This Temple fencer earns a prestigious scholarship for her engineering work

Every year, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation awards scholarships to students across the country who are pursuing research careers in natural science, engineering, and mathematics.

This year, 413 such scholarships were awarded, one of which went to a Temple fencer.

Junior sabre Diana Tiburcio is one of two Temple students to be awarded the scholarship. Tiburcio, who has a 4.0 grade point average, is a mechanical engineering major with a chemistry minor.

“That’s one of the most prestigious awards that you can receive in academics,” Temple athletic director Arthur Johnson said. “She’s doing that while competing for us as a fencer, so I’m really proud and happy of the work there.”

Tiburcio keeps a tight daily schedule, starting at 7 a.m. and running until 9 p.m. She credits Temple’s Resnick Academic Support Center for Student Athletes with helping her in her studies.

“Sports are important, but a college degree is even more important,” Temple Board of Trustees chairman Mitchell Morgan said. “Your college degree will be with you for life, and it separates everything. Education is the great equalizer.”

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Along with her achievements in the classroom, Tiburcio helped No. 11 Temple to its 27th straight National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association team title with her eighth-place finish at the NIWFA championships in March.

Tiburcio first took an interest in fencing as a child taking swimming classes at her local YMCA. She was drawn to the sport because of her love of fantasy books and movies.

The Malvern native joined the Delaware Valley Fencers Club, where she was recruited by former Temple coach Nikki Franke. Franke coached the Owls for their first 50 seasons as a varsity program before retiring in 2022.

“She is just such an inspiring and incredible woman in every way,” Tiburcio said of Franke. “She always has the words of wisdom that you need. She always has the words of encouragement that you need. Just such an incredible person, and she’s truly created such an incredible team environment that I think everyone on the team is so grateful for.

“The biggest thing is how supportive she’s always been and how open and welcoming she is to all of our teammates and how open she is. Making sure that we’re prioritizing not only our athleticism but also our school and just overall life balance, and making sure we’re here to get a career in college. Making sure we can get that balance of career, education, and excelling in our sport.”

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Outside of class and fencing, Tiburcio is on the executive board of Temple’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a national organization dedicated to “engineering projects that empower communities to meet their basic human needs,” according to the group’s website.

The organization is working on a project in Ecuador, building trains and handwashing stations to help counteract the country’s sanitation problems. This summer, Tiburcio will travel with the group for an assessment trip. Her group will meet with local leaders and community members to gain understanding of the issues and goals.

After earning her bachelor’s degree, Tiburcio plans to complete a Fulbright program in Germany at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion. Afterward, she plans to earn her Ph.D. in chemical engineering.

Tiburcio has an emotional connection to her studies and service projects because of her heritage and Latin American upbringing

“Being from a Mexican family, I’ve been exposed to a lot of South America and Latin America,” Tiburcio said. “I feel like water insecurity is just such a huge issue still, and it’s so prevalent, and I think it’s ridiculous. We have all this technology, and we’re out applying it to the countries that need it the most. So that’s what I’m hoping to do with my engineering education.

“My biggest goal in life in general is just to help. I’ve always wanted to just help anyone in everything in any way I could. And I think that’s where engineering kind of found me.”