The 2016 BEST participants are:
- Sarah Brown, doctoral student in American Studies
- Emily Contois, doctoral student in American Studies
- Tom Fisher, doctoral student in Philosophy
- Danielle Fontaine, master’s student in Urban Education Policy
- Branta Lockett, master’s student in Urban Education Policy
- Ali Mathwig, doctoral student in History of Art and Architecture
- Hanan Mowager, master's student in Education
- Alex Reda, doctoral student in Sociology
- Jen Thum, doctoral student in Archeology
- Yinsui Zheng, doctoral student in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences