University of Notre Dame rising senior Rocío Colón Cotto has been awarded a Beinecke Scholarship worth $35,000 in support of her graduate education. She is Notre Dame’s 10th Beinecke Scholar overall and second since 2023.

Colón Cotto worked closely with the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE) in applying for the award, which is available to juniors at participating institutions in the U.S.

“Congratulations to Rocío. Over the past two years, I have had the pleasure of watching her passion for art conservation develop,” said Emily Buika Hunt, assistant director of scholarly development at CUSE. “The decisions she has made about her coursework, research projects and extracurriculars have been guided by her genuine intellectual curiosity and artistic talent. These wise decisions have put her in the position to become a future leader in her field.”

Colón Cotto is an art history and Chinese major with a studio art minor from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A Sorin Scholar, she is a research assistant in the Rare Books & Special Collections section of the Hesburgh Libraries; a teaching assistant to Professor Bahram Moasser in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; a student programming committee member at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art; and a technical lead and announcer for WSND, the student-run campus radio station.

Away from campus, she participated in an immersive summer language program through Princeton University in China and studied abroad in the United Kingdom through Notre Dame London, where she served as a program and engagement team intern with the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the oldest public art gallery in England.

As an artist and researcher, she is interested in the utility of paper as a medium. She is also interested in how paper ages with time and exposure to the environment, from water and heat to light and humidity.

Under the tutelage of Tatiana Reinoza, the Notre Dame du Lac Assistant Professor of Art History, she researched the cover of “La cortada,” a handmade book published in Cuba and housed in Rare Books & Special Collections. She also experimented with papier-mâché sculpture, drawing and various printmaking techniques.

Building on these experiences, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in paper conservation, connecting her interest in paper and art history with her passion for Mandarin Chinese as a way to preserve ink, watercolor and other traditional East Asian artwork.

“I’m beyond excited to pursue a career in art conservation, a field where I can make meaningful contributions as an artist and researcher."

Following that, she intends to become an East Asian art conservator, exploring the intersection of studio art, art history and Mandarin while safeguarding access to East Asian culture and history for future generations. She will also continue to explore and advance paper techniques in her own work.

“In a world that faces constant environmental and political challenges, it’s vital for us to value and preserve our global cultural heritage,” Colón Cotto said. “I’m beyond excited to pursue a career in art conservation, a field where I can make meaningful contributions as an artist and researcher. Thanks to the Beinecke Scholarship, my goal of pursuing graduate studies in conservation is now achievable. I am profoundly grateful to the CUSE staff, my family, friends and professors for their unwavering support.”

Established by the board of directors of the Sperry and Hutchinson Co. in 1971, the Beinecke Scholarship seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to “be courageous in the selection of a graduate course of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences.”

For more on this and other scholarship opportunities, visit cuse.nd.edu.