agent for Lender Partnerships award in 2022.

Daniela is also the Founder of Dare to Jump, a hybrid series of seminars and coaching sessions for individuals and groups, focused on cultivating a growth mindset to elevate productivity and sustainable efforts. Her volunteer efforts include managing a community group where she offers practical guidance on HOA affairs, home values and more, and serving as the Women of Elon representative for the Charlotte Alumni Chapter.

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Jensen Roll ’16
President, Roll Construction

Jensen Roll graduated with a degree in social entrepreneurship in 2016. He is the founder and owner of Roll Construction in Graham, North Carolina, a custom homebuilding and remodeling company serving Alamance, Guilford, and Orange counties. Since Roll Construction’s launch in 2018, Jensen has completed projects ranging from tiny homes to breweries and built a real estate portfolio of more than 20 properties by age 30.

A Stanford University Innovation Fellow, Jensen continues to lead through his founding of The Alamance Mill coworking space and with his involvement in the Alamance-Caswell Home Builders Association and Alamance County Chamber of Commerce. He has been recognized with the Iris Holt Service Award, a Bronze Award in the Alamance-Caswell Parade of Homes, and the Leadership Institute Award for civic leadership.

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Nikki Sanz ’18
Founder & CEO, GIGGS

Nikki Sanz graduated with a degree in Sport and Event Management in 2018. After moving to Nashville with the goal of working on the road in the touring industry, Nikki secured diverse gigs and landed her first tour with Eric Church. She would later be a band assistant part-time to Weezer, accreditation manager for Super Bowl LVII, and a freelance talent manager for Blake Shelton’s Barmageddon TV Show.

Nikki is the Founder and CEO of GIGGS, which she created to centralize the gigging landscape, allowing professionals to showcase their experience, post jobs securely, and connect more efficiently. She advocates for gigging as a viable career, promoting equal opportunities, and fostering a diverse community. Since publicly launching GIGGS in 2024, Nikki has drawn 20,000 users seeking roles in touring and live events across 1,000 companies. In 2025, she was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in the music category.

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Christian Seitz ’16
Postdoctoral Researcher for epidemic vaccine development, University of Chicago

Christian Seitz graduated with a degree in chemistry from Elon in 2016. Following graduation, he began his Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and Biophysics with a specialization in multi-scale biology at UC San Diego. In 2018, Christian was one of 19 doctoral students to be awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and one of three students at UC San Diego to win two years’ worth of full research funding.

Christian graduated from UC San Diego in 2022 with four first author and nine total publications focusing on global diseases and molecular recognition in influenza. Now, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago, Christian is working with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiative designing vaccines to prepare the globe for the next pandemic through artificial intelligence in viruses and vaccine development. He is also completing a two-year fellowship at the university to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers.

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Past Award Recipients

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