2021 Joslin Award

Rhian Alley

Rhian is from Tryon, North Carolina. She received an Sc.B. in Cognitive Neuroscience and was elected to Sigma Xi as an associate member. At Brown, Rhian's involvements have centered around building inclusive and welcoming communities in a variety of spaces. She has spent the most significant amount of time involved in club sports, playing both ultimate frisbee and soccer (captaining 2019 - present), in addition to serving on the Club Sports Executive Council. During her two years on the council, she helped keep the program running during a management transition, got social media up and running to increase visibility, worked to streamline internal processes to make club sports run more smoothly, and began revising policy to increase accessibility and support for club sports teams. Rhian has also served as a teaching assistant in the Biology department (BIOL0200 and BIOL0470), been a Meiklejohn and MAPS mentor, worked as a barista in the Underground, and spent the better part of three years as a leader and mentor with Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT). She plans to immediately pursue working in outdoor education and wilderness medicine, with hopes of one day attending graduate school in either medicine, social work, or education.

Rainbow Chen

Rainbow Chen is a proud first-generation and low-income student from Winooski, Vermont. She will be earning an A.B. in Education Studies (Policy & History) and an A.B. in History. Having attended a school district whose reputation was labeled as “poor performing” and “unlikely to send students to college” by a racist education system, she has witnessed and experienced education inequality and has since made it her mission to reconstruct America’s education system into one that is equitable, accessible, healing, and just. With her belief that students and young people should be at the center, Rainbow has committed her time at Brown to the Swearer Center, ResLife, the Brown Center for Students of Color, and the Bonner Community Fellows. Throughout these experiences, Rainbow has served in leadership, educational, and mentoring capacities, having served as a member and co-chair of the Swearer Student Advisory Council, an MPC and facilitator of workshops like “Not Asian Enough”, an RPC, and a TWTP workshop co-facilitator. As a Bonner Community Fellow, she has also spent four years working alongside nonprofit Youth in Action on the south side of Providence, learning alongside amazing Providence youth and dedicating herself to the broader Providence community. Outside of school, Rainbow has a soft spot for the Brown University Orchestra as its former President and long-time upright bassist, where she has reorganized the Orchestra Board and executed multiple successful projects to set the orchestra on a greater note. After graduation, Rainbow will be a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship grantee to the Netherlands before attending Boston College for her Masters of Arts in Teaching as a Donovan Urban Education Scholar. She aspires to be a high school ethnic studies teacher, hoping to use her education and teaching experiences in future education policymaking and her dream as the Vermont Secretary of Education.

Quentin Thomas

Quentin lives in Winchester, Virginia, with roots in Montgomery County, Maryland and El Paso, Texas. He received an A.B. in Public Policy with a specialization in Education. During his time at Brown, Quentin's work has been focused on masculinity, supporting students of color, and community building. Quentin strongly believes that strong, supportive communities have a large role to play in affecting positive social change. As a co-coordinator of the Masculinity Peer Education (MPE) program since his first year, he facilitated workshops on topics such as male privilege, empathy, and group culture with a variety of student groups on campus, as well as with local Providence high school students. He also helped in facilitating Masculinity 101, a weekly discussion space for students of all genders to interrogate societal norms and expectations around gender. Quentin served as Vice President of the NAACP, and in his sophomore year he helped put together the Love and Justice event which highlighted the musical talents of Black students on Brown's campus. He also served as a Minority Peer Counselor (MPC) in his sophomore year, helping first-year students of color navigate a predominantly white institution. This past year, Quentin helped to develop and co-facilitated BRANCH FYE as part of the Community Dialogue Project. The cohort-based program is designed to help first-years build community with one another by engaging in discussions around meaningful topics, ranging from conflict to transformative justice. He particularly enjoyed working with first-year students in this way given the challenges COVID-19 has presented for community building among first-year students. In the fall, Quentin will be attending the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis to pursue an MSW. He hopes to continue the work of empowering communities, building connections, and advocating for people of color that he’s been engaged in at Brown throughout his professional career.

Sumera Subzwari

Sumera is an Asian-American Muslim woman who claims Miami, FL & Sydney, Australia as her hometowns. She received a B.A. in Health & Human Biology. As the proud daughter of immigrants from South Korea & Pakistan, her work on campus focused on activism & organizing around disability justice & mental health advocacy especially as they intersect with her other identities. Sumera was a Peer Mental Health Advocate in Project LETS & a founding member of Disability Justice at Brown (DJAB). As DJAB lead coordinator, she led initiatives, advocated for change, & built community for disabled & mentally ill students. She co-established the Disabled Student Study Space in the Rock, facilitated universal design & accessibility workshops, brought disability justice-centered activists to speak/perform on campus, created a timeline of disability history at Brown, petitioned for a Disability Justice Cultural Center, & co-launched the Disability Justice Student Initiative. Sumera was also on the Campus Life Student Advisory Board, Disability Inclusion Working Group, President of the American Medical Students Association, and in the Applied Music Program. She has been awarded an UTRA, Engaged Scholarship Award, nomination to Sigma Xi, & Hope Chatterton Prize. Sumera also engaged with the surrounding Providence & RI community. As a Clinica Esperanza volunteer, she provided free clinical services to undocumented, low-income folks. As an iProv Fellow with Women's Refugee Care, she developed curricula for women's trauma & support programs and built WRC's internal capacity. Sumera also worked with the Childhood Asthma Research Program, conducting research & educational interventions for low-income, Black & Latino asthmatic children and families to improve health outcomes & decrease health disparities. After graduation, Sumera hopes to pursue medicine in ways that promote community empowerment. She wants to ensure any work she does includes aspects of disability justice and increases healthcare accessibility, particularly for individuals with multiple marginalized identities.

María Guerrero Martínez

María Guerrero Martínez, known as Puchun by her friends, is from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. She received an Sc.B (Honors) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Before coming to Brown, she was the starting goalie in the u20 Puerto Rican Women’s National Team (PRWNT), captained the u17 PRWNT and the youngest member of the professional PRWNT, which made it to the last round of the Olympic Qualifiers. María was then recruited as a goalkeeper for Brown Women’s Soccer (BWS), where she was a member of the Team Impact Leadership Group and helped the team become 2019 Ivy League Champions as well as reach the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 25 years. Outside of soccer, she was also a volunteer for Project GOAL, a Community Sports Fellow in 2019, co-founder and vice-president of the Puerto Rican Students Association and the undergraduate student representative for Brown’s Healthy Fall 2020 Task Force. In exploring her academic interests, María has also served as an athletic tutor for Organic Chemistry, Calculus and French; a teaching assistant in the Chemistry department (CHEM 350 and CHEM 360); and a Biology Peer Advisor. These experiences led to her writing her honors thesis: Pivoting During a Pandemic-Developing a Research-Based Laboratory Curriculum to Increase Confidence and Sense of Belonging in Underrepresented Groups in STEM. Her senior year, she was an intern for Brown Takes Care, a member of AICU RI Student Leadership Committee and co-chair for Young Adult Task Force of RI. María’s time at Brown has helped her find her passion for working within the intersection of public, mental and physical health, particularly as it pertains to the impact our societal structures have in perpetuating healthcare disparities. When she’s not on the field or doing schoolwork, Puchun spends her time watching sitcoms, going outdoors, singing karaoke or making friendship bracelets. María plans on taking a gap year to gain more clinical experience as she applies to Medical Schools.

Clare Grossman, Sarah Martinez & Isabel Mirfakhraie (group award)
 

Clare Grossman is from Occidental, California. She received her A.B. with honors in Health and Human Biology on the Social Context of Health and Disease track. Throughout her time at Brown, she has worked to center mentorship and community support in the organizations she has been a part of. During 2020, Clare served as one of the managers of the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program, where she played a pivotal role in maintaining the inclusive community that BOLT fosters through the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside the other managers, Clare transitioned leader training to a virtual platform and facilitated the first (and hopefully last) virtual BOLT program in the fall of 2020. Her work with BOLT as a manager, leader, and mentor has informed her team-based, community-centered approach to mentorship that she will carry with her beyond Brown. Clare has also been deeply involved with Brown EMS. As an EMT at Brown, Clare provides compassionate, trauma-informed and patient-centered care to her peers. During her time as the director of BEMS, Clare initiated a peer mentorship network and facilitated training in leadership and trauma-informed care. Clare has also been a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor and a Sexual Health Advocacy Group Peer Educator, and has volunteered with Clínica Esperanza and the Rhode Island Free Clinic to serve the under- and uninsured population in Rhode Island. In 2019, Clare received a LINK award to work at Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit working to achieve quality, respectful, and equitable maternity care for all. Her senior honor thesis investigated the educational outcomes of the children of adolescent mothers, and she hopes to continue advocating for maternal and child health and reproductive justice as she pursues a career in medicine.

Sarah R. Martinez is a first-generation college student from Claremont, California. She will be receiving an A.B. in Biology. Her work at Brown has pulled from many disciplines, but has largely focused on peer-peer support and mentorship. Sarah served as a student manager for BOLT (Brown Outdoor Leadership Training Program) during the 2020-2021 school year, and previously served as a summer manager, trip leader, and program mentor. Alongside fellow Joslin recipients Isabel Mirfakhraie and Clare Grossman, Sarah was instrumental in carrying the 30+ year leadership and community-building program forward through a tumultuous year. As a manager, Sarah planned and hosted recruitment events, virtual leader training, weekly newsletters, and facilitated program-adjacent steering committees. She was a key player in reshaping the program to continue amidst a newly remote school year, and spearheaded the development of both revised leader training curricula and written propositions to ensure and improve the program’s longevity following her matriculation from Brown. In addition to her work with BOLT, Sarah served as a supervisor for the Safewalk program, a contributing writer and Graphics Editor for the Brown Daily Herald, a mentor for New Scientist Collective, and as a Teaching Assistant in both Brown’s Environmental Science and Geology departments. Through her work in the classroom and the Swearer Center’s iProv program, Sarah became interested in the intersection between environmental sustainability, justice, and human health. After graduation, she will work with Montana Conservation Corps’s youth program, which provides outdoor access, training, and paid conservation work experience to high school students. This fall, Sarah will begin working in environmental due diligence and consulting in California. At this time Sarah hopes to follow a long-term career path that unites conservation and environmental health and justice.

Isabel Mirfakhraie is from Morgantown, West Virginia and will be receiving an A.B. in Health and Human Biology (Honors) on the Social Context of Health & Disease track. She has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi. Her work at Brown has primarily focused on community building and peer mentorship. Isabel has been involved with the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program since the beginning of her sophomore year as a BOLTer, Leader, Mentor, and Manager. After participating in the program as a BOLTer, Isabel was selected and trained as a BOLT Leader, learning a variety of community building and group facilitation skills, as well as outdoor technical skills. She used and taught these skills while leading a group of sophomores, transfer, and RUE students on a five-day backpacking trip in the White Mountains. After returning from her study abroad program in March 2020, Isabel taught these skills virtually to a new Leader class as a Mentor. Isabel has played an important role in leading the BOLT program through a difficult and uncertain year. Along with the other BOLT Managers, she created and implemented a virtual BOLT program for sophomores, led virtual trainings for a new BOLT leader class during the Spring, and planned for a new BOLT experience in the Fall. Isabel is especially proud of the resilience and dedication of the BOLT community and the work it does to provide community and outdoor experiences to folks from a variety of backgrounds and experiences with the outdoors. During her time at Brown, Isabel has also been an undergraduate Teaching Assistant in the Biology and Chemistry departments, a Biology Peer Advisor, and a WiSE Mentor. Isabel plans to spend the next five months combining her love for the outdoors and science while working at a winery in Napa Valley, after which she hopes to attend pharmacy school.

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Nothando Adu-Gyamfi is from Hartswater, South Africa. She will be receiving an Sc.B. in Engineering (Chemical and Biochemical). Nothando’s work at Brown has primarily focused on advocacy and community building with low-income international folks, particularly those of African descent, based in her belief that all students should be truly seen and heard, especially in a place that can seem overwhelming and intimidating. Nothando has been active on the International Student Advisory Board advocating for resources, which led to the hiring of a dean for international students and the creation of a new international student center through Campus Life. Nothando has been a member of the African Students’ Association (AfriSA) and served as president in 2017-2018, during which time they were awarded the Student Activities ‘Event of the Year’ award for their annual culture show. She interned with Brown’s Office of Sustainability, where she led the Departmental Sustainability Program, a project to encourage Brown departments to engage with and adopt sustainable practices within their departments, all as part of a larger, campus-wide goal. She also worked on planning and successfully launching the Campus Yard Swap, an initiative to divert waste from the landfill and increase visibility of the Office by allowing community members to donate or exchange unwanted, usable items. She served as a Coordinator for Safewalk at Brown, a student-run program that aims to foster a sense of community, safety, and comfort on campus. This year, Nothando worked with the Sexual Assault Peer Education (SAPE) program to improve the training curriculum for Safewalkers, to ensure that they are better equipped for bystander engagement and have the tools necessary to navigate campus. She has additionally served on the National Society for Black Engineers, OJA Modern African Dance, and on multiple university-wide search committees and working groups. Nothando plans to work in the United States for a few more years, before returning to South Africa where she hopes to work at the intersection of social enterprise and renewable energy.

Katie M. Hammaker is from Ephrata, Pennsylvania. She will be receiving an A.B. in Education Studies (Human Development). Katie has focused her work and contributions on athletics and collaborating with the greater Providence community to increase athletic opportunities for kids in Providence. She has been a starter on the field hockey team for four years, serving as captain for two years. Katie serves as the Student-Athlete Services Chair on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), working to better the experience of athletes and their impact on the Providence community. She helped start Project P.V.D. (play, venture, dream) at Brown to build playgrounds and help improve the facilities of local elementary schools; she helped organize Brown’s Tug For a Cure event by partnering with the Brown Oncology Research Group to raise proceeds for their research; and she participated in Athletes in Action which helped her develop her faith and equipped her to mentor her peers in their faith journeys. The heart and passion of her work at Brown has been through the Global Sport Community Fellowship with the Swearer Center, winning her the Words Unlimited Community Service Award. Katie has also worked alongside students from other Brown varsity sports to collaborate on ways to identify the challenges to and increase the opportunity for underserved students in Providence to play sports. Throughout the summer, she worked four days per week at a local elementary school teaching their students how to play field hockey as part of their summer enrichment program. This became an after-school club, which Katie and others lead once a week. Katie plans to get her certification in K-6 education so that she can teach (and coach) before going back for a degree in educational leadership and becoming a principal or administrator. 

Cailyn Ella Hansen is from Hermantown, Minnesota. She will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies and an A.B. in Computer Science. While at Brown Cailyn has focused on transparency, equity, and organizational longevity within the structures of the university. Cailyn has been instrumental in leading the initiative to rebuild the Residential Council, serving as Chair for one and a half years. She re-organized sub-committee structure, launched a website overhaul, assisted in the development of work stipends for members, served as primary author for the Gender Designation Policy in residential buildings, and helped drive the introduction of feedback surveys and town halls to allow students to voice concerns and suggestions. Cailyn has also worked closely with administrators through Greek Council, first as Director of Communications and then as Co-Chair. She pushed for the creation of a Greek community listserv to increase transparency and engagement, aided in the creation of a new mission statement for Greek Life, and assisted in the transition of Greek programing from the Office of Residential Life to the Student Activities Office, writing new bylaws for Greek Council with an updated leadership structure. As President of the Alpha Delta Phi Society, she has led initiatives to increase accountability and strategies for conflict resolution. She has also collaborated in an institutional review of policies to address and correct inequities and biases. Cailyn hopes to eventually continue study in a graduate program in Higher Education Administration with a focus on multicultural student affairs and inclusive operations management. Before then, she plans to work in the non-profit sector, emphasizing social justice, as a researcher or program manager.

Quinton Huang is from Vancouver, BC, Canada. He will be receiving an A.B. in History and an A.B. in East Asian Studies. He was elected into Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. Quinton’s work at Brown has focused on establishing spaces for students to talk about important, and sometimes underrepresented, topics at Brown. He co-founded the Southeast Asian Studies Initiative (SEASI) in 2017, to campaign for more courses, faculty, and opportunities in Southeast Asian/American Studies. Quinton was president of Strait Talk Brown, a student organization devoted to discussion about the Taiwan issue and US-China-Taiwan relations, in 2017, and senior advisor for 2018 and 2019. They host an annual conflict resolution symposium hosting 15 young professionals from China, Taiwan and the US for interactive conflict resolution regarding the Taiwan issue, facilitated by a UN professional conflict mediator and students in conflict resolution programs. Quinton was a DUG leader in East Asian Studies and History and helped organize the first three undergraduate research colloquia on East Asia. As an East Asian Colloquium Student Coordinator, he compiled and maintained a list of East Asian scholars in the region and helped design and maintain a website dedicated to research and teaching on East Asia at Brown. Quinton was a member of Brown Model UN on which he has served as a coach and as president, taught Model UN to high school students through Providence After School Alliance (PASA), and trained the first competitive travel team from Brown. Quinton will be a Princeton-in-Asia teaching fellow (English) at Can Tho University, Vietnam, and then plans to go to graduate school in History and work on public history and historically-informed policymaking.

Victoria Thanh Nguyen Huynh is from San Diego, California. She will be receiving an A.B. (honors) in Ethnic Studies. Her work at Brown has focused on advising, mentorship, and community organizing. Victoria founded the Asian/American Mentorship Program (AAMP) to support first-year students after bringing together her fellow first years with sophomores. Victoria has been a Minority Peer Counselor, an Asian American Student Initiative Coordinator, and the FIRE (Fellowships, Research and Internship Experiences) Coordinator in the Curricular Resource Center, supporting students of color and U-FLi students to navigate institutional resources at Brown. Victoria was also part of the group to bring back Brown Asian Sisters Empowered (BASE), a historically well-known group at Brown for Asian womxn that had been inactive for several years. Victoria credits her growth to Providence Youth Student Movement, a Southeast Asian grassroots organization at which she has interned since her sophomore year. With PrYSM, Victoria has mentored youth organizers and helped organize a recent teach-in on Southeast Asian deportation. PrYSM and other Southeast Asian activists helped her develop her commitments to transformative justice and healing. Victoria has received a Royce Fellowship to work with Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) in Longbeach, CA, did a Seeding Change Fellowship to work in Camden, NJ with Vietlead, and studied abroad and did a GLISP (global independent study project) in Vietnam. She has also been awarded the BCSC Rising Star Award, an UTRA, and a Beineke Fellowship. She is a Mellon Fellow and Cogut Fellow and her honors thesis studies Vietnamese intergenerational trauma, healing, and resilience-based organizing. After graduation, Victoria hopes to write and to work toward intergenerational healing in Vietnamese communities in California. 

Jardelle M. Johnson is an international student from Birmingham, England. She will be receiving a Sc.B. (Honors) in Social Analysis and Research. She has dedicated three years to working with the Office of College Admissions, in particular with A Day on College Hill (ADOCH), for which she served as coordinator in a year of restructuring from a 3-day program to two 2-day programs. She worked with the office to establish three new paid positions to expedite the planning process. Jardelle then took on a position as the Information Session Coordinator which involves the recruitment, selection, and training of information session leaders. She revamped the information sessions to ensure a consistent message throughout the program. In addition to her work with admissions, Jardelle has been active in the Greek community and served as chapter president of Kappa Delta sorority. As the president she established a diversity and inclusion committee to address issues ranging from cultural appropriation to implicit bias during recruitment. She also initiated conversations about a financial aid initiative, coordinating with the Vice President of Finance to take steps toward implementing a program for low-income members. Jardelle has been a TA for Introductory Statistics for Social Research, worked on research on the differences between first-generation and continuing-generation students in their transition to and perception of college, and served as DUG leader for Social Analysis and Research. Furthermore, she served as a senior counselor at RYSE (previously BRYTE) teaching middle school refugee students ESL and volunteered for the US-UK Fulbright Commission mentoring low-income British students applying to U.S. universities. Jardelle will be working as a trainee lawyer at Slaughter and May, a multinational commercial law firm headquartered in London.

Soyoon Kim is an international student from Korea. She spent her childhood in Korea (Seoul and Busan) and the U.S. (Rochester, NY and Wilmette, IL). She will be receiving an A.B. in Sociology and an A.B. in Education Studies (Human Development). Soyoon has aimed to bridge communities, center relationships, and build/connect/learn as a student and as a future educator. She spent two years as a mentor and then as a Community Fellow for Brown Afterschool Mentoring (BEAM), training and coordinating student volunteers and engaging in critical conversations of positionality and power during the Swearer Center’s leadership transition. She also spent two years as a mentor in the International Mentoring Program (IMP) in the ‘15-’16 and ‘17-’18 cohorts helping first-years, transfers, and visiting international students acclimate and build community in a new place. Through her work with VISIONS magazine (Brown/RISD’s Asian/Asian-American literary and visual arts publication), she’s found greater voice in navigating her own identity and forged actionable solidarities with other publications of color on campus including SOMOS and OBSIDIAN. More recently, Soyoon has found great joy in co-coordinating and working with Brown Asian Sisters Empowered (BASE) in bringing speakers to lead talks and workshops, building community among Asian/Asian-American womxn, and challenging herself and others towards an anti-racist, feminist orientation of liberation and justice that centers relationships, love, and healing. Soyoon has also worked as a Leave-taking co-coordinator and peer advisor at the Curricular Resource Center (CRC) for the past three semesters, advising students on the process and helping create a leave-taking process that is accessible, inclusive, and affirming of student needs.

Andy M.T. Phạm claims both Portland, Oregon and Quincy, Massachusetts as his hometowns. He will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies and an A.B. in Gender & Sexuality Studies (Critical Histories of Medicine). Andy’s work has been around community building, empowering education, space holding, and critical conversations surrounding health and healing. Andy has spent 3 years working on the 2019 Class Coordinating Board, 2 years as Vice President and one as President. He was involved with the Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council (SHEEC), serving on the board for a year and co-facilitating a workshop on how the medical system can be harmful toward intersex and non-binary folks. He also did work through the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights and the RI Department of Health creating health education materials specific to the prison system in RI. Andy spent two summers as an RA for [email protected], was a Minority Peer Counselor (MPC), and worked on TWTP as an MPC and then in an inaugural role of Community Care Coordinator, which focused on setting up spaces for and education on self-care. After a semester in Vietnam researching NGO HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment efforts through Brown’s Global Independent Study Project (GLISP), he returned to an internship with Community Catalyst in Boston to focus on health equity related to immigrant health and TLGBQ+ health. He currently serves as a Legacy Series Program Coordinator for the LGBTQ Center bringing in speakers around the theme “Building Our Futures: A Trans and Queer Vision.” Andy plans to travel to Japan to facilitate self-empowerment courses for high school students and then to work in health education before going to graduate school for a joint Master’s in Social work and in Queer Theory, eventually going into mental health counseling.

Kiana Phillips is a Christian, Black American, who was raised by her mother and older sisters in Aurora, Colorado. She is a triple concentrator and will be receiving an A.B. in Africana Studies, Education (Honors), and Political Science. She is passionate about building community with and support networks for members of the Brown community and the greater Providence community who are often overlooked and/or underserved. At Brown, Kiana has helped lead Black Christian Ministries since her first semester and has been the executive leader for two years. There she has helped foster spiritual growth and fellowship in the Black community and with other faith communities on campus. Kiana has led the Black Pre-Law Association for three years, serving as president for the past two, and connecting students to academic and professional resources. She has also connected students to various campus resources as a Residential Peer Leader (RPL) for the past three years. Kiana has specifically served as the RPL of the Donovan House for two of those years, part of the Donovan Program for substance-free student support, a program that Kiana helped coordinate for two and a half years through the Dean’s Office. There she helped found the Donovan House and to create more structural support for sub-free students in a range of Campus Life offices. She also expanded research on this student population through her senior thesis. Kiana has tutored for Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment (BRYTE), taught young children at King’s Cathedral, and tutored incarcerated adults through the Petey Greene program. Kiana plans to teach elementary school in her hometown before attending law school to become a youth justice attorney.

Karishma Swarup is an international student from Kolkata, India. She will be receiving an A.B. in Geology-Biology and has been nominated to Sigma Xi. In her time at Brown, Karishma has focused on being a mentor and advocate for students. Karishma has worked as a Residential Peer Leader (RPL), a regional representative for RPLs, a Meiklejohn peer advisor and an International Mentor. She volunteered with the Swearer Center Community Corps program SHAPE (Sexual Health Advocacy through Peer Education) to facilitate workshops around holistic sexual health education with high school students in Providence. She has been a student leader for SHAPE for the last two years, working with Providence high school administrators to assess the needs of the students, and working with Planned Parenthood of Southern New England to recruit, train and support Brown student volunteers. She was able to increase the number of classrooms reached by SHAPE by 100% and solidified and organized an evidence-based sexual health curriculum for the volunteers to use in the program. She has used her experience with SHAPE to help a school in her hometown, Kolkata, establish its first ever sexual health curriculum. Karishma has also been extensively involved with student theater and performance at Brown, often spending over 25 hours a week rehearsing for plays and acting in student films at Brown and RISD. Karishma hopes to bridge her focus on the earth and environment with her passion for the performing arts in order to advocate for environmental conservation.

Monica Yenglai Yang is from St. Paul, Minnesota and is the child of Hmong refugees. She will be receiving her A.B. in Education Studies. As a first-generation college student, her passion in education equity stems from her parents’ resilience and experience as refugees. At Brown she was an active leader in organizing around access and inclusion for first-generation and low-income college students. As the co-president of the [email protected] student organization, she advocated for the establishment of the Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center (U-Fli Center). It is the first center of its kind in the Ivy League that specifically supports and affirms the intersectional identities and experiences of U-Fli students while transforming elite, historically white institutions like Brown. She served on the search committees that designed the roles for the Assistant Dean of the College for Financial Advising, and the Program Director for the U-Fli Center. To Monica, her most meaningful impact at Brown lies in the communities she fostered and grew from. She is described as a warm and welcoming person who engages with people deeply. She stresses self-love and community care and makes herself available to check in with peers. These communities are living proof that U-Fli students belong and thrive at Brown. Aside from the institutional changes she pushed for at Brown, Monica volunteered as a tutor for adult English language learners, raised funds to resource a refugee school in Kenya, and developed a full curriculum about social change for high school students in Japan. Upon graduation, Monica is excited to work in education and the public humanities before pursuing a Ph.D.

Victor Bramble is from Newburgh, New York. He will be receiving an A.B. in Modern Culture & Media and Ethnic Studies. Victor’s work at Brown to increase academic access and resources has been led by his belief that true inclusivity requires active outreach to and support for those from historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. Through the Brown Center for Students of Color, Victor worked as a Minority Peer Counselor and a workshop facilitator for the Third World Transition Program. Victor has also worked through the Department of Modern Culture and Media on their Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan Committee and served as Departmental Undergraduate Group Leader. In his senior year, Victor has continued to push for the needs of students from historically underrepresented groups in his role as the Fellowships, Internships, and Research experiences (FIRe) Coordinator at the Curricular Resource Center. Victor has also been an active researcher, focusing on the role of digital media technologies in the construction and negotiation of identity in America. He received multiple awards, grants, and fellowships while at Brown, including Cogut Center for the Humanities Undergraduate Fellowship, the Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers Associate Fellowship, and the Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program Fellowship. In the Fall, Victor will continue his research while pursuing a Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Maryland, with the ultimate goal of serving as a teacher, researcher, and mentor at a college or university.

Madeline Jinsook DiGiovanni is from Mountain Lakes, New Jersey and will be receiving her Sc.B. in Psychology. The most significant theme of her involvements has been working to make sure that students feel and are more supported by the university and that they are aware of what resources are available. She served as President of Active Minds, as a Residential Peer Leader for two years, and a Meikeljohn Peer Advisor for three years. She was also active in campus arts communities, including What’s On Tap and the Brown University Chorus. Off-campus, she volunteered at the Rhode Island Free Clinic and Butler Hospital. She has also served as a research assistant in Brown's Social Cognitive Science Research Center and as a teaching assistant. Her efforts have also earned her the Active Minds’ Received Exceptional Student Leader Award (Spring 2017), Residential Life’s Excellence in Collaboration Award (Spring 2016), and the Kling Premium in Psychology for Excellence in Service as a Teaching Assistant (Spring 2017). Upon graduation, she will be teaching 9th grade special education in Massachusetts as a member of Teach for America's 2017 corps. She hopes to attend medical school in the future to potentially pursue psychiatry. 

Jordan A. Ferguson is from Los Angeles, CA, and he will be receiving his A.B. in Urban Studies. While at Brown, Jordan was active both on the field and off. As an athlete, he was on both the football and track teams. On campus, he serves for four years, including as chair, of the Undergraduate Finance Board, distributing funds to student organizations. As a Sexual Assault Peer Educator, Jordan trained Greek and Program houses on issues related to sexual assault and domestic violence. Jordan also worked closely with Marc Peters in Health Services to create and implement a Masculinity Peer Education Program, focusing first on the football team and with plans in place to expand that work. Jordan was part of the founding class of Beta Omega Chi Fraternity, serving as Vice-President for two years. Through his leadership of the Black Student Union, Jordan was instrumental to the creation of three initiatives – BSU Unite, BSU Engage, and BSU Seeks – that, together, fostered a more cohesive community. After graduation, Jordan will be moving to the New York City area to work for Goldman Sachs as Real Estate Strategy Analyst.

Lehidy Laura Frias is from the south side of Providence, Rhode Island and will be receiving her A.B. in Anthropology and Public Health. Lehidy’s involvement in the Brown community ranged from social justice advocacy to women and youth empowerment to cultural appreciation. She was the president of Dominican [email protected] where she implemented the group’s first Carnaval annual celebration. She was active in the Brown Center for Students of Color, serving as the Latinx Heritage Series Programmer for three years and volunteering for the Third World Transition Program. She was also co-chair for the fall 2015 Latnix Ivy League. Through Alpha Chi Omega, Lehidy faught against domestic violence and worked to instill and normalize conversations of race, love and self-care with her fellow sorority sisters. Her community engagement work extends beyond Brown, including volunteering at a literacy center for Hatian communities in the Dominican Republic, translating for Spanish-speaking patients at Clinica Esperanza, working as an intern at the Childhood Lead Action Project, and teaching with the Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment program. She has also gone to elementary schools to speak to students about college and has taught math to kindergarten to third graders. She received an UTRA to research health and racial disparities in the elderly population in Peru. Upon graduation, Lehidy will be taking a year off to apply to graduate school where she hopes to pursue a PhD.

Alex Karim is from Streamwood, Illinois and will be receiving an A.B. in Computer Science and Ethnic Studies. Throughout her time at Brown, Alex has been invested in supporting and mentoring underclassmen. She has been involved in the Brown Center for Students of Color since her sophomore year, first as an MPC and then as a multimedia specialist, as well as a workshop facilitator at TWTP. Currently she is working with three other students to restructure TWTP. Within the CS Department, Alex has served as a TA for CS15 twice, and a Head TA for CS32 because she loved working with students. She continued this work as Director of Workshop for [email protected] and led workshops on coding and web development. She has been working on diversity and inclusion in the CS department since her sophomore year. She created and lead a diversity training for CS TAs that has since become a primary component of TA training. Her unofficial advocacy for students of color lead to the creation of the Student Advocate positions in the department, which she and nine other students of color in the department now hold. After graduation, Alex will be moving to San Francisco to work as a software engineer at Lyft.

Renata Mauriz is a community college transfer first-generation immigrant student and will be receiving her A.B. in Ethnic Studies and Public Policy. She was born in Brazil but also calls New Jersey and New York home. As an undocumented student at Brown, she has revived the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition (BIRC) with the goal of building a community of students and faculty who are committed to working towards pushing for policies and initiatives that positively impact immigrant students and the Rhode Island immigrant population. Through a collaboration with a group of her peers, Renata was instrumental to successful efforts to propose and advocate for University changes to undocumented admission policies and support structures. Renata also served as the coordinator for the Brown University Latinx Council (BULC). Prior to being a student at Brown, Renata also led efforts with the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society to create a scholarship for undocumented students at her community college. She is very proud for collectively helping lead the New Jersey Tuition Equity for DREAMers Campaign, which successfully resulted in passing the NJ DREAM Act, a law granting undocumented students in NJ access to in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. She is member of Wind of the Spirit, a small grassroots immigrant rights organization, and credits them showing her how to build community power. After she graduates in December, she hopes to gain more policy experience before applying to law schools. 

Ben Miller-Gootnick is from Washington, DC, and will be receiving an A.B. in Public Policy in December. Ben's work at Brown centers around working with University administrators to translate student activism into concrete policy change. Ben served as student representative on the University Resources Committee, where he collaborated with senior University leaders to write the University's $1.01 billion annual budget. Ben also advised the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration on a project to re-contract Brown Dining Services, and worked as a research assistant with the Assistant Provost. He served on the Swearer Center's Student Advisory Committee and as a research assistant with both the Costs of War project and the Rhode Island Innovative Policy Lab. Ben is also an Engaged Scholar through the public policy program and conducted research in Macedonia as a Royce Fellow. Off-campus, Ben worked for the Rhode Island State Board of Elections and directed election administration at a polling place in Providence during Rhode Island's 2014 primary and general elections. He has interned with Hillary for America, the Rhode Island Senate Policy Office, and with the White House Office of Legislative Affairs under President Obama. Ben also spent fall 2016 in Washington, D.C. working as the Assistant to the Director of Congressional Affairs at Hillary for America. Upon graduation, Ben hopes to pursue a career in public service, using law, policy, and government to make the world a better place.

Viet Nguyen is from Mountain View, California. He will be receiving his A.B. in Education Studies with a focus in Human Development. Throughout his time at Brown, Viet has worked tirelessly to make Brown more accessible and to significantly increase its commitment to inclusion and supporting its students. Viet’s efforts were instrumental to the successful organization of the first-ever first-generation college inter-Ivy conference. Following that conference, Viet collaborated with Emily Doglio to author a proposal to establish a new student center at Brown to support First-Generation College students, successfully advocated for the establishment of the Center and the broadening of its name and purview to include low-income students, and established and co-led the [email protected] student organization. Viet was also instrumental in enhancing support for low-income students at Brown, including service on a working group that led to significant increases in financial support, advocating that the University re-evaluate student work study, collaborating in efforts to eliminate application fees for low-income students, and creating a low-income student event fund. During his time at Brown, he served as President of the Undergraduate Council of Students, as an Academic Coach, and as a TA in Computer Science. As President of the Brown University Lecture Board, he was instrumental to the planning of lectures for Viola Davis, Jane Goodall, Gina Rodriguez, George Takei, and Laverne Cox. After Brown, Viet will be in South Korea for a year teaching English on a Fulbright, working at Bain's non-profit consulting arm, the Bridgespan Group for 2 years, and then attending Stanford Graduate School of Business for his MBA.

Tionne Nicole Pete is from Dacula, Georgia and will be receiving an Sc.B. in Biology in the Physiology and Biotechnology Track. Tionne's involvement in the Brown Community and beyond reflects her love for biology and her passion for getting involved and giving back. Her love for biology led to her involvement in a yearlong independent study course where she studied extracellular matrix mechanisms of preterm premature rupture of fetal membranes and to volunteering at the Davis Lab at Emory University and Georgia Tech University. As a means of giving back to community, volunteered at Rhode Island Hospital and with the Brown University Relaxation Project. Tionne was also a Brown Elementary Afterschool Mentoring Volunteer, the Co-President of the Figure Skating Club, and a Brown University Cheerleader. While being engaged, Tionne also worked at Brown University Dining Services (BuDS), ultimately serving as Student General Manager. At BuDS, she continually strove towards increased community camaraderie, improved organizational policies and procedures, and the development of student managerial mentoring. Her efforts resulted in selection as the recipient of the Veronica Acosta Award and to the establishment of an award in honor. The Tionne Pete Career Achievement Award will be given annually to a hard-working and dedicated BuDS student who has made a significant difference to the BuDS Community. After graduation, Tionne is excited to return to Georgia where she was selected to teach science for two years in an underserved community through Teach for America before pursuing a degree in medicine.

Myacah H. Sampson is from Farmington, New Mexico. She will be receiving an A.B in Ethnic Studies and Public Policy. She is the recipient of the Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Research and Teaching Award, the Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers Associate Fellowship, and the Hazen White Internship Award. At Brown, Myacah has been involved in the Brown Center for Students of Color as a Minority Peer Counselor and TWTP workshop facilitator. As Co-Coordinator of Native Americans at Brown, she worked with other Indigenous students to organize the University's inaugural Indigenous Peoples' Day celebration. She has also served as Coordinator of the Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence. As a Peer Career Advisor at CareerLAB, she helped to build a network of first-generation college student alumni/ae by co-spearheading the second First-Gen CareerCon. With the help of a Hazen White Internship Award, she realized their passion for constituent-centered policy work as an intern for Martin Heinrich (D-NM). Myacah plans to continue to work on policy reform to improve the lives of the most economically vulnerable in the United States. This summer, she will be conducting policy research in Washington, D.C. as an intern at the Institute for Policy Studies in the organization's Criminalization of Race and Poverty Project. In the fall, she will join New America as a Millennial Public Policy Fellow. 

Michelle Bailhe is from Los Angeles, California and will be receiving a B.A. in Human Biology.  Michelle was selected as one of two senior orators for  Brown’s 247^th Commencement. Michelle’s involvements in Brown and beyond were both diverse and deep. She was a leader in Brown’s dance community, serving as Director of Body & Sole and of Impulse Dance Company. Through her four years in Impulse, she has performed in over 20 pieces and 30 shows, and has produced, choreographed, and directed. She was also actively engaged in peer advising, serving as a MAPS Advisor and Health Careers Peer Advisor. While at Brown, Michelle was a Health Disparities Researcher at Memorial Hospital and the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute for over two years. In that time she recruited other students to the research team, advised them, collaborated with them, and designed studies that they will carry on after she graduates.  Michelle was also the Founder of Brown for Marriage Equality and was an organizer of the February 2014 march to the State House. As Head Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Public Health for three years, she managed a team of ten TAs, taught over 600 students, and founded the course’s discussions sections with Prof. Melissa Clark. She was a Liman Fellow, working for New York Lawyers for Public Interest, and a Brown Chapter Global Liaison for The School Fund. Upon graduation, Michelle will be working at McKinsey & Company and hopes to then attend law school to pursue a career in public service.

Sarah Day Dayon is from Carol Stream, Illinois and will be receiving an A.B in Ethnic Studies and Biology, with an honors thesis in Ethnic Studies. In her own words, “Trusting the intentions of others is easy to say, but difficult to put in practice.” Throughout her time at Brown she has dedicated herself to this critical practice and to finding ways to use her love of art and commitment to social justice to enhance the lives of those around her. These commitments led her to be an active and engaged peer leader, including serving as a Community Assistant, Minority Peer Counselor, and MPC Coordinator. She has been instrumental in the development and creation of opportunities for the campus to engage in issues of social justice, founding and coordinating the E(RACE)D but Not Forgotten Conference on racialization of Asians in the United States and serving on the Converge for Change Planning Committee. She also worked at the intersection of social justice and the arts, serving as president of Archipelag-a, coordinating a spoken word showcase featuring alumna Sarah Kay, and helping to organize the Asian Arts Fest. Other involvements include leading the Ethnic Studies DUG; coordinating the Women of Color Collective; participating in Empowering Pilipino Youth through Collaboration, Brown Asian Sisters Empowered, the Brown/RISD Catholic Community, Model UN; working in the Student Activities Office; and serving as an undergraduate research assistant in the Swartz Lab. Sarah will be continuing her education at Brown through the 5^thyear Masters of Art in Teaching program in history and social studies.

William Furuyama is from Los Angeles, California and will be receiving a Sc.B. in Chemistry. While being a staunch advocate for an inclusive campus and a vocal opponent of structural injustices, his work is always highly professional, skillfully diplomatic, and both deeply passionate and compassionate. He has been a pillar within centers and spaces at Brown committed to social justice, serving as Coordinator for the Coalition Against Relationship Abuse and Sexual Assault, Minority Peer Counselor, MPC Coordinator, MPC Friend, TWTP Coordinator, and Women’s History Month Programmer.  The issue of sexual assault has been a significant topic during his time at Brown, and he has been a critical voice and leader, serving as a peer educator with Sexual Assault Peer Education (SAPE), organizing the annual Masha Dexter Lecture featuring Colby Bruno from the Victim Rights Law Center, serving on the committee to identity Brown’s first Title IX Program Officer, and co-organizing interviews with students who had experienced sexual assault and compiling these voices to inform the work of the Sexual Assault Task Force. Other involvements include being a discussion facilitator with GuyTalk, workshop coordinator with Gay-Straight Alliance Student Support, a MAPS mentor, member of the Student Code of Conduct Review, campus tour guide, and tutor with Algebra in Motion. He has also been a leader within his concentration, serving as a teaching assistant for Chem0100 and Chem0330 and a research assistant in the Cane Biochemistry Lab. Upon Graduation, William will be moving back to Los Angeles and applying for medical school.

Mashfiq Hasan grew up in New York City, New York, moved to Dhaka, Bangladesh, and now lives in Providence, RI, and will be receiving a Sc.B. in Neuroscience with Honors.  At Brown and in his communities, Mashfiq is best characterized by his traits of modesty, serenity, and moral soundness that are demonstrated through his deep and genuine care for the well-being of others and his willingness and capacity to lend a helping hand. One theme of his work and time at Brown is of peer leadership, teaching, and advising others. He has served as a teaching assistant, discussion leader and mentor with [email protected], a peer mentor with the Leadership Alliance, an Arabic, Quran, and Islamic Studies teacher with the Islamic Center of Rhode Island, and a Student Help Desk Consultant. He has been an active member of the Brown Muslim Students Association at a time of transition in the Associate Chaplain position. His engagement during that time was reflective of his style and way of having an impact, sharing in the work of sustaining community, and, in often small but very meaningful ways, being there on a personal level for his peers. Additional involvements include founding Free Health Screening and Education at the Islamic Center of Rhode Island, serving as Vice President of the Community Health Advocacy Program, delivering sermons and/or talking about Islam in various community and campus settings, and lending his graphic design expertise to various groups and initiatives. After graduation, Mashfiq plans to apply to medical school and to continue his volunteer and community engagement efforts.

Rachel Himes is from Washington, DC and will be completing the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program with an A.B. in Religious Studies and B.F.A. in Illustration. She is a person of enormous integrity and generosity – compassionate and never judgmental. She is understated, quick to give credit, and continuously working to develop and advocate for the talents and opportunities of others. Her deep commitment to community is matched only by her capacities to be both lively and full of fun. While at Brown, Rachel directed the Religious Literacy Project. Now in its fourth year, the Project and its materials were transformed and reworked and a new corps of students at several stages of their Brown education have been recruited and trained under Rachel’s leadership, ensuring its sustainability. Her engagement with religious life at Brown also extended to serving on the Multi-Faith Council and the search committee for a new Associate Protestant Chaplain and to her role as student director of the Episcopal Ministry at Brown and RISD. Additional involvements include serving as the Education Outreach Assistant for the Haffenreffer Museum, Arts Editor of The Brown Jug, Freshman Resident Assistant at RISD, and a mentor both with Brown Arts Mentoring and the Brown|RISD Dual Degree program. One of multiple themes in her engagements has been the creation of significant and useful bridges between the two campuses from which she will earn her degrees. Upon graduation, Rachel will be working in museum education in New York.

Samuel Miller Kase is from New York, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Medical Humanities, an Independent Concentration. Sam has made it his goal to provide his fellow students with memories that will last a lifetime, dedicating himself to helping his fellow students feel connected to Brown. Throughout his four years, Sam has been actively involved in the Class Boards, ultimately serving as Senior Class President, and played an instrumental role in many of the most memorable events from Senior Week, to Gala, to the Homecoming Formal. As part of Brown’s 250+ celebrations, he was a key force behind “A Night on College Hill” which drew more than 4,000 students and organized the Cupcakes 4 Cans event. He has also fostered connections to and memories of Brown through his work as a member of the Brown Alumni Association, as Photo Editor of the Brown Daily Herald, and as a campus tour guide. As Senior Class President, he has not only set a high bar for future boards, he has actively mentored younger boards and is frequently described by his peers as a role model. This mentorship is exhibited not only through his campus engagements but also academically, through serving as Meiklejohn Peer Advisor for three years and being a teaching assistant for high school students through [email protected], and personally to his friends and peers. Even with his commitments, he can always be seen attending a friend’s performance, show, game, or concert. Upon graduation, he is excited to return to New York to attend the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Abishek Kulshreshtha is from Grapevine, Texas and will be receiving an Sc.B. in Mathematical Physics. His ability to think globally and broadly is complemented by his equal strength in attention to detail. As a member of the leadership team of the Meiklejohn Peer Advising Program, his insight resulted in the implementation of a peer advising e-post and he led a pilot program for academic peer liaisons in the Department of Athletics. As a member of both the Student Conduct Board and the committee to review the Code of Student Conduct, Abishek never settled until he felt students’ best interests were taken into account. His abilities to be insightful, thoughtful, and to speak up, were critical in hearing some of the toughest conduct cases and, in the review of the code, created process changes and contributed to recommendations made to the Sexual Assault Task Force. Within the Physics Department, he led the Departmental Undergraduate Group, excelling at outreach to first-year students, grooming future leaders, and helping the department focus on increasing the diversity of its concentrators. Additional roles included serving as Secretary General of Model UN, Treasurer of the Brown Lecture Board, and volunteering with the Providence Public Schools. Upon graduation Abishek will be studying in Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. He hopes to then return to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics and a career combining his passions for physics, education, and policy.

Ariel Sydney Peak is from Santa Ana, Costa Rica and Providence, RI and will be receiving a B.A. in Africana Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies. She is an agent of change and also has an unwavering commitment to cultivating the agency of others to make change. While at Brown, Sydney has supported and advocated for communities at the margins, especially those affected by violence and living with trauma. As an artist mentor at New Urban Arts, a free after-school studio for youth in Providence, and the co-founder of the Gravediggers Poetry Collective at Brown, she has used spoken word poetry and visual art as tools to push forward critical dialogue and give voice to her communities' often-erased narratives. As a member of the Women’s Rugby Team, her strong play and advocacy helped the team secure not only championship wins but also elevation to varsity status. Additional involvements include serving as Head Coach of the Brown/RISD Poetry Slam Team and ProvSlam Youth Poetry Team, Minority Peer Counselor, TWTP Workshop Facilitator, Legal Intern for Sanctuary for Families, and Community Organizer for La Asociación Lésbica, Bisexual, y Trans Mujer & Mujer in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Upon graduation Ariel plans to move to Seattle, Washington with her partner, Thuy-Mai, and intends to continue with feminist anti-violence and racial justice work through legal advocacy, case management, and community organizing. Above all, Sydney hopes to continue making art, building queer family, and demanding social change in radical, loving ways.

Maahika Kodangudi Srinivasan is from New Delhi, India, and will be receiving an A.B. in Science and Society. While at Brown, Maahika was deeply involved in the Undergraduate Council of Students, serving as Academic and Administrative Affairs Chair and then as President. At a time of change and controversy at Brown, Maahika managed to forge meaningful relationships with the administration and earn the respect and trust of students, through being passionate and respectful, forceful and reasonable, and creating conduits for student voice, including WTFBrown. As just one example, as the campus struggled with the issue of sexual assault, she played varied and important roles from helping protests to be organized and impactful, to ensuring careful and thoughtful committee appointments, to mobilizing UCS as a critical conduit and intermediary between students and the administration. Additional involvements include Ivy Film Festival, UCAAP Residential Council, serving as coordinator of Health Leads, interning with the Brown Alumni Magazine, and being a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor for three years and an iProv Fellow. While managing to be engaged across campus, she practices, each day, her understanding that making Brown better starts with how we treat each other, and she never fails to be there for a friend. In blogdailyherald’s senior superlatives survey, Maahika came in first for “most likely to President of the United States” and for “best mom.” Upon graduation Maahika will be in New York City working at DoSomething, a global organization that creates and runs campaigns for college-aged students to enact social change.

William Watterson is from Pound Ridge, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in History. During his time at Brown, Billy has shown tremendous involvement, dedication, and accomplishment as an athlete, a student, a member of the Brown community, and a resident of Providence. A four year member of Wrestling Team, including a year as captain, he never missed a practice and brought the highest work ethic to every one. His hard work produced results, including being an NCAA Division I national qualifier, three-time All-Ivy honoree, and two-time NWCA Academic All-American. Volunteering in Providence schools since his first-year, he observed the absence of after-school sports. This eventually led him to take a year leave from Brown to found Beat the Streets Providence, a non-profit dedicated to starting scholastic wrestling teams in public schools. His innovative model quickly gained support from the schools — with programs now at five Providence schools —  improving attendance, health, and academic outcomes for more than 250 students and creating mentoring, internship, and volunteer opportunities for Brown students. Billy is also a passionate writer, serving as a contributing writer with Post Magazine, Brown Daily Herald, Brown Culinary Palette, and Brown Bears Magazine. He also received a Social Innovation Initiative Fellowship and served as Community Service Chair of the Student Athletic Advisory Council, forming a new partnership with Books Are Wings. William has accepted Brown’s Embark Fellowship to continue his work with Beat the Streets full-time after graduation.

Erin Malaika Kelley and Taylor Ashley Lanzet (Team Award) will both be receiving an A.B. in Environmental Studies and have served as teaching and research assistants for the past three years for Professor Dawn King, including serving as co-teaching assistants. They both joined the Brown Market Shares Program in 2012 and have been instrumental in its growth and development. After the initial request was rejected, Taylor single-handedly convinced the USDA to list Brown Market Shares as the first university-based “food hub” in the country. As Purchasing Coordinator, Erin was able to create strong friendships built on honesty and respect with farmers and producers in Rhode Island that, in some cases, helped them save their businesses. As CV Starr fellows, they co-authored the Brown Market Shares Book, a resource for potential partners as well as other colleges and universities interested in replicating the program. Additionally, they completed enough marketing and outreach to subsidize all low-income share-holders – a feat most national food hubs have yet to accomplish.

Erin Malaika Kelley is from San Antonio, Texas. At Brown, she immersed herself in environmental justice and law through her coursework, internships, and campus and community engagements. Her campus involvements have included serving as a leader with the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) Program, a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor, Presidential Host, and a member of the Brown Outing Club. In the community, she worked extensively with the Rhode Island Center for Justice on housing issues in Providence and in the state, including her senior capstone on utility termination in partnership with the George Wiley Center. She also led collaborative projects with the African Alliance of Rhode Island and also with New Urban Farmers. Upon graduation Erin will be living in Providence for the summer, while working in Cambridge, MA. Eventually she hopes to work in the field of social justice-oriented legal advocacy.

Taylor Ashley Lanzet is from West Orange, New Jersey. Her campus involvements include significant University service as a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor and as an undergraduate appointed to two terms on the College Curriculum Council, including being placed on its Executive Committee. She has also written for Bluestockings Magazine and been involved in the Sustainable Food Initiative and EmPOWER. As a TA for engaged scholar courses, she helped coordinate numerous community projects from community garden work days with refugee organizations to building composting systems. Through Brown’s TRI-Lab and the RI Food Policy Council, she worked to develop a briefing document for the Rhode Island food system for then Governor-elect Raimondo. Through a practicum with the RI Department of Environmental Management, she helped re-write the Local Agricultural and Seafood Act. After graduation, she will be moving to New York to work for a food-related start-up, the next step in her life-long commitment to disrupting the bind between economic status and the ability to eat good food.

You may also download a copy of the 2013 Program for the  Jin-Joslin-Joukowsky Awards Ceremony.

Rahel Katharina Dette is from Berlin, Germany and will be receiving an A.B in Political Science and Middle East Studies. Throughout her time at Brown, Rahel has been involved in the International Mentoring Program, first as a mentor and then as a coordinator; President of Common Ground: Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel; and a volunteer with the Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment program and the Brown University Mediation Project. She also worked with the Middle East Studies department to organize the “Undergraduate Paper Series” and served as a teaching assistant in German and Political Science and a research assistant in Political Science and History. Rahel also played a central role in organizing last year’s Avi Schaefer Conference, a colloquium that brought together students from multiple universities to engage in meaningful dialogue on the prospect of peace in the Middle East. After seven years abroad Rahel will be returning to Germany to work in think tanks or NGO’s focusing on the “triangle” of the U.S., Europe and the Middle East before continuing her education either in Human Rights Law or Political Science.

Sarah L. Forman is from Wellesley, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B. in Chemistry and Middle East Studies. At Brown Sarah has served in a couple different official capacities at Hillel, including Vice President for Campus Relations, serving on the student executive board, and supporting multiple, diverse student organizations. She also served as a Woman Peer Counselor; Residential Peer Leader; and Copy Editor, Staff Writer, and Senior Staff Writer for the Brown Daily Herald. During her senior year, Sarah put together a new program called 6,000 Voices that aims to create opportunities for students to get together in diverse groups of peers to talk about some of the core issues embedded in the Brown experience. After Brown Sarah will continue her studies at Cambridge University as the Craig-Cambridge Scholar and will be reading for a M.Phil. in Nuclear Energy.

Emily Josmil Gonzalez is from Bronx, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Education with a focus on Human Development. At Brown, Emily has served as a Minority Peer Counselor (MPC); MPC Coordinator; MPC Friend; Latino Student Initiative worker; editor for SOMOS Latino Literacy Magazine; First Generation Student Initiative Mentor; and on the Brown-Tougaloo Student Advisory Committee. She was also actively involved in El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan de Brown; La Federacion de Estudiantes Puertorriquenos; Brown Arts Mentoring; and the Brown-RISD Catholic Community. After graduation, Emily is open to future possibilities and pathways. As an Education concentrator, she hopes to serve within different educational settings in and out of the classroom and continue to deepen her understanding of social change and community organizing. This summer, she will be part of the advising team for [email protected] in Spain before hopefully working within college advising and mentoring in New York or Providence. After gaining these experiences, she hopes to pursue graduate studies that combine her interest in education, public policy, and social work.

Andrew Ikhyun Kim is from Seoul, South Korea and will be receiving an A.B. in Human Biology with a focus in International Health. While at Brown, Andrew has served as President and Co-founder of Students for Students: South Sudan (SFS), a student-led nonprofit supporting medical education for South Sudan’s first aspiring physicians; Coordinator for the Interfaith Exchange Fellowship, which brings together high school students of various faith backgrounds every week to implement a yearlong service project and engage in interfaith dialogue together; and President and Co-founder of Cornerstone Magazine, Brown/RISD’s Christian literary and arts magazine. He also served as Men’s Core Group leader for the Branch Christian Fellowship; Teaching Assistant for Investing in Social Change and for  Organic Chemistry; Meiklejohn Peer Advisor; Research Assistant in the Neuroscience Department; and a volunteer at the RI Free Clinic and at RI Hospital. He was also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Brown Scholar conducting research on malignant brain tumors. After Brown Andrew will pursue the Fulbright Scholarship in the UK to pursue a Masters in Spirituality, Theology, and Health. Subsequently, he plans to return to the US to pursue an MD/MBA, focusing on surgery and social entrepreneurship. In the long term, he will devote his life to improving access to quality healthcare around the world.

Gopika R. Krishna is from Scarsdale, New York and will be receiving a Sc.B. in Human Biology with a focus on Race & Gender. Throughout her time at Brown, Gopika has been actively involved at the Third World Center beginning with the Third World Transition Program (TWTP). Her early interest and passion for issues of social justice defined her work with the Minority Peer Counselor (MPC) and MPC Friends programs. She facilitated the Female Sexuality Workshop; was a Sexual Health Awareness Group Peer Educator; Secretary of the Queer Alliance; a DJ for WBRU; and a researcher at the Fausto-Sterling Laboratory. Gopika will continue her education at Brown at the Warren Alpert Medical School.

Alexandra Linn is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will be receiving an A.B. in History of Science and Medicine. During her time at Brown, Alexandra was the Lead Coordinator for Women in Science and Engineering; Leader and Mentor with the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training program; Meiklejohn Peer Advisor; Teaching Assistant in the Biology Department; dancer with MEZCLA; POST Layout Co-editor; and a tutor with the Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment program. She also received a Royce Fellowship. After Brown, Alexandra will be teaching middle school science with Teach for America in Chicago and then hopes to attend medical school.

Benjamin Pietro Marcus is from Prospect Heights, Illinois and will be receiving an A.B. in Religious Studies. Throughout his time at Brown, Benjamin has worked to improve religious literacy at Brown and beyond. He founded and facilitated the Brown Religious Literacy Project; co-led the Multi-Faith Council and the Religious Studies Departmental Undergraduate Group; was an intern with the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago; Faith in Dialogue founder and coordinator while studying at the University of Cambridge; served as the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme Summer School trips and activities coordinator; and was a student worker in the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life. Ben also served on the Campus Accessibility Advisory Committee; as a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor; and as a member of the Student Advisory Board for the TWC Director Search Committee. He was a member of the Brown Wind Symphony and the University of Cambridge Trinity Hall Jazz Band. He received an International UTRA Award for an archaeological dig at Marj Rabba (Israel) and a Team UTRA for an archaeological dig at l’Abbaye Notre Dame d’Ourscamp (France). After Brown Ben will be attending Harvard Divinity School as a Presidential Scholar. He hopes to one day earn a Ph.D., but before then, he plans to gain experience about the intersection of religion and politics through work as a civil servant.

Ryan Pollock McDuff is from Plano, Texas and will be receiving an A.B. in Business, Entrepreneurship and Organizations (BEO) with a focus on Organizational Studies. At Brown Ryan was Captain of the Brown Men’s Soccer team for two years; Co-President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; Head Teaching Assistant for Barrett Hazeltine’s ENGN9 and ENGN90 classes; a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor; a Student-Athlete Tutor;  Director of Business Operations for Brown Sports Business, a volunteer at the Vartan Gregorian Elementary School and Project GOAL; Committee Member of the Campus Life Advisory Board’s Subcommittees on Athletics and on Alcohol and Other Drugs; and an intern for the Brown University Sports Foundation. After graduating Ryan is starting as a strategy and mergers & acquisitions consultant for Ernst & Young’s Commercial Advisory Services group in Chicago. This summer he will be a youth camp counselor back home in Texas.

Gladys A. Ndagire is from Kampala, Uganda and will be receiving an A.B. in Engineering and Anthropology. Throughout her time at Brown, Gladys has devoted herself to community building and academic enrichment. She has been very active in the residential peer leader community, African Students Association, and the National Society of Black Engineers. She served as a member of the Campus Life Advisory Board’s Subcommittee on Alcohol and Other Drugs and worked with Alumni Relations in the planning and organization of student involvement in Reunion Weekend and 120 Years of Women at Brown. After interning at J.P. Morgan, Gladys leveraged her  network there to start a group independent study project (GISP) on impact investing that resulted in the launch of a $50M impact fund at the SEEED 2013 Summit. As part of her involvement in Brown’s entrepreneurship community, Gladys was also a 2013 finalist for the Clinton Global Initiative’s Hult Prize to mitigate hunger in urban slums. After graduation, Gladys will work at J.P. Morgan’s Advice Lab, eventually returning to school to pursue an MBA or Masters in Strategic Design and Management.

Lindsay Nickel is from Los Altos, California and will be receiving an A.B in Community Health with honors. During her time at Brown, Lindsay has been
a member of the Brown Women’s Basketball team, serving as Team Captain for the 2012–2013 season; Co-President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; a member of the Campus Life Advisory Board’s Subcommittees on Athletics and on Alcohol and Other Drugs; a member of the Brown Sports Business Club and Senior Class Gift Committee. She received a Royce Fellowship for Sport and Society to investigate basketball as a means for delivering HIV prevention and health education to local youth in the township community of Gugulethu, South Africa and an UTRA to investigate the drinking behaviors of varsity collegiate student athletes. She was Co-Organizer of the Brown University Grassroots Soccer Tournament to help fight the AIDS epidemic through sports; wrote an honors thesis entitled “Student-Athlete Alcohol Use: What role does leadership play?”; and was the keynote speaker at a Brown University conference on Title IX. After Brown Lindsay will head back home to California for the summer but hopes to be in D.C. or Boston working in healthcare in the fall.

Rebecca Kilbourn Rast is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and will be receiving an A.B. in Environmental Studies. At Brown Rebecca has been actively engaged in issues related to economic justice, workers’ rights, and the environment through the Student Labor Alliance, RI Student Climate Coalition, Brown for Providence, emPOWER, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, and English for Action. She has been a driving force behind the Brown Divest Coal Campaign, an intern and board member at Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, and a summer instructor with the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island. She was also actively involved in organizing the Brown Folk Festival. After graduation Rebecca will be moving to Berkeley, California to continue doing political organizing around climate and economic justice issues.

Evan Mark Schwartz is from New York, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in an independent concentration in Political Economy and Education. While at Brown, Evan founded the Brown Conversation, a group committed to inspiring dialogue at Brown about Brown. Through the Brown Conversation, Evan was instrumental in creating a “re-orientation” weekend for first-year and sophomore students before the start of the spring semester. He also served as an undergraduate representative on the University Resources Committee and Brown’s Strategic Planning Committee on Reimagining the Brown Campus and Community. He served as the coordinator for Independent Concentrations and Independent Studies Programs at the Curricular Resource Center. After Brown Evan will be moving to San Francisco to try his hand in the tech startup world.

Dena Perri Adler is from New York City, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Environmental Studies with honors. Throughout her Brown career, she has demonstrated the strength and capacity of her compassion, drive, and devotion. She has been actively involved in the Sustainable Food Initiative (SuFI), overseeing significant growth and expansion in its market share program, and was the Managing Editor of Watershed: Journal of Environment & Culture. She has also been a trip-leader for the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program; served as community service chair for St. Anthony Hall, Brown’s co-ed literary fraternity; and been a University tour guide for the Bruin Club. Outside of campus she received an Udall Scholarship and worked for Round River Conservation Studies establishing a student conservation program in Wyoming. Over the next two years she plans to continue gaining experience working on environmental issues domestically and internationally before pursuing further degree work in law and environmental management.

Max H. Clermont was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B. in Community Health. Throughout his time at Brown, Max has been at work enhancing the experience of community and finding ways to encourage participation. He has been very active in the Third World community and Imani Jubilee, holding both formal and many informal roles, including serving as an MPC Friend. He has worked with Admission on minority recruitment efforts and in the planning and organization of A Day on College Hill. In January 2010, he played a critical role in organizing Brown’s response efforts to the earthquake in Haiti, brainstorming ways to mobilize various campus resources in order to support relief efforts and organizations on the ground. Max was also selected by Brown to serve as a Presidential Host and is a member of the Class of 2011 Senior Gift Committee. Max is enrolled in the 5-year AB/MPH program here at Brown and is seeking to strengthen his training in and deepen his understanding of social change, global health and education, and community organizing.

Chaney Luke Harrison is from Gainesville, Florida and will be receiving an A.B. in Education and in Public Policy and American Institutions. Chaney volunteered as a paramedic with Brown EMS, worked as a Head Writing Fellow, started for the Brown Men’s Rugby Football Club, and served in the roles of Leader, Manager, and Mentor with the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program. Chaney gave voice to Brown students who are veterans, organizing the Brown University Student Veterans Society and reinvigorating Brown’s annual commemoration of Veteran’s Day. He served on the University Resources Committee, the Brown University Community Council, and the Committee on R.O.T.C. He received an Oliver Kwon Research Award and a Starr Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship for his work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prior to Brown, Chaney served on active duty in the United States Air Force and has continued his service through the 306th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Following graduation in December, Chaney is expecting to deploy to Afghanistan to conduct search and rescue missions. Upon returning he plans to work in the public sector.

Arthur Adam Matuszewski is from Rockaway, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Africana Studies. Through his involvement on the College Curriculum Council, University Resources Committee and Swearer Center Advisory Board, Arthur has helped shape the future direction of Brown. Through his work as the Independent Study Coordinator at the Curricular Resource Center, a Writing Fellow, and a Sophomore Matched Advising Program (MAP) Advisor, he has enabled his peers to make the most out of their Brown education. Arthur has also established sustainable connections between Brown and Rhode Island’s Adult Correctional Institutions through founding Brown Education Link and volunteering with Space in Prison for the Arts and Creative Expression (SPACE) and Youthbuild Providence. Arthur received a Slavery and Justice Undergraduate Research Award, an Arlene Rome Ten Eyck & Peter H. Ten Eyck Prize from the English Department, and a Swearer Center Royce Fellowship. Arthur is a stain glass artist and plans to spend the summer returning to his roots working in a local stained glass studio in Rockaway while looking for work in design firms and contemplating further graduate study.

Alicia Cepeda Maule is from Chicago, Illinois and will be receiving her A.B. in Africana Studies. Alicia is passionate about empowering individuals to make positive change from a position of confidence and assurance about their rightful place in their communities and the world. She has worked tirelessly as a member and leader within Brown’s Third World and LGBTQ student communities, including serving as a Minority Peer Counselor (MPC), MPC Coordinator, MPC Friend, coordinator for Brown’s first Black Lavender Experience, and Pride Month Coordinator. She has also tutored with the Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring & Enrichment program, mentored through CityGirls, and been involved with The HistoryMakers, an African-American oral history archive project. Alicia founded and is currently the executive director of MAINGREEN.TV, an online creative community that profiles artists and social activists. Alicia received the Honorable Mention for the Student Leadership Citation for Fostering Understanding in 2010. This summer Alicia will be working for Columbia Records. Afterwards, Alicia will be undertaking the expansion of MAINGREEN.TV and pursing entrepreneurial endeavors. 

Ari Shalom Motzkin Rubenstein is from Saratoga Springs, New York and will be receiving an A.B in Hispanic Studies, Language and Linguistics. Ari has been an active contributor to the Brown community since he arrived in 2007. He served as the Executive Director of EmPOWER, was a member of the leadership for the Meiklejohn peer academic advising program, and was a teaching assistant for the Center for Environmental Studies. He is also a member of the Brown Derbies, an all-male a cappella group, and a Hebrew School Teacher at the Temple Beth-El. Ari was a founding force behind the Beyond the Bottle Campaign at Brown. Beyond the Bottle not only educated the campus community about the environmental and economic consequences of purchasing bottled water, it also accomplished a 50% reduction in bottled water consumption in one year. This summer, Ari will lead a four-week language learning program for high school students in Barcelona with Overland Programs. He will then begin training for a year with Green Corps through which he will work in various communities across the United States to run environmental campaigns.

Marco Antonio Sanchez Junco is from Guadalajara, Mexico and will be receiving an A.B. in International Relations and East Asian Studies. First as a mentor and then as a coordinator, Marco ensured the success of the International Mentoring Program and International Orientation during a period of significant transition for the programs and was instrumental in working with Brown to implement significant improvements. This past year Marco also strengthened connections between international students and the broader Brown community through his participation in the student advisory board of the Third World Center. Marco was also a physical education instructor with the Department of Athletics and Physical Education, taught English and Spanish at the MET Family Literacy Program, and was a member of Brown’s hip-hop dance group. Marco will spend this summer as a project manager in the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services at Brown to continue implementing improvements to the international student experience. Marco then plans on pursuing a career in diplomacy and public services.

Meara Priyanka Sharma is from Sharon, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B. in Comparative Literature. Meara understands and taps the power of the arts as a vehicle for social change. She taught theatre at the William D’abate Elementary School afterschool program; edited Paper & Pixel, Brown’s photography magazine; was a photography editor for the Brown Daily Herald; and performed as a member of the Badmaash Dance Company. She was instrumental in the organization of the Arts in the One World Conference at Brown. She has also been a Meikeljohn peer academic advisor and directed South Asian Identity Week. Last summer, she traveled to Rwanda to research arts initiatives contributing to reconstruction and reconciliation in the wake of the 1994 genocide. After graduation, Meara will research freedom of expression in the realm of the arts in Rwanda as an AT&T New Media Fellow. From this work she plans to make a short documentary as well as a text and multimedia project. Beyond the summer, Meara will continue to explore the creativity that emerges out of conflict and hopes to fuse her passions for storytelling and social engagement through film, writing, and performance.

Cara Lea Smith (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) will be receiving an A.B. in Science and Society. Cara is an active and involved citizen at Brown, in Providence, and in the world. At Brown, she served as President of Brown’s Women’s Rugby Football Club, successfully leading the team to the Ivy League championship and being a significant source of support and encouragement for her individual teammates. She has sung in the Brown chorus; accompanied students safely home at night as part of SafeWalk; participated in the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, raising awareness about domestic violence, rape, and assault; and served as a Teaching Assistant in the Biology department. In the community she tutored at St. Patrick’s Middle School and coached the Science Olympiad team at Nathan Bishop Middle School. Cara is the co-founder of AIDS Relief International and successfully secured a Starr Fellowship from Brown to spend a summer working on its pilot program in Mumbai, India. Cara will be applying to Medical School for 2012 and will hopefully continue her work in India.

Chelsea Elizabeth Waite (Los Gatos, California) will be receiving an A.B. in History with honors. She is fluent in Portuguese, and the author of remarkable thesis on the cultural history of coffee between World War II and the 1960s. She has served as a co-chair of Brown’s MultiFaith Council for two years; been an active member and past president of the Brown University Unitarian Universalist Group; authored regular opinion columns for the Brown Daily Herald; and was a key student participant in Brown’s first Catalyzing Conversation, a University-wide initiative to facilitate community dialogue on critical topics related to diversity. Beyond the domains of diversity and religious life, Chelsea served as Meikeljohn peer academic advisor and provided leadership within Brown’s residential experience as a Residential Peer Leader and then as a Community Assistant. Chelsea was one of a few students selected by your peers to be their voice in the University’s organizational review process and is the 2011 recipient of Brown’s Kapstein Interfaith Leadership Award. Her future plans include a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil.

Vijou F. Bryant is an Ethnic Studies concentrator from Seattle, Washington. While at Brown, Vijou has been a passionate advisor to minority students. Vijou was a Minority Recruitment Intern, Minority Peer Counselor, Multicultural Identity Week Co-Programmer, and served on the executive board for the Brown Organization of Multi-Biracial Students. In addition, Vijou is a member of Archipeleg-a, a Filipino female spoke word group. Vijou also completed an honors thesis in Ethnic Studies, served as a Randall Advisor with Professor Evelyn Hu-Dehart, and received an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantship in Ethnic and Gender and Sexuality Studies. After graduation, Vijou plans to move back to the west coast, where she will be working and possibly pursing graduate school. 

Alison K. Cohen is from San Francisco, California and will graduate with Honors in Community Health and Education Studies. During her time at Brown, Alison was the Education Policy Editor for the Brown Policy Review, a University-Community Partnership Advisor at the Swearer Center for Public Service, a Student Representative on the Brown Community Council, a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor, and a teaching assistant for four courses. In addition, Alison won several awards for accomplishments, including a Royce Fellowship and a Harold Ward Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award. After a month-long train trip around the US with her younger brother this summer, Alison will head to the European Union as a Fulbright Scholar to consider how policy advocates and policymakers use environmental science to inform their work.

Jakina R. Debnam hails from Marietta, Georgia and will receive her degree in Applied Mathematics-Economics. As a student at Brown, Jakina dedicated much of her time to community service projects. She was the Head Program Coordinator for the City Girls City Brothers Project, a program that provides tutoring services to Providence school children, and was the Service Coordinator for the Imani Jubilee Worship Community. An outstanding writer and teacher, Jakina was also a Writing Fellow and a tutor for two classes in the Economics Department. Additionally, Jakina was a Residential Peer Counselor. After Brown, Jakina will be a Koch Associate, working as Research Assistant to Veronique DeRugy, a Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center in Washington, DC. 

Michael R. Glassman is from New York, New York and is graduating with degrees in Biophysics and Classics (with Honors). While at Brown, Michael spent much of his time encouraging Brown to take positive action to increase environmental sustainability. Michael was an influential member of the Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee. He was the founder and a member of the Community Carbon Use Reduction at Brown Steering Committee. He led the creation of Project 20/20, a group that installs high efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs in low income homes in Providence. He co-founded the Hope Street Garden, an ongoing community garden and organized the Brown is Green Conference. Michael was the President of the Undergraduate Council of Students and a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor. Michael’s plans after graduation are undecided. 

Fiona Heckscher is from Princeton, New Jersey and is concentrating in Public Policy and American Institutions. At Brown, Fiona was an Undergraduate Representative on the University Resources Committee and the Task Force on Undergraduate Education. She was a Leader, Manager and Mentor of Brown Outdoor Leadership Training, Coordinator of the Student Hunger and Housing Action Coalition, Coordinator of the Affordable Housing Winter Breaks Projects, and a member of Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere. In addition, Fiona was a Writing Fellow and a Senior EMT with Brown EMS. She is also the recipient of a Starr Fellowship, which allowed her to conduct a project on HIV/AIDS in Mali. Following graduation, Fiona will be starting as a Teach for America Corps Member in Phoenix, Arizona.

Zahra R. Hirji is from Chevy Chase, Maryland and will graduate with a degree in Geological Science. While at Brown, she has been extremely active in the Geology Department. She helped organize the department’s rock collection, worked at the Providence Natural History Museum as a docent, and wrote for the faculty online publication Today at Brown. Zahra was also heavily involved with Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) and has been one of the group’s coordinators for two years. In her junior year, Zahra organized an inter-university conference, and as a senior, she was Head Coordinator for WiSE and oversaw all the WiSE programs. Zahra was also one of the captains for the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Team and was a member ARRR!!!, Brown’s pirate a cappella group. After Brown, Zahra will be heading to DC to intern at EARTH Magazine and plans to travel to East Africa in the Fall.

Srividya Kalyanaraman is from High Point, North Carolina and will receive a Bachelors of Art in English, Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry, and Bachelors of Science in Applied Math. In addition to working hard to complete three degrees, Srividya was a Meiklejohn Advisor, Community Assistant, and a member of Res Council. A compassionate advisor to female students, Srividya was also a Women Peer Counselor and a Sarah Doyle Women’s Center volunteer. Additionally, Srividya was actively involved with the Brown University Relaxation Project, Brown University Mediation Project, Late Night Fund, Interfaith House, and Women in Science and Engineering. Following commencement, Srividya will be pursuing a Ph.D. program or some form of graduate school. 

Nicholas J. Leiserson is from North Haven, Connecticut and is graduating with a degree in Computer Science. During his time at Brown, Nick has been a leader in the Brown community. When student leaders were asked to volunteer to help form the Brown University Activities Council, Nick was the first to come forward and accepted the role as chair of the committee. Nick was also an active member of the Alumnae Hall Advisory Board, on which he was influential in the hall’s $250,000 renovation. A lover of music, particularly opera, Nick was involved with the Brown University Gilbert & Sullivan Society and Brown Opera Productions where he managed, produced and performed in many shows. Though his future plans are undecided, Nick is contemplating law school, public policy work and software engineering. 

Nabanita Pal is a Development Studies concentrator from Gaithersburg, Maryland. She has been involved with Third World Center as a Minority Peer Counselor and a Minority Peer Counselor Coordinator. Neeta has also assisted with programming South Asian Identity Week and the South Asian Student Association’s lecture series. Neeta has been active in the Swearer Center for Public Service since she was a freshman. Specifically, she coordinated and taught a debate and public speaking class to incarcerated young women at the Rhode Island Training School, she servied as chairperson for the RI Right to Vote Campus Coalition and was a mentor and tutor in the city Girl’s Program. Next year, Neeta will be training in Odissi, an Indian classical dance form with a Fulbright creative arts grant. She will be studying the performance of gender through dance in Orissa, India.

James E. Reed III is from Providence, Rhode Island and will graduate with a dual degree in Psychology and Africana Studies. James is a three year member of Residential Council, and recently held the position of Chairperson. He has also been a writer and Editor-In-Chief of the Critical Review, Residential Peer Leader, a teaching assistant for the Psychology Department, a tutor and volunteer coordinator for the Providence Summerbridge Program, and a member of both the Africana Studies Departmental Undergraduate Group (DUG) and Psychology DUG. James was also a three-time recipient of a Jude Taylor scholarship. Following graduation, James will be attending the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work to pursue a MSW in Clinical Social Work with a focus on Mental Health.

John Butler: City Brothers Program through the Swearer Center (4 years), Minority Peer Counselor, captain for the MPC Friend program, co-chair of the Latin American Student’s Organization, and a Presidential Host.

Terrence Gong: President of the Asian American Student’s Association, Programmer for Asian American Student Services, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Queer Community Committee, Residential Peer Counselor, and organizer of a fundraiser for Indonesian fisherman impacted by the 2005 tsunami.

Geoffrey Gusoff: Interfaith House and the Christian Life Community, People to End Homelessness, Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, RISE Tutoring Program for Children of Incarcerated Adults, and Family Life Center: Prisoner Re-Entry Services.

David Healy: Brown Football Team (4 years), Student Athlete Advisory Committee (4 years), volunteer at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, organizer of the David Zucconi Memorial 5K Run which raised more than $12,000 for the Providence Ronald McDonald House, volunteer at RI Special Olympics, member of the Campus Life Advisory Board and the NCAA Recertification Steering Committee, and organizer of the Haunted House for the Fox Point Boys and Girls Club and Charity Basketball Tournaments.

Robert Klaber: Co-President of the Entrepreneurship Program, Meikeljohn advisor, CV Starr Fellow, and a founding member of DormSnacks. Robby completed a 4,000 mile charity bicycle odyssey that raised $70,000 for Habitat for Humanity.

Kathryn Marckworth: Instructor and Workshop Coordinator for the Swing Club (4 years), Brown University’s Mediation Program, volunteer at the community Mediation Center of Rhode Island, Musical Director of ARRR!, and Pre-Law Society.

Diana Moke: Coordinator of Brown’s Multi-Faith Council, Chair of the Community Health Advocacy Program, President of the Interfaith House, and Brown Outdoor Leadership Training program.

Liliana Ornelas: Minority Peer Counselor, an MPC Coordinator, an MPC Friend, programmer for Semana Chicana, mentor for the Swearer Center’s College Guidance Project, and a volunteer for the International Charter School. 

Frinny Polanco: Women Peer Counselor and a WPC representative, President and Choreographer for Mezcla, Co-Chair of the Latin American Student Organization, Diversity Co-Chair of the Senior Class Gift Committee, served as an interpreter at Rhode Island Hospital, a teaching assistant for a public health course in the Providence Public Schools, and a Swearer Center Breaks Project Leader.

Orville Carey Turnquest: Minority Peer Counselor, Caribbean Heritage Week Co-Programmer, Presidential Host, and alto clarinet player in the Brown Wind Symphony.