2022 True Triton Award Recipients

Diana Fakhrai has a love for UC San Diego that goes as far back as her childhood and has endured through the years. She grew up in graduate student housing and attended early childhood education at the university, leaving her with many fond memories. From swimming and gymnastics classes, to tennis camp – and even her first job at 16 (dispensing frozen yogurt) – much of Diana’s early life experiences took place on campus. As a student, Diana attended UC San Diego’s Revelle College for her undergraduate degree and the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) for her graduate degree, before moving on to law school.

As an adult, Diana’s love for her alma mater has only grown; both of her children were delivered at UC San Diego Medical Center and her daughter attended early childhood education on campus, just as her mother had so many years before.

Hamna Khan graduated from UC San Diego (Warren College) with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. She currently works as a Technology and National Security Fellow for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in Washington D.C.

From 2019-21, Hamna served as the President of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Alumni Advisory Board, where she developed the ECE Alumni Mentorship Program. Since its launch, the ECE program has helped to connect current students with more than 200 alumni. Hamna’s involvement with the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Steering Committee began at its inception in 2019, where she works as a volunteer to build a stronger alumni community with recent graduates. In addition, Hamna regularly gives her time to assist students and alumni alike, and plans to continue her service to the UC San Diego community for years to come.

Bryan Knox is the General Manager at Catalent San Diego (formerly Pharmatek), a contract dosage form development and GMP manufacturing organization. Prior to becoming the General Manager (2017), he served as the Senior Director of Pharmaceutics and has a broad background in preclinical and clinical drug development and manufacturing of small molecules and peptides.

For the past 20 years, he has been deeply involved in providing opportunities for UC San Diego students to gain professional experience while completing their undergraduate studies. That work culminated in Bryan becoming a founding partner of the Biological Sciences Corporate Affiliate Program (BioCAP), launched at UC San Diego in 2021. Many of the students have since transitioned into full-time roles with the organization after graduation. He earned his MBA from UC San Diego's Rady School of Management and his bachelor of science in biochemistry from UC San Diego. He is married to fellow Triton, Andrea, and shares two amazing children with her.

First in his family to attend a university, Edward Spriggs was among the initial African American graduates from our campus, founding the Black Students’ Council in 1967 and the first student-led outreach program to local high schools in 1969. He went on to earn a JD from NYU. Later Ed joined the Agency for International Development where his appointments included Assistant General Counsel in Washington, aid director in Namibia and regional director for Southern Africa in Botswana. Throughout his 22 year USAID career, he strongly supported democracy and sustainable development programs.

Ed returned to his alma mater in 2001 as Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Over the next 13 years he helped lead the expansion of student services and facilities such as the RIMAC Annex, and the creation of The Loft and the Black Resource Center. Over the years, Ed has served as Chair of the UC San Diego Black Alumni Council and is currently co-Chair of the Black Alumni Scholarship Fund board. His goal is to improve diversity and the Black student experience on campus. Ed is currently in his third term on the Imperial Beach City Council. He and his wife Leah have six children and seven grandchildren, all of whom, like Ed, love to ski.

Lois Yu is a Senior Project Leader at the Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit agency overseeing space programs. She has previously held roles as an engineering program manager and engineer in Department of Defense programs. Lois credits her studies at UC San Diego for the foundation of her career. Her degrees include an MS in statistics, MS in geosciences and a BA double major in applied mathematics and Chinese studies. She also earned three UC San Diego extension engineering certifications after graduation.

She is a champion for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math – the STEM fields. She is grateful to UC San Diego for invitations to participate on panels, mentor students, contribute to scholarships and research fellowships, and since 2019 serve as the Chair of the UC San Diego’s Division of Physical Sciences Dean’s Leadership Council. The council members are strategic partners that are happy to be multipliers to support the university to better engage with industry and better prepare students to positively impact the world.