2022 Joslin Award

Jamila Beesley 

Jamila is from Bethlehem, New York. She received an A.B. with honors in American studies and an A.B. in international and public affairs (development). She was elected Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. Beesley’s academic work interrogates intra-community caste discrimination in South Asian American diasporic spaces through a gendered lens. Her senior honors thesis was supported through participation in the Swearer Center’s Royce Fellowship. She has been a member of Sexual Assault Peer Education (SAPE) for all four years at Brown, serving as coordinator of the program for two years. Through this position, she has facilitated workshops on sexual, relationship and gender-based harm prevention with a wide range of student organizations, athletic teams and groups on campus. She led the Culture of Consent webinar during Orientation for more than 1,600 first-year students. Beesley also served on Brown’s Culture of Respect Core Leadership Team as the Multitiered Prevention Education Subcommittee co-lead. 

As a member of the Watson Institute Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Beesley helped facilitate discussions around restructuring course syllabi to reflect values of epistemic diversity, including organizing a student and faculty event panel entitled “Colonialism in the Curriculum.” She led a Decolonization at Brown task force to develop a rubric and self-assessment tool for Watson to evaluate syllabi and teaching intentions to include non-western intellectual traditions. 

Following graduation, Beesley will be working as a legal assistant at Sanford Heisler Sharp, a civil rights law firm, in New York City. She hopes to eventually pursue a career in civil rights and immigration law supporting caste-oppressed South Asians and other marginalized communities against employment discrimination.

Christina Bonaparte

Christina is from Long Island, New York. She is receiving an A.B. in public health with honors. Her work on campus has focused on supporting the Black community, and she is passionate about health promotion and health equity for the Brown and greater Providence communities. Bonaparte served as the co-president of Harambee House and as Harambee’s community-building director. In these positions, she worked on fundraising and community outreach, collaborated with other Black student leaders, and served as a voice for the community with administrators. 

Bonaparte has worked with BWell Health Promotion in a variety of roles. She worked as the BWell student office and communications coordinator, helping to create and distribute materials promoting mental, physical and sexual health on campus. She was a presidential intern for Brown Takes Care and helped implement Brown’s COVID-19 public health campaign to promote positive behavior change. She presented at the American College Health Association with Tanya Purdy on the success of this campaign. At BWell, Bonaparte is a wellness peer educator and works with student organizations to deliver educational interventions to students wishing to improve their wellness practices. She also served as a patient advocate with Connect for Health, where she helped connect low-income families to health resources and social services. She was a board member of the Campus Life Student Advisory Board. She is Brown’s representative for the Rhode Island Association of Independent Colleges and Universities Student Leaders Committee. 

Bonaparte recently submitted her honors thesis in public health, which evaluated the impact that doulas can have on improving Black maternal mortality. She has published three additional research papers on the effects of vaping, COVID-19 and cardiac health issues. She will be continuing with research in her gap year before beginning medical school. When she is not working, Bonaparte loves trying new restaurants and planning get-togethers for friends and family. 

Amanda Cooper

Amanda is from Moorestown, New Jersey. She is receiving an A.B. in sociology. During her time at Brown, her work centered on building a more just, safe and equitable community in a variety of spaces, including athletics, as well as activism around community-based anti-sexual violence mobilization. Cooper spent a significant amount of time involved with varsity athletics at Brown, where she played four years of Division I field hockey. She was elected by her peers to serve as the co-president on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Executive Board, Brown’s student-athlete government. During her tenure as co-president, Cooper fought for graduate student eligibility in the Ivy League, increased the visibility of Brown’s student-athletes through the SAAC social media pages, met weekly with senior-level athletics administrators, helped write a 10-year master plan for SAAC, and got student-athlete graduation stoles approved by the vice president for athletics and recreation for all Brown student-athletes beginning in 2022. 

Cooper fought for and helped implement a mandatory annual sexual assault prevention module for all student-athletes at Brown. She served as a student representative on Brown’s Culture of Respect Campus Leadership Team as well as on Brown University’s Title IX Council. Cooper worked as an organizer of Voices of Brown, a group made of current and former Brown students who run an Instagram page that serves to facilitate community-based anti-sexual violence work at Brown. Cooper sat on the Brown Campus Life Subcommittee on Athletics and Physical Education; served on the Executive Council of Brown’s nonprofit group Circle of Women; worked as a student ambassador for the Student Conduct and Community Standards Office; worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Engineering (ENGN 0090); volunteered as a junior mentor in the Matched Advising Program for Sophomores; and re-founded an a capella group for student-athletes called Jockapella.

Lijin (Summer) Dai

Summer is from Beijing, China. She is receiving an A.B. in economics (honors) and an A.B. in education studies. Dai has dedicated much of her time as an undergraduate to building community and enhancing the student experience at Brown. She joined the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) her freshman year in an attempt to find ways to engage with and improve the student experience within the Brown community, and she served on the UCS first as treasurer (2019-20), then as vice president (2020-21), and finally as president (2021-22). During her time on UCS, she established the Startup Fund, which increased funding access for new student groups on campus in collaboration with the Undergraduate Finance Board; organized a series of virtual Student [email protected] fairs with the Student Employment Office to increase student exposure to employment opportunities; initiated and hosted the first series of Undergraduate Town Halls with the Office of the President; and collected student feedback from campus-wide surveys to discuss during meetings with the Brown Corporation. She also met frequently and worked closely with the Department of Campus Life to address student concerns and compile helpful resources for the student body. 

Outside of UCS, Dai worked as a research assistant for the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, where she examined the impact of tutoring on educational outcomes. In addition to her role as a mentor in both the Meiklejohn Peer Mentorship Program and the Matched Advising Program for Sophomores, Dai served on the New Alumni Trustee Candidate Advisory Committee and the Brown University Community Council. Driven to action after learning about economic and educational inequalities through her coursework as an education studies and economics concentrator, Dai is passionate about increasing resources and better supporting students both at Brown and around the country. She is excited to work toward these goals while pursuing her master's in education policy and analysis at the Harvard Graduate School of Education after Brown.

Raelee Fourkiller

Raelee is from Tahelquah, Oklahoma. They are receiving an A.B. in education studies. During their time at Brown, they spent much time in the House of Nínnuog, the Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC) and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative, where they found communities to make a sprawling home across campus. Over their four years in the BCSC community, they worked as a graphic designer; a Third World Transition Program (TWTP) 2021 workshop facilitator; a coordinator for TWTP 2022: omi/ama bodies: sites of (re)memory; and a Native American Heritage Series (NAHS) coordinator. As a NAHS coordinator, Fourkiller helped plan and organize the 19th annual Spring Thaw Powwow. Further, their role as the Natives at Brown coordinator led them to holding various fundraisers for their community and to donate to transnational Indigenous movements, hosting Ivy Native Council in fall 2019, drafting the Native American and Indigenous studies curriculum, and co-creating space for Native students across the globe. 

As an educator, Fourkiller has been involved with College Horizons, as a volunteer and mentor for Native high school students since 2017; published an article titled “The Teachers Have Something to Say: Lessons Learned from U.S. PK-12 Teachers During the COVID-impacted 2020-21 School Year”; created various syllabi dedicated to teaching Native literature in middle and high school classrooms; and drafted a syllabus for self-taught Cherokee language learners. By threading their artists pursuits with education, Fourkiller created an anthology titled “Skadugi” for their senior capstone. “Skadugi” explores the intimate connection, artistic curation and transformative creation a learning community can develop through creative writing; they looked to Cherokee pedagogies of care and relationality to create writing prompts and guidelines that they ultimately shared with their closest and dearest loved ones during circles. 

Fourkiller has published in many campus magazines and newspapers, offering readings during community events and publishing three chapbooks, and now hosts open mic nights at Riff Raff bookstore in Providence. They hope to complete their chapbook titled “My Love is a Dedication” after graduation.

Jared Jones

Jared is from Lithia Springs, Georgia. He is receiving an A.B. in English and an A.B. in religious studies. His passions and interests lie in community building, particularly in accountability and healing practices dedicated to supporting and transforming individuals without the punitive system. He has been a caucus leader for the Gun Violence Prevention Caucus of Brown Democrats and an advocacy committee leader of Brown Votes, an organization dedicated to improving voter registration, voting participation and civic engagement at Brown University. 

Jones served as president of Harambee House as a sophomore, a leader of Black Christian Ministries since freshman year, and the president of Beta Omega Chi as a senior. In all of these organizations, he has dedicated himself to supporting Black students in achieving greater heights in every enterprise throughout their time at Brown. 

Jones will be attending Yale Divinity School (YDS) in fall 2022 to start his journey of receiving a joint degree with Yale Divinity School and Law School. He plans on using his time in divinity school to study methods, techniques and ideologies of accountability and healing. Using what he learns from YDS, he plans to study criminal justice, doing abolitionist work, and to begin implementing a transformative justice framework that will seek to transform individuals within our community, reduce harm and install an alternative justice system that will hopefully replace this current punitive justice system. 

Ashton C. Lam

Ashton is from Pleasanton, California. He is receiving an A.B. in economics and an A.B. in international and public affairs (development). At Brown, Lam’s work has centered around promoting equity and inclusion in spaces that have historically and systemically been inaccessible to underrepresented identities, namely pre-professional groups and academic departments such as economics. As co-president of the Economics Departmental Undergraduate Group (DUG), he created the DUG’s equity and inclusion team to broaden the range of perspectives and backgrounds represented by the department. One key initiative that he directed was a symposium titled “Conversations on Race and Capitalism,” hosted in April 2021 in collaboration with the Department of Sociology. Featuring speakers from the Rhode Island Senate, Stony Brook University and the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice as well as attendees from across the country, the event aimed to uncover the structural racism rampant in modern market systems in the U.S., issues not widely discussed in introductory economics coursework. 

Beyond the Department of Economics, Lam served as internal vice president of the Brown Consulting Club, where he conducted interview-based primary research with members of the student body to determine the biggest sources of inequality in recruiting for pre-professional clubs. His findings were promptly implemented into the club's recruitment protocol in the form of implicit bias trainings, a demographic survey and application mentorship, and these efforts culminated in a workshop that he co-hosted in late 2020 with Tidal Equality to disseminate recruiting best practices to the wider Brown community. Additionally, in 2021, Lam piloted a bilingual introductory business program that took place as a part of Hope High School's media arts class, through which he led biweekly educational sessions and hosted a college and career panel to connect high schoolers to college students of similar identities and backgrounds. 

Outside of these roles, Lam has served as a teaching assistant, economics peer advisor and member of the College Curriculum Council. After graduating, he will be joining The Bridgespan Group in Boston as a consultant, through which he hopes to build greater expertise on the issues of sustainability and development and continue to champion justice, equity and inclusion.

Mia McKinney

Mia is from Trumbull, Connecticut. She is receiving her A.B. in Africana studies. Throughout her time at Brown, she spent the majority of her extracurricular time dedicated to student theater and the performing arts. Since enrolling at Brown as a sophomore transfer student in Fall 2019, McKinney has been a part of countless productions, both on and off stage. She also joined Harmonic Motion a cappella and served as the business manager for two years. In Fall 2020, McKinney joined Production Workshop, one of Brown’s student theater-producing boards. Production Workshop is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of T.F. Green, the only space on campus exclusively for student theater. As a part of her board responsibilities, McKinney served as one of the chairs of the T. F. Green Administrative Board and a liaison to the Student Activities Office (SAO). 

As the community returned to campus after COVID, there were huge gaps in institutional knowledge in the student theater community. McKinney worked to rebuild the lost knowledge and assist in the production of multiple student productions. In Fall 2020, she started working for SAO as one of the coordinators of Underground Thursdays, a performing arts programming series. At first, the series was completely virtual because of COVID-19, and the programming was one of the only ways for students to engage with the performing arts. McKinney planned virtual events that were attended by hundreds of students throughout Spring 2020. After returning to campus, she cultivated a supportive and safe space for student performers to share their music and spoken word in person each month in the Underground. While working for SAO, McKinney has served on a number of interview processes for new staff members, assisting with panels and other events, lending a hand whenever she could. Through her relationships with SAO, McKinney has been able to help resolve conflict in the theater and a cappella communities by providing insight and advocating for students engaged in performing arts on campus. 

After graduating from Brown, McKinney plans to get doula certified and eventually to go on to become a certified nurse midwife, hopefully assisting in efforts to lower rates of Black maternal and infant mortality. 

David Onabanjo

David is a Nigerian-American student, artist and facilitator from the Bronx, New York. He is receiving an A.B. in communication and social influence (independent concentration). Since childhood, he has taken an interest in how communication styles and methods can change environments and affirm those who are often purposefully ignored. As a “freelance artist” at Brown, instead of an enrolled student (as his peers say), he has dedicated countless hours toward supporting Black students and Black creativity on campus. In numerous settings, such as the Black Student Union, the Alpha Gamma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the Multimedia Labs, the Community Dialogue Project and the Minority Peer Counselor Program, he has worked consistently to make sure Black students feel seen, supported and encouraged to create and celebrate. He has also spent much time offering support in spaces off campus, ranging from facilitation support in elementary school classrooms to offering spaces for students from multiple college campuses to connect. 

He moves forward from Brown leaving behind pervasive multimedia documentation of Black life on campus, the newly founded Black Together Artist Group, many memories of what a care-filled affirming space feels like, and hopefully many deep breaths and lasting smiles. He often says “the way you let people know ‘this is what we do here’ is an immeasurably powerful responsibility.” With that, he hopes to continue encouraging more care-filled communication and art sharing in his communities. While progressing his personal multimedia work in photography, videography, sound, artistic curation and creative facilitation, he hopes to attend graduate school and then work in the arts and education.

Ciara Sing

Ciara is a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and aunt from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is receiving an A.B. in education studies and an A.B. in urban studies. As an individual holding identities that often get examined and theorized most in education research —  a first-generation Black woman produced by inner-city public schools — Sing’s passion revolves around combating education inequity and working to reform education in a way that does not reinforce trauma. 

At Brown, her work has consistently been centered around healing and joy for all students of color. She has committed her time to the Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC), the Swearer Center, Bonner Community Fellows, ResLife, Brown's Pre-College Program and Brown Recreation. Through the BCSC, Sing has served as co-program coordinator of the Black Heritage Series, a minority peer counselor and a minority peer counselor coordinator. She facilitated workshops around transformative justice, the power of storytelling and ways to help students of color navigate Brown. As a Bonner Community Fellow, Sing worked in Providence nonprofit education organizations, working with children to advance their academic success. Through the Swearer Center, Sing was the student coordinator for the Civil Rights Trip at Tougaloo College and explored ways to enhance Bonner’s connection to the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership. Sing has served on the executive board of the Black Student Union (BSU) as first-year liaison, event coordinator, vice president and president. In her work with BSU, she provided opportunities for cultural enrichment and intellectual growth through educational, social and political programming. She forged connections across Brown’s Black network and built upon its beautiful legacy. 

Sing is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college women, and is serving as Brown’s Iota Alpha chapter president. After graduation, Sing will be continuing her educational career at Brown University, obtaining her Master of Arts in Teaching. In life’s next step, Sing hopes to continue promoting equity, healing and love.

2020 Joslin Award Recipients

Harini Balakrishnan

Harini is from Katy, Texas, and received an A.B. in Economics (Honors). She has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Harini’s work has centered around sustaining institutional memory, starting at the community-building level. She believes there is value in drawing on a community’s collective knowledge, and maintaining its integrity so that future generations can learn from this insight. She worked and grew within roles across multiple years when possible giving her the opportunity to pass along knowledge, both formally (e.g. as a TWTP workshop facilitator) and informally (through relationships). Her mentors were important to her growth at Brown, which made her value serving as a mentor – as a Women’s Peer Counselor (WPC), a Departmental Meiklejohn, or a TA for biology courses. She was in Brown’s delegation to the United Nation’s 2018 Economic and Social Council Youth Forum – focused on working toward sustainable and inclusive communities, inspiring her interest in sustainable solutions to systemic issues.⁣
Harini’s most significant impact was serving as an RPL and as a WPC Coordinator. She learned how to play an active role in shaping the values of her community and the challenges faced while doing so. As a WPCC, she worked with the WPCs to organize campus-wide events exploring how gender and intersectional feminism influence student experiences and the relationships they build, with themselves and others. Harini volunteered as a Spanish interpreter for the Rhode Island Free Clinic which, along with her research for the School of Public Health and for her senior thesis, showed her examples of specific administrative and logistical barriers folks face in navigating the healthcare system; this inspired her career interests in improving accessibility for folks made vulnerable by factors such as their immigration or insurance status or income.⁣
⁣Harini plans to pursue medicine and work in health policy that incorporates community empowerment. She hopes to see systemic, sustainable change to make healthcare more accessible.⁣

Noëll Cousins

Noëll is a Black trans woman from Prince Edward Island, Canada. She received an A.B. in Computer Science - Economics. Her work at Brown has primarily focused on community building and student organizing. Noëll liked to spend a lot of time at the BCSC, and she worked there as a Minority Peer Counselor (MPC), a MPC Coordinator, and a Third World Transition Program (TWTP) Coordinator for TWTP 2019: Homecoming. Further, in her role as a Legacy Series Program Coordinator at the LGBTQ Center, she piloted a study group called QUeers Against Capitalism (QUAC). As an educator, Noëll has worked as a tutor for the Petey Greene Program, a teaching fellow for Generation Teach, and a senior counselor for Camp RYSE. ⁣
She has also spent 3 and a half years tutoring through the BRYTE program, where she found the most wonderful crew of younger siblings. Noëll was also fortunate enough to work with and witness an incredibly compassionate and dedicated team of people while volunteering at Project Weber/RENEW, an organization committed to supporting sex workers. In the company of folks who would become some of her best friends, Noëll helped to organize #BlackWalk50, BrownDivest, and #SaveTheBCSC. Building on the work of organizers before her (particularly those from SAPIC), she assisted in the formation of a new group on campus called Railroad. ⁣
Noëll was also a big fan of GISPs and coordinated two. In the first, Critical University Studies, the group created the forthcoming disorientation guide titled The Burn Brown Book (a play on the mean girls burn book that also implies an abolitionist orientation to the university). In the second, How to Survive the End of the World, the group investigated impending global economic, political, and climate crises and developed skills related to apocalyptic survival. In the future, Noëll hopes to hone her craft as an educator, organize around the possibility of solidarity economics, and use her newly acquired hacking skills to empower abolitionist, socialist, and black feminist movements far and wide.⁣

Loretta I. Eboigbe

Loretta lives in Queens, New York. She received an A.B. (honors) in Psychology and was elected to Sigma Xi. Her work at Brown has focused on peer education, community engagement, research, and wellness. Loretta has been a Social Justice Peer Educator, a Minority Peer Counselor and Coordinator, and a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor and Leader. In these roles, she trained peer mentors, supported students of color, consulted on academic affairs, and implemented campus-wide workshops on social justice. Additionally, she was a POC Meditation Coordinator and Social Wellness Coordinator. In these roles, she facilitated meditation workshops, hosted stress-management practicums, and created community wellness resources.⁣
Loretta has been a Bonner Community Fellow at the Boys and Girls Club, where she led SMART GIRLS, a program for girls ages 11-13 that addresses socioemotional health, coping skills, and healthy relationships. Loretta has explored the intersection of art and health. She received an UTRA to be a TA for Artists and Scientists as Partners, a class advocating an integrated approach to neurological disorders. She was also the Community Outreach Coordinator at Art to Reduce Mental Health Stigma, and has been a member of the OJA! Modern African Dance Team and uses dance for her own healing. ⁣
Her research at the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab led to her honors thesis on parent and child perception of stressful life events, home environment quality, and cognition. She interned at the Childhood Asthma Research Program and the Rhode Island Partial Hospital Psychiatric unit, assisted with research that explored holistic practices used by caregivers of children with cerebral palsy in Ghana as a Minority Health International Research Fellow, and received the 2020 Davis Projects for Peace Award. This summer, Loretta will be interning at SJSU’s Early Childhood Institute and contributing to applied research on child-caregiver relationship and teacher training. She hopes to attend graduate school for child clinical psychology.⁣

Jabril Malik King-Mahdi

Jabril is from San Diego, California, and he received an Sc.B. in Environmental Engineering from Brown. Jabril is passionate about protecting our environment, a spirit that developed from growing up under drought conditions in southern California. Jabril's involvements at Brown reveal his dedication to positively affecting every facet of student life, particularly for Black students because of his understanding of the barriers they face every day at Brown. ⁣
At Brown, Jabril has been a LINK Award recipient for environmental work that has helped a community increase their access to and preservation of water resources, a Co-President of The Brotherhood, a Teach For America Campus Ambassador, an NSC Learning Team Leader, a Black Student Union member and student mentor, an interim Harambee House Advisor, Vice-President of Beta Omega Chi when the fraternity was recognized as "Greek Organization of the Year" as a junior, and (most significantly) President of Beta Omega Chi as a senior. ⁣
In the future, Jabril plans to continue work being done in his home state of California to preserve the health of our natural environment, being particularly mindful of how environmental harms disproportionately impact communities of color.⁣

Junaid Malik

Ethan Mikael Morelión

Mikael is from Big Spring, Texas. He is a proud graduate of Brown University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in Political Science with a focus on American Politics and Engaged Scholarship. Having experienced the effects of harmful legislation that limited educational opportunities and reproductive healthcare access in his rural town in Texas, he has worked to become a changemaker in these fields.⁣
Mikael is an experienced political organizer and researcher with an extensive background collaborating with communities in Texas and Rhode Island to work towards greater education access, protections for reproductive rights, improved conditions for immigrants' rights, and expanding voting rights. At Brown, Mikael was part of the inaugural cohort of the Swearer Center's Bonner Community Fellows program. Through the fellowship, Mikael worked for four years with Planned Parenthood of Southern New England in both their education and public policy programs. In addition to his work in the Providence community, he served as a Coordinator for the Sexual Assault Peer Education program, a Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee Chair for the Swearer Center's Student Advisory Council, a Minority Peer Counselor with the Brown Center for Student of Color, and a member on the University's Title IX Committee. He also founded and served as president of the Brown University Latinx Political Coalition.⁣
At the core of Mikael's work is his passion for making our world more just, inclusive, and social-justice oriented. In line with these goals, after graduation, Mikael will be working as a Research and Program Associate with the Brennan Center for Justice's Democracy Program. He has aspirations to go to law school and become a civil rights lawyer.⁣

Alexis Newell

Alexis earned A.B.s in Public Policy and Africana Studies. She was the Co-President of the Black Pre-Law Association, President of Brown Black Hairitage and the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Sarah Doyle Center for Women & Gender.⁣

Camila Simone Pelsinger

Camila is from San Francisco, CA. She received her A.B. in International Relations (Honors) and has been elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Overall, Camila’s work on campus in sexual violence prevention and awareness, building a culture of consent in student communities, and developing pathways for accountability for people who have experienced harm have shaped her desire to work towards breaking cycles of harm and violence in both her scholarship and activism. As Coordinator for the Sexual Assault Peer Education (SAPE) program for three years, Camila facilitated workshops on sexual violence prevention for hundreds of students in Greek houses and student groups about intersectionality, consent & survivor support. She also developed additional curriculum around accountability and intervention after gendered harm occurs.⁣
As Vice President of the Undergraduate Council of Students, Camila launched and funded the Campus of Consent initiative to train over 190 student groups on consent, intersectionality, survivor support, masculinity & mental health advocacy in partnership with four peer education organizations. Camila launched this initiative to focus on victim-centered restorative justice responses to gendered violence through an interdisciplinary analysis of violence from critical criminological, decolonial, critical race feminist, and neurobiological approaches. Camila will be attending graduate school at Oxford with a Rhodes Scholarship with the hopes of continuing to examine non-carceral means of addressing cycles of state and interpersonal violence.⁣

Ijahala A. Pottinger

The proud daughter of Caribbean immigrants from Grenada and Jamaica, Ijahala was raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. She received an A.B. in Political Science. During her time at Brown, Ijahala focused on advising, mentorship, and community building. She worked as a Residential Peer Counselor, a Minority Peer Counselor, and a summer Residential Assistant. She volunteered with the Swearer Classroom Program (SCP), BRYTE (Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment), and Brown SAT tutoring to decrease the academic achievement gap and support low-income, refugee, and minority high school students in their college application process. She also interned at College Access: Research & Action where she planned and executed a Summer Training Institute to support and strengthen the college-going culture in New York City high schools.⁣
In the inaugural role of Community Dialogue Facilitator, Ijahala deepened her passion for fostering intentional community and bringing others into meaningful conversations through facilitated dialogue, critical reflection, and educational programming. Her work centered around a social and racial justice lens that highlights identity and intersectionality, dominant narratives, and implicit bias. Passionate about the experiences of students of color on campus, Ijahala supported and created community gathering spaces through Black Student Union, the Brown Center for Students of Color, and as the Events Coordinator for The League of United Black Womxn. Ijahala intends to bridge her focus on education and law with her passion for social and racial equality to advocate for marginalized communities.⁣
After Brown, Ijahala will work as a Litigation Paralegal at Cravath, Swaine, and Moore, LLP before attending law school. She plans to practice civil rights and public interest law to dismantle societal inequalities and ensure equitable access to justice for all before the law. Ultimately, Ijahala aspires to become a constitutional lawyer and scholar, and hopes to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice in the future.⁣

Jasmine E. Ruiz

Jasmine is the daughter of Mexican immigrants – a first generation, low-income student from mixed family status — from Alameda, CA. She is earning an A.B. in Ethnic Studies and an A.B. in Education Studies (History and Policy). Her work has focused on historicizing and documenting the experiences of marginalized communities, particularly those of immigrant and working-class students utilizing her skills in photography and storytelling.⁣
She served as the Communications Coordinator in the Undocumented, First-Generation College, and Low Income Student Center (U-FLi) for three years. In her work at the U-FLi center she spearheaded the Community Narrative Project to affirm shared experience, provide intergenerational advice, and amplify student concerns. She created a digital archive to document the center’s history and growth through the years. As the Digital Archives & Media Coordinator at the Curricular Resource Center (CRC) she worked on storytelling, advising, and connecting students to University resources. Jasmine served as Communications Coordinator with Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition (BIRC) for two years. In this role she advocated for a Migration Studies Initiative (now [email protected]), created & published visual content to promote fundraisers and events, and participated in logistical planning for the “I Stand With Immigrants” annual event.⁣
Jasmine plans to return to the Bay Area in California after graduation to connect with local organizers, particularly those involved in immigrant rights work. She hopes to explore multimedia storytelling as a medium for social change, learning how to incorporate responsible and non-exploitative storytelling into advocacy efforts within the field of communications, and continue learning how to practice healing within community organizing.⁣

Ella Satish

Ella is from Dover, NH but currently lives in Providence. She received her B.A. with honors, in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Ella’s work has been truly interdisciplinary: as a member of the Program in Liberal Medical Education and the Engaged Scholars Program, she has prepared for medical school in her academics and community work. Reciprocal relationships between institutions and the communities in which they exist has been central to her work.⁣
She received a Summer Research Assistantship to do research with a pediatric trauma surgeon at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. Ella received a LINK Award to work at Clínica Esperanza/Hope Clinic (CEHC) in Olneyville, a free clinic serving uninsured patients. At CEHC, Ella provided medical interpretation and cervical cancer education and plans to continue this work. As a member of the Swearer Center’s Brown Elementary Afterschool Mentoring program, she taught enrichment classes at William D’abate Elementary School. As a volunteer with Inspiring Minds, Ella was a teaching assistant for English Language Learning students at two schools and teaches robotics and Spanish at the Wheeler School. Ella was a multiracial heritage series co-coordinator with the BCSC as well as an engaged scholar representative for the LACA department. She worked as a Community Assistant with ResLife the past two years as well as a program assistant with [email protected].⁣
She studied abroad in Havana, Cuba, and completed her senior honors in LACA analyzing the Cuban Maternal Health Program as a model for reducing disparities and improving care for Black mothers in the U.S. This thesis was supported by the Linda Pei award from the Pembroke Center for Women’s Research and was awarded the LACA prize for best capstone. Ella was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Colombia to be completed before matriculating to the Warren Alpert Medical School. Her efforts have also earned her the Brown Alumni Magazine Exceptional Students Award and the PLME Diversity, Inclusion, and Multiculturalism Prize.⁣

Kelley R. Tackett​

Kelley is from Columbia, Missouri. She earned three A.B.s – Middle Eastern Studies, Anthropology, and Archaeology & the Ancient World (Honors). Her research focuses on the relationships between archaeological sites and contemporary communities, working to better understand how the past is mobilized, manipulated, and made meaningful in the present. It emphasizes how collaborative practice, multivocal narratives, and the choice to value the well-being of modern communities above ancient material heritage are necessary in imagining a justice-oriented, decolonial disciplinary future. Her honors thesis, funded by a Royce Fellowship, centered on archival restitution and community engagement in Petra Archaeological Park (Jordan). ⁣
She is also a stalwart supporter of [email protected], a group dedicated to increasing accessibility and understanding intersectionality in archaeology, and she spearheaded an exhibition titled “Hidden Figures in Archaeology”. Kelley is also a Community-Based Learning and Research Fellow at the Swearer Center, where she helped to design and implement twelve TA positions dedicated to fostering long-term, mutually beneficial exchanges between Providence organizations and University courses. As co-President of the Haffenreffer Museum Student Group, she organized workshops on multi-sensorial engagement with artifacts and reimagining museums and created a bridge between the student body and the Museum. She taught with Think Like An Archaeologist, served on the advisory board for the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, and served on the student advisory committee for the Watson Institute. ⁣
She was a Meiklejohn and leader of three DUGs, as well as Copy Desk Chief at the Brown Daily Herald, a varsity swimmer, and an avid swing dancer. Following a year in India researching community-engaged archaeology on a Fulbright fellowship, Kelley will pursue both a JD and PhD to eventually work at the intersections of heritage law and archeology. ⁣

Team Award

Melissa Lee

Melissa is from Irvine, California and earned an A.B. Business, Entrepreneurship, Organizations. Melissa values learning from her peers, leading her to be involved in peer mentorship programs. She focused on her co-curricular learning by advocating for student needs, advocating with those who are underserved, and having critical conversations about inclusion and engagement for all members of our community. ⁣
She served on the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) as Chief of Staff and Chair of Campus Life. Her work included installing water stations on campus, institutionalizing a free airport shuttle, and working with dining services to include QR codes on menus. She worked to create change within UCS by creating three new roles, including an Equity and Inclusion Chair, overhauling the Constitution and Bylaws, revamping Publicity and Communications, and leading difficult conversations on inclusion and white supremacy. She wrote the Constitution for the Dining Council, designed a UCS retreat, led the management board and supported the creation of an Alumni Mentorship Program and Reception. As Co-Fundraising Chair, and a Direct Service Worker for Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE) she got 2 referenda on meal plan swipe donation on the school ballot and advocated for equitable student group funding. She saw the impact of Brown on the greater community and advocated for the development of the new University Committee for Community Engagement. She served as Class Coordinating Board VP and Community Outreach Officer, a Meiklejohn, BEO DUG Chair, and Delta Gamma Director of New Members. She was a Matched Advising Program for Sophomores mentor, Bruin Club Tour Guide, and a Varsity Track and Field Thrower.⁣
This past summer she worked at SharkNinja and led a project for sustainable packaging that paved the way to committing the entire company to 100% sustainable packaging by 2022. Her future aspirations include tackling issues of environmental sustainability and poverty alleviation through sustainable business.⁣

Shivani Nishar

Shivani is from Los Altos, California and will be receiving a Sc.B. in Cognitive Science. As a mentally ill woman of color, Shivani's focus has been to shift campus wellness culture away from self-care towards actively providing community support, informed by disability justice values. She served on the Executive Board of Project Let's Erase the Stigma (LETS) since her sophomore year, working on educational outreach and policy reform to cultivate structures of administrative accountability and support.⁣
From organizing Brown's first ever Disability Justice Town Hall to helping shed light on involuntary hospitalizations, Shivani concentrated on elevating and acting upon student voices that have often been dismissed. In order to enact university-wide reform, Shivani was twice elected Chair of Student Wellness on the Undergraduate Council of Students. In this role, she developed a SEAS reporting system for students whose accommodations were not being met by faculty, created the Leavetaking Peer Program where students on leave receive semesterly care packages, and developed the Student Health and Wellness Advisory Committee. The Leavetaking Peer Program won a BSA Inspire Award after its first iteration, proving the need for more community care initiatives. She is especially proud of partnering with Disability Justice at Brown and the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning to create a series of faculty trainings around universal design in teaching, which will be implemented in the fall. ⁣
Outside of these roles, Shivani continued to support her peers as a Peer Mental Health Advocate, Meiklejohn, Cognitive Science DUG leader, and member of the CAPS Student Advisory Board. She believes her efforts are best reflected in the wonderful community relationships she has built over the years. Next fall, Shivani will be moving to London to obtain a Masters of Science in Clinical Mental Health Sciences at the University College London; she is committed to working at the intersection of disability justice, racial liberation, and prison abolition.⁣

William Zhou

William is from Palo Alto, California. He received an A.B. in Economics and an A.B. in Computer Science. Over the past four years, William has dedicated himself to student advocacy and peer advising. William served on the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) as the student activities chair, chief of staff, vice president, and president. As Student Body President, William ran weekly general body meetings, the executive board, and campus life initiatives. William collaborated with UCS members and administration to lead the expansion of the meal-plan to cover spring break, installation of filtered water stations, expansion of airport shuttles, reduction in minimum laundry/printing deposit, creation of dorm donation programs, and institutionalization of an on-campus career fair. ⁣
In the wake of COVID-19, William met frequently with the Campus Life Department to address community concerns, support students through remote transition, and provide wellness resources. He also organized a coalition of 160 student body presidents and co-authored a letter that successfully pushed universities nationwide to accept pass-fail grades without condition. William served on the Brown Community Council, New Alumni Trustee Advisory Committee, Undergraduate Finance Board, and on the University Resources Committee (URC). On the URC, William and the other undergraduate representatives cut summer earnings expectations by 10.7%. ⁣
As a Meiklejohn Leader, William collaborated with the Dean of the College and team of 12 other students to run Brown’s first year peer advising program. William focused on revamping spring orientation so advisors could better engage with students from different backgrounds and help their advisees build communities of support. He personally trained a group of 32 advisors and mentored 6 first-year students. William is excited to join Bain & Company in New York City as a consultant, continuing to solve problems while working with others.⁣

Lianne Loc-Ian Cho is an international student from Toronto, Canada.  She will be receiving a Sc.B. (Honors) in Neuroscience and has been nominated to Phi Beta Kappa.  In her time at Brown, Lianne has focused on being a mentor and a voice for change. Through her advocacy and work in creating a stronger network for students she has identified shortcomings, identified ways to improve the work, and then worked on the ground to help it all come to fruition.  Lianne has served as a mentor and then coordinator of the International Mentoring Program.  After a difficult year with many pitfalls, she identified the problems and advocated for increased support for International Students.  She served on the search committee for the inaugural Program Director of International Student Experience and then continued her work in working with the Program Director to ensure she was oriented and supported in its year of implementation. Lianne has also served on the Campus Life Advisory Board and as a Meiklejohn Peer Advisor.  She has been active in the music community since she came to Brown and has participated as part of the Wind Symphony, Orchestra, a Chamber Music ensemble, and in  two pit orchestras.  Lianne will be pursuing her MD/PhD at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, after which she plans to advocate for structural change based on her observations and experiences at various levels of the healthcare system.

Maryori Marie Conde is from South Central Los Angeles, California.  She will be be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies.  The themes of her work and contributions at Brown have focused on the Latinx and low-income communities.  Mayori is from a low-income family and is the child of Salvadoran immigrants.  These two aspects of her identity are what have motivated her work.  Maryori has been involved in a variety of ways since her arrival on campus.  She co-founded Latinx House as well as the Central American United Student Association.  She also founded the Latinx Conference which was recognized for its collaboration.  But at the heart of Maryori’s work is her passion to “fight for what she believes in and use her voice and privilege to uplift others” as stated in one of her nominations.  She has been described as “a warm and compassionate woman who embodies hard work and perseverance.”  Her impact has extended beyond campus with her work as a teacher and tutor at Breakthrough Providence as well as through her constant efforts to include the Providence community in the work she engages in on campus.  She has also played for the Brown Women’s Rugby Team while here at Brown. She gives “credit to her mom’s sacrifices and the work of past activists at Brown whose labor continuously gets erased.”  Maryori will be staying at Brown to complete a 5th year MAT program with the aspiration of being a high school U.S. History teacher that serves predominantly low-income, first-gen students of color.

Gabriel Reyes is from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He will be receiving his Sc.B. (Honors) in Cognitive Neuroscience. Gabriel has been passionate to improve the experience for marginalized students. Gabriel has been an active member of the New Scientist Collective (NSC), an organization aimed at supporting minorities in science at Brown. He is currently a co-coordinator for the program and during his time involved with NSC he has worked to elevate its presence and implement mechanisms for sustainability. He developed a Mentor-Mentee pairing tool which he was able to implement by  receiving feedback and reaching consensus with the group. Additionally, in his time participating in NSC he has spearheaded several activities such as the NSC Faculty Lunch Dates, NSC Scholars Gala, and the NSC Learning Teams. All these activities were meant to encourage other students to learn how to build relationships with peers and faculty. Gabriel has also served on the Executive Board for QuestBridge where he aimed to foster community for low-income students by leading several events such as a dinner with QuestBridge CEO. He is a leader in the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, has received a Careers in the Common Good grant, served as a head coach and site director for Let’s Get Ready, and worked as a TA for three courses at Brown. After graduation, Gabriel will be working in education and research before pursuing advanced graduate studies in neuroscience and education.

Jeanelle Wheeler is from Auburn, Massachusetts.  She is a double concentrator and will  be receiving an A.B. in French & Francophone Studies and an A.B. in Literary Arts and has been nominated to Phi Beta Kappa. Jeanelle has combined her love of languages, the arts, and teaching to work for social justice in both the Brown and Providence community.  Jeanelle served as the Social Justice Coordinator of the Brown-RISD Catholic Community (BRCC),  hosting weekly social justice dinners with activist speakers and facilitating weekly discussions. This led to the creation of Interfaith Justice Dinners and formation of  Multi Faith Organizing for College Hill Activism (MOCHA).  As co-president of the Brown Animal Rights Coalition (BARC), and campus fellow for Mercy for Animals, has led a weekly Difficult Dialogues series and Meatless Monday campaign to promote animal rights and environmentalism.  She is deeply involved  in the music community and has participated in the Wind Symphony, Brown Band, chamber groups, and the Catholic Community choir in addition to Harmonizing Grace Gospel Choir, Javanese Gamelan,  World Music Ensemble and in pit orchestras.   Jeanelle has also been in involved with the Providence community through Dorcas International Institute, Women’s Refugee Care, and in volunteering  at Hope High and Blackstone Academy.  Jeanelle plans to work at Brown as a Summer Leadership Institute Assistant this summer and then will be teaching high school English in France for which she was granted a Fulbright Scholarship.  She will then return to Brown and complete a 5th Year MAT program.

Chelse-Amoy Steele is from Atlanta, Georgia. She is a double concentrator and will be receiving an A.B. in Africana Studies and an A.B. in Computer Science. As president of the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS), Chelse-Amoy has designed and presented a new form for Bias Related Reporting, drove institutionalization of free menstrual products, and collaborated with administration to address issues specific to low-income students as well as around consent and sexual violence prevention. She organized feedback sessions for four new administration hires, managed four internal committees, and hosted weekly General Body meetings to hear feedback on project implementation. In Computer Science, Chelse-Amoy was a leader in making the department a welcoming space for those who are underrepresented in the program. She founded and co-coordinated Mosaic+, an  organization not just representing those who are underrepresented in CS, but also providing support, mentorship, and fellowship. She was able to establish the group as a UCS and CS Department recognized group, obtained space within the CS department for the group and grew the mentorship program by over 50 people. In addition, she has served as the co-coordinator of The Artemis Project, a summer program for underrepresented genders in Computer Science, as the Diversity Advocate for the Computer Science Department, and as a Teaching Assistant for Computer Science and the Mande West African Dance Program.

Alex Vidmar is from Aurora, Colorado.  He is a double concentrator and will be receiving an A.B. in Western Esoteric Studies (Independent Concentration) and an A.B. in Renaissance & Early Modern Studies.  Alex has focused for the past four years on committing himself to the service of the Brown community with a mind to advising and counseling. Upon arriving at Brown he started working at the IT Service Center providing technical assistance to the Brown community from applicants to alumni and everyone in between.  He was promoted to manager and led reforms to the office systems increasing the accessibility and efficiency of IT services.  Always looking for opportunities to serve, Alex joined the Student Conduct Board and went on to be the founding member of their Student Ambassador Program. Through this program, he has promoted outreach about Brown's code and guided students through the conduct process and served as a leader in creating the mission and focus of the program. He served on the Independent Concentrations sub committee of the College Curriculum Council and  has also worked with students to advise them as they crafted their own curricula.  In Providence he has  has run tabulations for the Rhode Island Urban Debate League (RIUDL) and created a sustainable tabulating system.  He also coaches high-school students in debate and has won awards for being the top Coach Assistant at tournaments.  This summer Alex will be teaching English in Japan with an emphasis on public speaking and thinking through their life’s mission.  Upon his return he will work as a Campus Organizer in Hartford, CT to help facilitate public interest campaigns headed by college students.

Adrija K. Darsha is from Fremont, California. She is receiving an Sc.B. in Biology (Immunobiology).  Her love of science has led to her desire to increase the accessibility and inclusiveness of science in its many forms. Her leadership style is highly collaborative and “inspires enthusiasm from her team while focusing on uplifting members from various backgrounds.” As the lead coordinator for the Women in Science and Engineering Program (WiSE) she changed the way mentees were matched with mentors to better account for how different the college experience is for each student.   She increased programs through WiSE including programs for high school students to increase interest in the STEM fields.  She advocated for greater diversity and inclusion in science and engineering student groups and is working on improving recruitment processes and implementing diversity and inclusion trainings for student leaders.  As Editor-in-Chief of Triple Helix, a campus publication that features articles on scientific advancements and their implications for society, she changed the acceptance policy for writers so that people are accepted regardless of their writing level. This is to accommodate the different backgrounds that students come from and foster a more diverse cohort of writers and creative thinkers.  This successfully increased the staff, diversified the ideas, and allowed for mentorship of other students within the field.  Adrija has also served as a Meiklejohn,  Residential Peer Leader, and as a Teaching Assistant while at Brown.  After taking a gap year, she hopes to enroll in medical school.  As a physician, she wants to treat people while exploring ways to make healthcare more accessible and give people more agency and control over their own health.

Sholei M. Croom is from Morristown, New Jersey.  They are receiving an Sc.B. (Honors) in Cognitive Science.  Sholei cares deeply about equity in the Brown and larger community.  They took a leading role in the revival, reconstruction, and development of the Queer Alliance (QA).  They overhauled the mission statement of QA ensuring it reflected the values of the group. Their work in the revival of the group as well as their taking leadership as the coordinator of the organization led to a strong and vibrant organization.  QA is now thriving and includes many subgroups, events, and supports.  Under their leadership QA has also won best event for their Pride Prom last year.  Sholei is committed to social justice and is cognizant of taking steps to make the community inclusive.  They advocated for making QA more welcoming for queer students of color, encouraging them to apply to the executive board.  They also served as coordinator of The Next Thing (TNT), a group for queer, trans, and questioning students of color.   Sholei has also served as a Women’s Peer Counselor,  Women Peer Counselor Coordinator, Social Justice Peer Educator with the Brown Center for Students of Color,, TWTP workshop facilitator, and LGBTQ center rep for the Student Advisory Board. They have also worked to create an inclusive environment in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological sciences by helping draft their Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and serving as a Departmental Undergraduate Group Leader.  They are involved in research at the 3D Information for Perception and Action Lab as a sophomore received an international UTRA to do visual science research at the Italian Institute of Technology.   Sholei plans to continue her research and eventually enter a Ph.D. program in Cognitive Science.

Aidea Downie is from Long Island, New York.  She is a double concentrator and will be receiving an A.B. in History and an A.B. in Anthropology.  Aidea is a first generation, African American student who has created spaces of mentorship and learning on campus and within the community.  One of her most notable accomplishments has been bringing the Petey Greene Program to Brown in September of 2015.  She served as the Chapter Founder and remains as one of the head coordinators.  The Petey Greene Program works to recruit and train around 40-50 undergraduate and graduate students to tutor and TA in educational classes in RI and MA prisons.  She has built a sustainable program, through recruiting volunteers and raising funds of $10,000 a year, to actively work on prison reform such as prison education and restorative justice.  Her work extends to educating the community by having the program host events and panels on different aspects of the criminal justice system.  Aidea has also served as a black heritage series programmer organizing  events that explored African and African Diaspora culture and brought speakers, such as Angela Davis, that intellectually engaged with issues within the Black community.  She participated in the Donald J. Wiedner Summer for Undergraduates at the College of Law,  interned for the NYC Division of Human Rights, and RI Senate Policy office as a part of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellowship, received an UTRA to serve as the Research Assistant under Historian Nancy Jacobs, spending a summer in Kenya to interview and research a former Kenyan diplomat, Washington Okumu who was influential in South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. She also studied the criminal justice system and police brutality through a research assistantship with Anthropologist Kay Warren.  Aidea will remain at Brown to earn her MA in Urban Education Policy while working as the Regional Manager of the RI Petey Greene Program.  She eventually plans to attend law school.

Liliana Sampedro is from Eugene, Oregon.  She is a double concentrator and will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies and an A.B. in Sociology.  Liliana is a “strong and compassionate leader who is committed to realizing the leadership potential in others.”  Her work has centered around labor and immigration rights.  She has advocated for the rights of workers as part of the Student Labor Alliance, successfully organizing a campaign with library workers for a higher wage, and has worked  with the fair food movement by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.  She revived and organized the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition and is part of the FLi Center Undocumented Student Initiative Advisory Board. In addition to her work with the FLi Center and with labor rights, she has been instrumental in the work around supporting Latinx students on campus.  She has served as the Latinx Student Initiative Coordinator at the Brown Center for Students of Color (BCSC).  During that time she was part of the team organizing the first 1vyG conference for first generation students across the Ivy League.  She created programs to continue to unite and support the Latinx student community as well as facilitating workshops during the Third World Transition Program (TWTP).  For her work with the BCSC she was awarded their Rising Star Award.   She has received an UTRA for her research and is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow.  She has used these platforms to encourage others to explore their possibilities as students.  She has served on the Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Board, as a Fellowships, Internships, and as the Research Experiences Coordinator at the Curricular Resources Center.  Liliana will return home for a year to work as a bilingual aid in classrooms. She hopes to further develop her social justice politics before pursuing a PhD in Ethnic Studies with the hope of becoming a professor.

TEAM

Adeiyewunmi "Ade" Osinubi is from Somerset, New Jersey.  She will be receiving an A.B. in Public Health.  Among her family and peers, Ade is known as a compassionate, God-fearing, and hardworking person who proudly represents her Nigerian roots.  A significant theme in her engagement at Brown has been social justice and supporting students of color, particularly Black Students. As a Minority Peer Counselor, Women's Peer Counselor, and Co-President of the Black Student Union (BSU), Ade has worked to make students of color feel comfortable, encouraged, and included while being at a predominantly white institution.  Her most significant contributions have been in her work with the Black Student Union Executive Board for which she has served as Co-President, Vice-President, Historian, and First Year Liaison.  In her role as Co-President with Keyanna Thompson Atticot ‘18she helped organize Brown University’s first ever Black History Month Concert, headlined by Jamila Woods ‘11 and was free of charge to the student community.  She was also able to help raise$14,000 to support 50 Black students’ attendance to the annual Black Solidarity Conference at Yale University. During her tenure, the BSU also held a pageant to spotlight Black students on campus, and started affinity group mixers which have created smaller spaces for people of marginalized identities within the Black community, such as Black LGBTQIA students and Black low income students.  They have also focused on community service through events such as gift wrapping with the Salvation Army, projects with DARE, and food drives.  As a member of the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) Class of 2020, Ade will be pursuing a medical degree at the Warren Alpert Medical School here at Brown University, after which she hopes to focus on minority women’s health and health disparities.

Keyanna Thompson-Atticot is from Queens, New York.  She will be receiving an A.B. in Economics.  Keyanna is a first generation college student who has been invested in using her various leadership platforms to foster and deepen conversations on diversity and inclusion and amplify the voices of marginalized and intersectional identities.  As Co-President of the Brown Student Union (BSU) with Adeiyewunmi “Ade” Osinubi ‘18, she helped organize Brown University’s first ever Black History Month Concert, headlined by Jamila Woods ‘11 and was free of charge to the student community.  She was also able to help raise$14,000 to support 50 Black students’ attendance to the annual Black Solidarity Conference at Yale University.  During her tenure, the BSU also held a pageant to spotlight Black students on campus, and started affinity group mixers which have created smaller spaces for people of marginalized identities within the Black community, such as Black LGBTQIA students and Black low income students.  They have also focused on community service through events such as gift wrapping with the Salvation Army, projects with DARE, and food drives.  In addition to the BSU Keyanna has held leadership positions in a variety of organizations and offices on campus  including the Students of Caribbean Ancestry Club, the Black Pre-Law Association, the Minority Peer Counselor, Women Peer Counselor, and Residential Peer Leader programs.  She has also been a Regional Representative for Keeney Quad in the Office of Residential Life.  Outside of Brown she has been a volunteer at the YMCA, conducted research on informality and human rights violations while abroad, and served as a communication fellow for Social Change Agents Institute.  Keyanna will be moving home to New York to pursue her interests in the entertainment industry before applying to law school with the goal of becoming an entertainment lawyer.

As Co-Presidents of the Brown Student Union (BSU), Adeiyewunmi "Ade" Osinubi and Keyanna Thompson-Atticot helped organize Brown University’s first ever Black History Month Concert, headlined by Jamila Woods ‘11 and was free of charge to the student community.  They were also able to help raise $14,000 to support 50 Black students’ attendance to the annual Black Solidarity Conference at Yale University.  During their tenure, the BSU also held a pageant to spotlight Black students on campus, and started affinity group mixers which have created smaller spaces for people of marginalized identities within the Black community, such as Black LGBTQIA students and Black low income students.  They have also focused on community service through events such as gift wrapping with the Salvation Army, projects with DARE, and food drives. 

Olajumoke “Jummy” Mary Akinsulire was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Queens, New York. She will be receiving an A.B. in Biology. Among her friends, family and peers, Jummy is known as a hardworking, God-fearing, and passionate individual. As an advocate for social justice, she has used her time here at Brown to foster and deepen conversations on diversity and inclusion in the various spaces that she has been involved in such as the Black Student Union (BSU) and Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) Program. Throughout her time in each of these organizations, Jummy has taken on progressive leadership positions. Under Jummy’s leadership, BSU has not only grown in numbers but also tackled difficult and sensitive issues relating to power, privilege and oppression within the Black community. These critical conversations helped the community rally together in solidarity with MIZZOU and Yale through the fall 2015 BlackOut at Brown protest. As a BOLT manager, Jummy played an integral part in facilitating skill building exercises to develop a critically conscious outdoor leadership team. Jummy’s other involvements include being a manager of the Brown Annual Fund Calling Center, a co-chair of the Senior Gift Committee, and a member of Shades of Brown. Jummy’s skills as a bridge builder have helped her forge partnerships between students, faculty and senior administrators to advance various initiatives at Brown, including the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. Jummy will remain ever true to Brown as she continues her studies in the Warren Alpert Medical School in August 2016.

Justice Gaines is from Somerset, New Jersey and will be receiving an A.B. in Sociology. Xe has focused on creating an inclusive campus that actively combats oppressive structures. Justice’s work is rooted in compassion and a drive to be unapologetic in xyr identities and has focused on improving support for marginalized students. In the Brown Center for Students of Color, xe has served as a MPC Friend, TWTP facilitator, and helped develop the Social Justice Peer Education Program. Xe has been a vocal advocate of improving policies and support regarding sexual assault, organizing with student campaigns Imagine Rape Zero and #MoneyTalksAtBrown, reviewing the University’s operations under BWell Health Promotion, and serving on the Sexual Assault Task Force that overhauled Brown’s Title IX policies. Xe has also challenged norms around gender, sexuality, and masculinity, organizing two Asexual Awareness Weeks during xyr time, facilitating a workshop on Sexism and Cissexism, helping to coordinate the Men’s Story Project and the Masculinity 101 student group, and wearing xyr favorite shade of lipstick whenever possible. Xe has promoted student voice through the Student Power Initiative and the Undergraduate Council of Students and while serving on the University Resources Committee and the Public Safety Oversight Committee. Justice has developed xyr critical voice through writing and spoken word, competing with the Brown/RISD Poetry Slam Team for three years, and writing for campus magazines OBSIDIAN and bluestockings. Upon graduation, Justice will be staying in Providence and continuing to hold xemself accountable to xyr name.

Andrew B. Gonzales is from Richmond, California, and will be receiving an A.B. in Political Science. Andrew’s engagements at Brown reflect his commitment to enhancing the vibrancy of the University and his deep affinity for working with Black students because of the unique obstacles and challenges they experience at Brown. Andrew was the co-founder of the revitalized Black Pre Law Association, establishing an alumni-student mentoring program, creating a space for conversation on the intersections of blackness and the law, and providing free LSAT test prep materials. Andrew was also the co-founder and president of Beta Omega Chi Fraternity, Inc., a centralized black male fraternity at Brown. In starting this organization he strived to create a band of brothers who would support one another in all endeavors and fuel each member to achieve greater heights in higher education, social development and transformative community. With a quickly growing membership of 21 brothers, Beta Omega Chi was granted status as Program House and will have dedicated space on Wriston Quad. Other campus involvements included serving as co-president of Harambee House, community service chair for the Brotherhood, student tutor in Making Moves, a member of the Black Student Union and a Questbridge Scholar Peer Mentor. Andrew was a Truman Scholars Finalist, a CareerLAB student ambassador, and a Brown University LINK Award recipient, which allowed him to intern at the White House. Upon graduation, Andrew will be moving back to Richmond to serve as a high school English teacher before applying to law school.

Sazzy Gourley is from Charlotte, North Carolina and will be receiving an A.B. in American Studies. While at Brown, Sazzy served on the executive board of the Undergraduate Council of Students for four years as appointments chair, student services chair, vice-president, and then as president. As president, he led advocacy efforts in the areas of mental health, support for low-income students, and the development of Brown’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, among other issues. Sazzy collaborated with the Office of Financial Aid to establish the Financial Aid Advisory Board and partnered with international student groups and the University to establish the International Life Advisory Board. Sazzy also served on several University-wide committees, including the Mental Health Community Council, Brown University Community Council, and the Search Committee for the Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services. Outside of university governance, Sazzy is a four-year varsity letter winner on the Men’s Swimming and Diving Team, where he qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championships. Sazzy is also involved in Greek life and served as co-leader of the American Studies Department Undergraduate Group and a Teaching Assistant for “Investing in Social Change.” Sazzy was awarded the Vascellaro Social Impact Fellowship to research non-profit regulations in Moscow. As a Royce Fellow, he conducted an impact analysis on Red Bull’s Cliff Diving World Series. Sazzy was also selected to represent Brown at the 2013 Ivy-China Research, Mentorship, and Exchange Conference in Beijing. After graduation, Sazzy will pursue a Fulbright Scholarship in South Korea.

Maggie Jordan is from Niskayuna, New York and will be receiving an A.B. with Honors in Health & Human Biology. Throughout her time at Brown, Maggie has shown great dedication and self-sacrifice as a peer mentor, advocate, and four-year varsity athlete on the Women’s Swimming & Diving team. Maggie has been a tireless advocate for the wellbeing of students both on her team and in various campus roles. She served for two years as a Woman Peer Counselor, during which time she developed a passion for justice for survivors of sexual assault, and went on to make significant contributions at a time of campus activism and institutional change. As a WPC, she developed a workshop on rape culture that is now being used as a model by the University. Her involvements in the movement to decrease the prevalence of sexual assault on campus include Stand Up!, Sexual Assault Peer Education, and Imagine Rape Zero. She was also appointed to serve on the Mental Health Community Council, serving as a critical student voice and going beyond committee service to partnering with UCS to research and design a new Website for Counseling and Psychological Services. Other involvements include volunteering for the Community Health Advocacy Program and being a contributing writer for bluestockings magazine. Maggie also had significant impact on an interpersonal level, supporting her residents and teammates, and spreading kindness across diverse communities. Upon graduation, Maggie will continue to serve the greater Providence community as a corps member of City Year Rhode Island.

Olugbenga A. Joseph hails from the Creative Capital (Providence, Rhode Island) and will be receiving an A.B. in Education Studies with a focus in History and Policy. At Brown, Olugbenga served as President of Cornerstone Magazine, Brown/RISD’s Christian literary arts journal, and a Large Group Leader in Brown Christian Fellowship. Through the Swearer Center for Public Service, he has served as a College Access Scholar, Winter Breaks Project leader, and an inaugural member of the Center’s Student Advisory Committee. As both a Peer Career Advisor at CareerLAB and Life After Brown co-coordinator for the First-Generation College Student Initiative, he co-spearheaded the inaugural First-Gen CareerCon, a professional development day for over 70 First-Gen-identifying students and alumni. Through a pivotal internship as a Providence Mayoral Fellow, he worked alongside stakeholders to set education policy citywide. Meanwhile, he has served as an Education DUG leader, Ivy Council Delegate, volunteer for the Third World Transition Program, and vocalist in Shades of Brown, the Brown Jabberwocks, and Harmonizing Grace. The recipient of a Newman Civic Fellowship and the Office of the Chaplains and Religious Life’s Levi Adams Citation, Olugbenga will serve as a Presidential Intern through Brown’s Office of the President this summer. In this capacity, he hopes to commence a career in higher education administration, through which he can combine his passions for social justice, engaged scholarship, and lifelong learning.

Floripa Reyes Olguin is from the Pueblo of Isleta and Navajo Nation. She will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic studies and Public Policy. She was raised in the Pueblo of Isleta all of her life before coming to Brown University. Floripa grew up with her parents, Ronald and Karen Olguin, and four sisters, alongside three nieces and a nephew. Her love for her family and community at home is at the center of her work. Her values of love, justice, integrity, and community are evident throughout her work. Floripa is a no-nonsense person who seeks out injustice and is unwavering as an advocate for those she sees are being treated unfairly. Her impact on Brown began in her first-year during which she worked with the Brown Center for Students of Color, Native Americans at Brown, and the Ivy Native Council. Her contributions led to her receiving the BCSC’s Rising Star Award. She has continued being an advocate and critical voice throughout her Brown experience for students of color, low-income students, queer students, and first-generation college students. She has served as a Minority Peer Counselor and MPC co-coordinator. As a senior, alongside other Native students at Brown, she was critical to successfully advocating to change Fall Weekend to Indigenous Peoples’ Day and bringing attention to Brown’s nascent Native American and Indigenous Studies program. She also served as co-coordinator for the Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Relationship Abuse. After Brown, Floripa plans on continuing her education after spending two years in her community or doing policy-related work in Washington, D.C.

Sana Teramoto is most recently from Westchester, New York, but originally from Tokyo, Japan. Sana will be receiving a Sc.B. with honors for their independent concentration in Educational Neuroscience. Their work at Brown focused on developing inclusive communities where everyone could unapologetically be themselves. Sana took initiative in spaces on campus committed to social justice, working as a Minority Peer Counselor, MPC co-cordinator, and a Third World Transition Program co-coordinator at the Brown Center for Students of Color, as well as the program coordinator for the Masculinity Series at the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center. Sana has played a critical role in efforts to make Brown a trans-inclusive campus. Sana advocated for changes in university policies to be more inclusive of all gender identities and expressions as a leader of GenderAction. Sana also led educational initiatives to raise consciousness around trans identities, including coordinating the annual Trans Week and facilitating the first-ever Cissexism workshop for TWTP. Their other involvements include their roles as affinity chair of the Queer Alliance, Community Assistant, and MAPS mentor and service on the Search Committee for the Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services. Sana is passionate about investigating the impacts of injustices on people’s holistic development and how to realize an environment in education where everyone’s development is fully supported. Sana hopes to go into the field of education, contining to work with various communities, to strive toward social justice, and to support young people’s development in the future.

Jamelle Watson-Daniels is from a small town outside of St. Louis, Missouri and will be receiving a Sc.B. in Physics and an A.B. in Africana Studies. Jamelle was selected as one of two senior orators for Brown’s 248th Commencement. She was a starting flanker on the Women’s Rugby Team when they won the Ivy Championship in the team’s first year as a varsity sport. Over the years, she spearheaded efforts seeking increased support for underrepresented students at Brown, while simultaneously building a portfolio of research experiences on topics ranging from particle detectors to plasmonic materials. In Physics, Jamelle conducted research throughout all four of her years at Brown in settings that included the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York and landing multiple fellowships along the way. In her third year at Brown, she founded an initiative called Inertia: Investment in Scientists of Color and partnered with the Undergraduate Council of Students to push for increased support of black students in STEM fields. She served on a variety of committees addressing structural racism in the scientific community and co-organized a group independent study project examining race and gender in the scientific community. She also was one of the founders of the Brown-Sophia Academy collaborative mentoring program and served on Brown’s Diversity Advisory Board. After graduation, Jamelle will work at Boeing while she defers her start in Harvard’s Applied Physics doctoral program.

K. Marlea Jessica Lee Brown, Manuel Issac Contreras, and Stanley Stewart (TEAM AWARD) have had, both individually and collectively, a profound impact on Brown and the experience of both current and future students. While all three vary in their many commitments, they are united in their passion and dedication to improving the first-generation college student experience at Brown and nationwide. After participating in a group independent study project on the first-generation college student experience with Professor Greg Elliott, they received a Social Innovation Initiative Fellowship to develop and ultimately co-found 1vyG: the inter-Ivy, first-generation college student network. They then mobilized fellow students at Brown, across the Ivy League, and scholars and researchers to organize and host the first 1vyG conference at Brown University. They were then instrumental in utilizing the organization, visibility, and political capital of 1vyG to advocate for institutional change at Brown, ultimately resulting in the creation of the First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center scheduled to open in September 2016.

K. Marlea Jessica Brown is from Canton, Ohio and will be receiving her A.B. in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations—Organizational Studies. Jessica is understanding, diplomatic, and thoughtful yet does not shy from voicing her truth. She cares deeply about the well-being of others, and her passion for creating an inclusive campus for those who are marginalized is evident throughout her campus engagements, including her active involvement in campus activism throughout her Brown experience. In the BCSC, she served as a Minority Peer Counselor, an MPC Friend, and TWTP co-coordinator. Through the Center’s strategic planning process, she played a critical role in identifying the need for the Social Justice Peer Educator program and was then instrumental in its creation, serving as inaugural coordinator. She also served on the Public Safety Oversight Committee and was a member of Divine Rhythm.

Manuel Isaac Contreras is from San Diego, California and will be graduating with an A.B. in Cognitive Science. Throughout his time at Brown, Manuel has continuously imagined a better Brown and worked to imagine and implement ideas for change. He has been a Minority Peer Counselor and TWTP co-coordinator, a Meiklejohn, an editor for the Brown Daily Herald, and a member of the Brown University Community Council. As a coordinator in the Curricular Resource Center, he worked to improve Departmental Undergraduate Groups, the Theories in Action symposium, and created Concentration Declaration Day. As a Minority Recruitment Intern with Admission, he pioneered the Brown Bearings program. After graduation, Manuel will be working for Senator Patty Murray from Washington as Legislative Aide on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Stanley Stewart is from Atlanta, Georgia and will be receiving an A.B. in History. His campus engagements have centered on social change. In his sophomore year, he served as a Minority Peer Counselor, assisting first-year students through their transition to Brown and coordinating social justice programming for the Brown community. He has also served as an Access Scholar with the Brown College Advising Corps, assisting students at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School through the college application process. Additional involvements include serving on the University Resources Committee, Brown Political Review, Brown Motion Pictures, the SEEED Conference, Swearer Center Winter-Break Projects, and serving as a tour guide with Admission. After graduation, Stanley plans to pursue graduate study in education before continuing to work towards creating transformative change with and for marginalized communities.

You may also download a copy of the 2014 program for the Jin-Joslin-Joukowsky Awards Ceremony.

Amelia Carmen Friedman is from Arlington, Virginia and will be receiving an A.B. in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies. While at Brown, Amelia has volunteered as an English teacher with Olneyville ESOL, as an advocate helping families at the Hasbro Children’s Hospital, and coordinated Winter Breaks Projects. She received a C.V. Starr Fellowship, mentored for the Social Innovation Fellowship, was a Teaching Assistant for Leading Social Ventures, and a member of $ocial Classmates. As a three year member of the Peer Community Standards Board, Amelia advanced the ideals of community even when they were being challenged. Her most lasting impact on Brown is the creation of the Brown Student Learning Exchange (BSLE), bringing instruction in 16 new languages and introducing more than 200 of her peers to cultures outside their own. Amelia has presented on BSLE at the Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning national conference. Throughout she has maintained high academic standards, being named to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year. Amelia will be working full-time for the Student Language Exchange upon graduation.

Saudi Garcia is from Moca, Dominican Republic and Flushing, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Anthropology. Saudi immigrated to the United States in 2003, attending public schools in New York City. At Brown, Saudi has volunteered with the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless and collaborated on legislative and advocacy projects to safeguard affordable housing funding. She has been a Minority Peer Counselor, a Residential Counselor and a Community Counselor. Saudi helped found Dominican Students at Brown and helped plan the 6th National Dominican Student Conference. She has worked collaboratively with peers and the administration on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault and participated in advocacy efforts leading to the Brown's decision to elevate the Women's Rugby Football Club to full varsity status. Saudi was a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Research Fellow and a fellow at the Cogut Center for the Humanities. Upon graduation, Saudi will continue her commitment to service through City Year in the South Bronx. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school and to dedicate her energies to helping students from nontraditional backgrounds succeed in college.

Rafael Harpo Marchand Jaeger is from Northampton, Massachusetts and will graduate in December with an A.B in Education Studies. In his time at Brown, Harpo co-founded J Street U Brown, part of a national student movement for a two-state solution to the conflict in Israel-Palestine. He co-founded the Sexual Assault Policy Task Force, is engaged in various initiatives through Brown RISD Hillel, and works to expand cooperative environmental living through the Environmental Program House. Harpo can also be found about campus performing with Shakespeare on the Green, leading a hearty round of sea shanties as Musical Director for ARRR!!!, or signing medieval liturgical chants or with Sacred Harp. He worked as a Field Manager for Elizabeth Warren for Senate and restarted a years-dormant East Coast Jewish student retreat, which continues today and has spread to Canada. He spent last summer interning in Washington, DC with Jews United for Justice on a successful campaign to provide paid sick days for all District workers and raise the local minimum wage. Upon graduation he plans to work full-time as a progressive organizer.

Jesse McGleughlin is from Cambridge, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B. with honors in Africana Studies. Jesse has a keen ability to intuit deeper issues and to work for system change to address these. As a tutor, Head Coordinator, and Summer Camp Director for the Brown Refugee Tutoring and Enrichment Program, she came to see the impact of mental health issues on refugee families and convened community leaders to work to mobilize resources. On campus, she was the Student Director of the Rose Writing Fellows Program and a Pembroke Scholar. She also directed the Cambridge Youth Enrichment Camp through Harvard, was an Arthur Liman Public Service Fellow working on the Safety Net Project in New York City, and received the Steinhaus-Zisson Research Grant for her thesis titled "Performing Citizenship: Fannie Lou Hamer and the 1964 Freedom Vote." After graduation, Jesse will participate in the Humanity in Action Fellowship in Berlin, Germany to study human rights and discrimination. In January, she will begin nine months in South Africa as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. 

Christine C. Moon is from Toronto, Canada and received her A.B with honors in Anthropology this past December. At Brown, peer leadership and advising are critical to student success, and Christine sought opportunities to support the success of her fellow students, serving as a Residential Peer Leader, Health Careers Peer Advisor, Meiklejohn, and Women in Science and Engineering mentor. She was a Leader Fellow and Residential Advisor for the Brown Leadership Institute for high school students, through which her co-workers voted her “Best Community Builder.” She was a tutor and co-Community Fellow with the Partnership for Adult Learning and Coordinator for the University Community Academic Advising Program. Her leadership was also visible through the Asian Arts Fest, Model UN, Premedical Students’ Association, and VISIONS. Christine received a Royce Fellowship to conduct research for her thesis on end-of-life-care for South Korean elders.  When asked for a statement about her future plans, Christine offered this quote from author Neil Gaiman: “You're alive. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything. If you change the world, the world will change." 

Oyeleye Odewunmi is from Queens, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Economics in December after completing his final semester with study at the Queen Mary University of London. While at Brown, Oyeleye has been actively involved in mentoring both fellow Brown students as well as local Providence high school students, including serving as a Residential Peer Leader, Coordinator for the Making Moves Mentoring Program, and volunteering with the youth development program at the John Hope Settlement House and with the Kappa League. He has also provided critical leadership to sustain Brown’s long history of Black Greek Letter Organizations as President of Brown’s chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and as President and Treasurer of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He was also elected by his peers to serve on the Undergraduate Finance Board and has worked as a student caller for the Brown Annual Fund. This summer, Oyeleye will be in the Business Advisory Program at Ernst & Young where he will be working full-time upon graduation.

Sarah R. Presant is from Poway, California and will be receiving an A.B. in Environmental Studies. Sarah was instrumental in rejuvenating the Foxpoint-Brown Chapter of Project Eye to Eye. Initially founded at Brown, Sarah’s efforts resulted in the return of the organization’s national gathering to Brown. Through Eye to Eye, Sarah also created a space for students with learning disabilities to build a sense of community with one another. Sarah also played a critical role in being a visible student face for the Student and Employee Accessibility Services office. She was also a four year member of the Women’s Polo Team, serving as its academic liaison and volunteer coordinator. She served as Co-President of the Brown Jewish Athletes Group, Class of 2012 Lime Connect Fellow, participated in the Women’s Launch Pad mentoring program, and worked as a member of the Brown Alumni Relations Reunion staff. After graduation, Sarah will travel to Europe (with Andrew Silverman) to work towards her goal of visiting every continent before she is 30. She will then return to California to work for Google.

Andrew E. Silverman is from New York City, New York and will be receiving a Sc.B. in Neuroscience. Within a month of arriving at Brown, Andrew was elected the President of his class, a position he continued to be elected to for his Brown career. He has also represented Brown through his work as a Tour Guide for the Bruin Club. He was also actively engaged in building community and enhancing the experience of his fellow students in his academic endeavors, serving as leader of the Neuroscience Departmental Undergraduate Group, as Head Tutor for the Office of the Dean of the College, and as a Teaching Assistant for Organic Chemistry I & II and Introduction to Neuroscience. He was awarded the Outstanding Teacher’s Assistant Award by his peers in 2012. On top of it, he has a sense of humor that he shares through his participation in Brown/RISD Standup Comics. Upon graduation, he will be joining Sarah Presant as she travels to Europe. He will then return home to work as a medical assistant in an interventional pain management clinic before attending medical school.

Kimberly Takahata is from Franklin, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B. in English. While at Brown, her engagements reflected the Brown curriculum’s ethos of breadth and depth and her style of leadership reflected the grace she studied in her thesis on New England Puritan poetry. She was involved in Brown’s Catholic community throughout her Brown career, serving as Co-Coordinator of its Pastoral Council in her senior year. She served as both Vice President and Campus Tour Guide Coordinator for the Bruin Club. Kimberly was a Writing Fellow for three years, member of the Undergraduate Library Advisory Board, Senior Prose Editor of Clerestory Journal of the Arts, a Community Assistant for two years, and a member of the Community Health Advocacy Program. She helped coordinate the Dash for Diabetes for three years. She received two UTRA grants, including one to organize TEDxBrownUniversity: Life, Learning, and Liberal Education. After graduation, she will continue her studies at Columbia University in the Ph.D. program in English and Comparative Literature.

Yen Jay Tran is from Montclair, California and will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies. Yen has been a leader within the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, contributing to preparation for the Center’s 40^th Anniversary and the organization of Women’s History Month. This year, he organized the first-ever Masculinity Series. Yen was also active in the Third World Center and LGBTQ Center, serving as a member of the TWC Student Advisory Board, a facilitator for the Third World Transition Program, Co-Leader of the Queer Community Committee, and Open House Coordinator for the IvyQ2012 Conference Planning Committee. He was Film Archivist for Modern Culture and Media, Co-Leader of the Ethnic Studies Departmental Undergraduate Group, and a mentor with the Matched Advising Program for sophomores. Yen also helped with the planning of A Day on College Hill and was Finance Director for the Machado Hispanic Program House. His many and diverse engagements on campus also led to his nomination and selection as a Presidential Host. After graduation, Yen plans to find work that would allow him to stay in Providence or New England, with the intention to then attend graduate school.

Hanna M. McPhee and Michelle T. Site received a team award for Brown STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). STEAM is a national movement to incorporate humanistic, artistic, and creative elements into STEM education and practice. Through their founding and leading Brown STEAM and their collaboration with the STEAM initiative at RISD, Michelle and Hanna have not only ensured a staggering program of creative events, they have placed the STEAM efforts on College Hill in the vanguard of efforts nationally. Their success was made possible in no small part due to their complementary leadership capacities and campus connections and networks. With their significant focus on emerging new leadership, they have also ensured the effort’s sustainability. What is even more remarkable is that beyond their leadership in Brown STEAM, they each have other notable contributions to student life at Brown.

Hanna is from Wellesley, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B in an Independent Concentration in Biologically Inspired Design. Hanna is a varsity athlete on Brown’s Track and Field Team and competes in pole vault. She served as Contest Captain for the Solar Decathlon and was both a Women Peer Counselor Representative and a Community Assistant. After graduation, she will be working in tech strategy and advertising with Digitas in San Francisco.

Michelle is from Tampa, Florida will be receiving an A.B. in Biology. She served as a Science Center Fellow, Women Peer Counselor, and Brown International Scholars Program Fellow. Michelle was also active in the arts beyond Brown STEAM through her work in the Orwig Music Library and as a RISD Museum Gallery Lecturer. Additionally, she was a Research Intern at Rhode Island Hospital. Michelle will be staying in Providence to work as an Associate Design Researcher at Ximedica, a medical device design and product development firm.

Jessica Biesel '12 is from Wyckoff, New Jersey and will be receiving an A.B. in Sociology with honors. Through her leadership of the Student Volunteers for the Samaritans of Rhode Island, Jessica has developed and brought to fruition programming and initiatives that were able to both create safe spaces and encourage broader awareness and dialogue, from a hotline, to teach-ins, to open mic events. Her work has also spanned other social concerns both on and off campus as she identified other topics and places where more dialogue is critical. For those who struggle with suicidal urges or are faced with the aftermath of the suicide of a loved one, the results can be isolating and devastating. In ways both subtle and obvious, she has made Brown a campus more receptive to discussing suicide specifically and mental health more generally. After graduation, Jessica will work as a staff sales engineer at Citrix.

Brandon James Broome '12 is from Charlotte, North Carolina and will be receiving an A.B. in Economics and Education Studies with an emphasis in Human Development. Brandon has taken full advantage of his liberal education in the form of personal academic enrichment as well as community involvement. He has had a number of mentoring roles within the Brown and Providence communities, including serving as a Meiklejohn advisor, minority student mentor through The Brotherhood, and a youth mentor through the John Hope Mentoring Program. He has been a leader of the Imani Jubliee worship community and, as a member of the University Disciplinary Council, demonstrated sound judgment, consideration, and ethical acumen. He was one of two students chosen by his peers to serve on the committee to select Brown’s 19th President. In the classroom, in the Chapel, in the dormitory, on and off campus, and through his friendships and the roles he chosen to shoulder, he made Brown a better place. After graduation, Brandon plans on spending a few years working in the consulting or financial sector and enrolling in a graduate business program. 

Lorena Carmen Garcia '12 is from El Paso, Texas and will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies. Throughout her time at Brown, Lorena has held several positions at the Third World Center as Minority Peer Counselor (MPC), MPC Coordinator, MPC Friend, and member of the director search committee. Aside from her residential counseling responsibilities, Lorena has been an active member of the Brown and greater Providence queer communities as facilitator of The Next Thing and volunteer at Youth Pride and AIDS Care Ocean State. She has been an active member of the Brown Immigrant Rights Coalition, Brown Students for Financial Aid, and the Brown Women’s Rugby Team. Lorena is a Royce Fellowship recipient and a member of the staff of the Science Center. After graduation, Lorena is hoping to get EMT certified and live in Spain and Ireland to study their organ donation policies and programs. She will then continue her research as a medical student at Brown’s Alpert Medical School.

Amit Jain '12 is from St. Louis, Missouri and will be receiving an A.B. in Political Science and Economics. At Brown, Amit served as a Meikeljohn advisor, Minority Peer Counselor (MPC), MPC Coordinator, MPC Friend; co-director of the Badmaash Dance Company; co-coordinator of the John Hope Mentorship Program; co-founder of Brown for Financial Aid; staff writer for the Brown Noser and the Brown Daily Herald; and member of the Janus Forum. Amit was also a co-founder of the Learning Exchange, a program that connects students at Brown and Providence schools to teach math and science through excitement with music and animation. After graduation Amit hopes to join the Obama campaign as a member of the field team in Florida. After the election, he would like to work in education, preferably with a school or nonprofit. He then hopes to enter graduate or law school before pursuing education policy work.

Amanda Kozar '12 is from Springfield, Illinois and will be receiving an A.B. in Political Science. Amanda found a community at the Sarah Doyle Women Center early in her time at Brown, and for the next four years became an integral part of and leader at the Center. Jessica enhanced the impact and relevance of the Center’s programming, including engaging the larger Providence and Rhode Island communities. For example, in her junior year, she brought together scholars from across the state to discuss the future of women in US politics. Outside Sarah Doyle, she has served as an intern at RI NOW and in the office of Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts. For the past two summers she was an intern for United States Senator Richard Durbin. She has worked for New Moon Girls magazine and brought the magazine’s founder to speak to students from both Brown and Sophia Academy, a local middle school for girls from low-income families. After graduation, Amanda will be working in campaign politics. 

Araceli Méndez '12 is from Laredo, Texas and will be receiving an A.B. in Ethnic Studies. Throughout her time at Brown, Araceli has worked tirelessly to help reenvision Greek Life and has been a driving force in mobilizing the community to translate ideas into action, both within her fraternity (Zeta Delta Xi) and as a leader and chair of the Greek Council. After years of dwindling interest, she challenged the Greek community to rethink the Rage on Wriston – creating Fratty at the Ratty. She pushed the Council to play a greater role in the accountability of member organizations, including reworking new member education programs and increasing the philanthropic profile of the community. With changes in Residential Life and Brown preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary, she began an archive project on Greek history at Brown, recognizing that understanding the past is critical to charting a course to the future. Araceli was also a member of the Queer Alliance Dance Committee and Conexiones. After graduation, Araceli hopes to channel her passion for cultural preservation into a career in library sciences and archival management. 

Remy Fernandez-O’Brien '12 is from Shutesbury, Massachusetts and will be receiving an A.B in Political Science. Remy’s leadership in the areas of dance, choreography, peer mentorship, and sexual assault education have touched and inspired the lives of hundreds of people on campus and in the greater Rhode Island communities. In addition to being a workshop facilitator for the Sexual Assault Peer Education Program (SAPE), he got involved in this issue at a University level, including serving on the Student-Staff Sexual Assault Advisory Board and the Campus Life Subcommittee on Alcohol and Other Drugs. He was a dancer and puppeteer with Big Nazo, an innovative organization that combines life-sized puppets with dance to bring joy to the Providence community. He was a teacher at the Woodlawn Community Center where he taught a Spanish language adult computer class to non-native English speakers. After graduation, Remy plans to attend the Headlong Performance Institute in the fall. He aspires to be a community organizer, choreographer, and humanitarian.

Tara Kane Prendergast '12.5 is from Crawford, Colorado and will be receiving an A.B. in History. Throughout her time at Brown, Tara has devoted herself to community service work. Tara has been a leader of the Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment (BRYTE) program, member of the University-Community Academic Advising Partnership (UCAAP) planning team, a Breaks Project leader, and has been engaged in homelessness outreach work. As a member of Brown for Providence, Tara helped organize student response to the tax and payment negotiations between Brown and the City. Tara also served as a Writing Fellow, eventually being selected by her peers to be the program’s Assistant Director. She was awarded a C.V. Starr Fellowship, spending a summer working at the International Institute of Rhode Island to strengthen BRYTE as a program. After graduation, Tara plans to continue doing refugee support work, eventually returning to school to earn a Ph.D. in human geography. 

David P. Salsone '12.5  is from Oceanside, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Economics. David has served as president of both the Resumed Undergraduate Students Association and the Brown University Student Veterans Society, participated in the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program and Brown for Financial Aid, and coordinated fundraising efforts for The Mission – a non-profit organization committed to helping disabled veterans continue to serve their communities. David came to Brown after having served in the United States Navy, and sought out the opportunity to join the Mens’ Crew Team. After the NCAA determined he was ineligible, instead of leaving the team, David voluntarily took on a new role as tutor, advisor, and mentor, demonstrating the ideals of integrity and commitment. In all roles he consistently looked for broader systematic, cooperative solutions - forgoing short-term gains for long-term, sustainable change. After graduation, David plans to volunteer in a developing country for several months, and then return to the U.S. to begin his career as an analyst for Morgan Stanley’s Technology Investment Banking Division in Menlo Park, California.

Emily C. Simmons '12 is from Buffalo, New York and will be receiving an A.B. in Literatures and Cultures in English. Emily has been the driving force behind the vision, mission, and expansion of the Brown Women in Business Group, leading organizational process across a spectrum of areas, including visibility, financial planning, connections with alumnae, and expanding the group’s membership. Emily has also played crucial roles on Brown’s Ski Team. As a competitor, she was an Academic All-American for three years in a row, received conference honors for top-15 in the MacConnell Division, and received the team overall third place award at nationals in her sophomore year. When the Athletic Review Committee recommended skiing be discontinued, she was instrumental in leading the team’s response. She also brought her motivational talents to the sales and marketing teams in the Brown Daily Herald, lifting morale during a very challenging economic climate. Emily is starting in October as an associate consultant at Bain & Company in New York City, before pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School beginning in 2014.

Samuel H. Byker is a double concentrator in Economics and American History from Los Angeles. Sam has served as a mentor, manager and leader with the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) Program and has organized and designed new events and programs to foster a sense of community within the BOLT program. Sam has served as a senior staff writer at the Brown Daily Herald and interned in Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s Providence office. Sam founded and led the Brown Socially Responsible Investment Fund through which students manage $30,000 of the University’s endowment. He also served as an undergraduate member of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility and Investment Policy. Sam will spend most of the summer on a cross-country road trip then start work in September as an associate with the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago.

Joshua R. Curhan is from Lincoln, Massachusetts and will be receiving his degree in Education Studies. Joshua started out in his freshman year working in the news department for WBRU Radio with an emphasis on education in Rhode Island and beyond. For the past three years, Joshua has coordinated and volunteered with the Swearer Classroom Program at the Swearer Center for Public Service which is a community service program that provides mentoring and tutoring for elementary-aged children in Providence. Last spring Joshua founded an afterschool reading program focused on strengthening the literacy skills of elementary school students. Beginning this summer, Joshua will be pursuing a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Teaching at Columbia University with the goal of achieving dual certification in Elementary Inclusive Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities.

Kenneth M. Estrellas is from Piscataway, New Jersey and will be receiving his degree in Biology with Honors. Ken has been a member of the Bruin Club working on, among other programs, A Day on College Hill and Third World Weekend. He has been a passionate and energetic leader within the Third World community, including co-chair of the Filipino Alliance. He has been active in the dance community at Brown, co-directing the imPulse Dance Company, helping to establish and strengthen the popular Dancing with the Profs event, and establishing free hip hop dance workshops open to the Providence community. Ken has been a videographer for the Third World Center and several groups at Brown, including archiving Fusion Dance shows from 1984 to the present. Ken’s future plans are to get a Masters in Medical Science in the Artificial Organs, Biomaterials and Cellular Technology Program here at Brown.

Molly A. Jacobson is from Harvard, Massachusetts and will receive her degree in Economics with Honors. Molly was a residential counselor in her sophomore year, coordinated the planning of a Day on College Hill, and has been a Meiklejohn advisor for the past three years. This past year, she founded and coordinated the Matched Advising Program for Sophomores. She participated in the Urban Education Semester and then served as its co-coordinator. Molly has volunteered every year in the Providence public school system and has worked at the Curricular Resource Center, the Annual Fund, Maddock Alumni Center, and the Swearer Center for Public Service. Molly will teach this summer at Phillips Andover and begin work as an associate at the Boston Consulting Group in Boston in the fall.

Winifred B. Jumbo is from the Navajo Nation and grew up in Two Grey Hill, New Mexico and is graduating with honors in Anthropology and Ethnic Studies. Winnie is a member of Native Americans at Brown (NAB) and has served as the Native American Heritage Series programmer. This year, Winnie’s leadership enabled NAB to overcome obstacles to finally bring the annual All Ivy Native Council Conference back to Brown in addition to hosting the 9th annual Brown University Spring Thaw Pow Wow. After interning for the National Science Foundation under the Documenting Endangered Languages Program, Winnie was inspired to write her senior honors thesis on the Navajo language, specifically generational shifts and social stigmas. She will be returning to work for the Navajo Nation government after graduation and intends to pursue her education either in the field of linguistics or law.

Kathryn E. Lamb is from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and is graduating with honors in Classics and Comparative Literature. Katie has been involved in the Queer Alliance since arriving on campus, taking on various leadership roles over time and serving as head chair. One of her most significant contributions to the Queer Alliance was her involvement in the planning and implementation of the QA dances. Katie inherited the difficult task of taking on Pride Month coordinator mid-year, managing to put on one of the most successful Pride Months ever. She also took on leadership roles as social chair and pledge master in Zeta Delta Xi, served on the steering committee for the Brown University Activities Council, was a board member of the Students for Sexual Health Education and Empowerment Council, and served on the Gender Neutral Housing Committee. Katie will be entering a graduate program which combines Classics with Gender and Sexualtiy Studies at the University of Toronto.

Amelia S. Plant is from Charlestown, Rhode Island and will be receiving her degree in International Relations. Amelia has been a leader in Brown Model United Nations all four years, serving in several capacities and having primary responsibility for organizing one of the most complicated events held at Brown – a multi-day conference for over 700 high school students. The manual and process she developed set the campus standard for documentation and organization of successful transition from one leadership team to the next. Amelia has been actively involved in Students for Choice and a valuable contributor to the Sexual Assault Task Force. Over her time here she has grown and matured as a leader as evidenced by being one of only four students selected by her peers to serve on the recent University-wide organizational review process. She took being a student representative very seriously while at the same time managing her existing commitments. Additionally, Amelia worked in University Events for the last three years, helping to plan major events. Amelia was recently accepted into the Peace Corps.

Julie A. Pridham is from New Castle, New Hampshire and will be receiving her degree in Egyptology. Julie has been one of the strongest forces behind the Meiklejohn Peer Advising Program since she joined the Meiklejohn Leadership Council as a sophomore. Though Julie is one of twelve student leaders on the Council, she is considered to be the leader; the one to take on major program events as well as the more mundane tasks. Julie was one of the founders of the First Generation Mentoring Program and has been a leading figure in the Egyptology Department Undergraduate Group. Julie has served on several prominent committees at Brown, including the Campus life Advisory Board, the Library Advisory Board, and the selection committee for the Karen T. Romer Prize for Undergraduate Advising and Mentoring. She had volunteered for Colleges Against Cancer, Brown Relay for Life, and Habitat for Humanity. Julie plans to take a year off before pursuing a Ph.D. in Egyptology.

Sumbul Siddiqui is from Cambridge, Massachusetts and will graduate with Honors in Public Policy and American Institutions. Sumbul has been a Meiklejohn Advisor for the past three years, vice president of the Pakistani Students Association, community outreach chair of the South Asian Students Association, and a University-community partnership advisor at the Swearer Center for Public Service. She has served as a mentor for three years to over sixty students in Providence public schools and has worked to promote civic engagement in the schools by serving as a facilitator for both the District Wide Student Government and Generation Citizen. Sumbul is also the recipient of a White Internship Award, through which she pursued policy work in New York City. Following graduation, Sumbul will be working and attending law school in the future.

Anthony D. Staehelin is from Geneva, Switzerland and is receiving his degree in Political Science. Anthony has been involved in the Bruin Club for the past four years, participating in tours, high school networking and being vice president in his junior year. While coordinating A Day on College Hill (ADOCH), he launched a number of completely new programs and events and a computerized ADOCH registration system. For the past three years Anthony has dedicated himself to the Janus Forum, first as assistant director and, most recently, as executive director. Through the Janus Forum, Anthony has been instrumental in elevating the level of political discourse on campus by exposing students to different political perspectives and ideologies. Anthony has been a TA in the Economics Department for the last two years, was a columnist for the Brown Daily Herald, was treasurer of Sigma Chi, and has been involved in Brown theatre throughout his four years. Starting in August, Anthony will be a strategy analyst in Capital One’s Internal Consulting Group in McLean, Virginia.

Hillary Anderson: Brown Lacrosse team (4 years), recipient of the Royce Fellowship, started a new “Market Share Program” at the Brown Farmers’ Market while acting as a facilitator and organizer of the Sustainable Food Initiative, Meiklejohn advisor, volunteer at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, and Co-Chair of the Faculty-Liaison Program of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

Catherine Auriemma: Phi Beta Kappa (secretary), Brown Field Hockey Team (4 years), Meiklejohn advisor, WiSE mentor, volunteer at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, and National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Academic Squad. 

Darnell Fine: Writing Fellow, Minority Peer Counselor, a Minority Peer Counselor Coordinator, co-programmer for the Black Heritage Series, and a College Guidance Project Advisor through the City Brothers Program.

Seth Izen: founder of the Meditation Community at Brown, student advisor for independent concentrations, Meiklejohn Advisor, Online Media Transfer Counselor for Brown/RISD Hillel, Table Tennis Team, and Director of Media Relations and Webmaster for the Brown University Mediation Project.

Anna Levine: Campus Coordinator for Project HEALTH, Co-Chair of the Orientation Welcoming Committee, member of the Board of Trustees of Brown/RISD Hillel Foundation, and, and participant in the American Jewish World Service Alternative Break.

Yang Long: Minority Peer Counselor, MPC Coordinator, MPC Friend, Asian American Students Association (4 years), steering committee member for Asian/Asian American History Month, Bruin Club (3 years), Providence Science Outreach volunteer, and volunteer in the Rhode Island Hospital Pediatric HIV Clinic.

Cash McCracken: Student Activities Chair of the Undergraduate Council of Students, Chair of the Undergraduate Finance Board, Administrative Chair of the Brown Concert Agency, and head coordinator of the Brown Human Rights Film Festival.

Monica Pelayo: Semana Chicana programmer, Latino Programmer for the Office of Student Life, Community Assistant, ESOL tutor in Olneyville, College Guidance Mentor at Hope High School, and volunteer at Providence Children’s Museum.

Eric Rodriguez: Brown Outdoor Leadership Training program, Brown’s Peer HIV/AIDS & Sex Education program, and volunteer at the Swearer Center for Public Service. Eric served as an Army Reservist in the Iraq War during 2003-3004 and was attached to the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade and the 4th Infantry Division and during which time he was a part of humanitarian missions that the building of schools and clinics, and distributed school supplies.

Stephanie Syc: Co-Chair of the Orientation Welcoming Committee, Meiklejohn advisor, WiSE mentor, Brown Democrats, Varsity Equestrian Team, Brown University Orchestra, and safeWALK.

Hope Turner: coordinator for the Coalition Against Relationship Abuse, Women Students at Brown, programmer for Women’s History Month, Female Sexuality Workshop facilitator, housing coordinator for West House, publicity manager at the Hourglass Café and co-president of Brown’s Oxfam chapter, and facilitated the emergence of the Sustainable Gift Bazaar that is co-sponsored by Sarah Doyle and Oxfam