2024 Summer Fellows

Shaniqua Easter

Shaniqua (she/her) is a third-year psychology student at the University of Houston-Victoria, where she has maintained a 3.6 GPA and has been named to the Dean's List. Driven by a passion for helping disadvantaged children access essential mental health services, Shaniqua chose to major in Psychology with the goal of one day opening her own clinical practice. Beyond the classroom, Shaniqua is an active member of her campus community. She serves as the Vice President of the university's Rotaract Club and is also a member of the Association of Psychology and Psychobiology (APP). Shaniqua has volunteered extensively with local organizations such as Keep Victoria Beautiful, Pain & Purpose, and JP's Market, demonstrating her commitment to making a tangible difference in her community. After completing her bachelor's degree, Shaniqua plans to pursue a master's in clinical psychology, furthering her ambition to become a psychological practitioner dedicated to serving underserved youth. With her strong academic record, leadership experience, and social impact initiatives, Shaniqua is poised to be a powerful advocate for mental health equity and positive change.

Sumaya Fawaz

Sumaya is a rising junior and Richmond Scholar at the University of Richmond in Virginia. She is majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in politics and governance and minoring in Sociology. In the past, Sumaya has completed a research project where she investigated inequities in the healthcare system based on race and socioeconomic status and how that impacts patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Additionally, in her sophomore year of college, she and her classmate examined how the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip is both a humanitarian crisis and a climate crisis, which perpetuates the oppression of Palestinians in the enclave. For the last two years, Sumaya has been an intern at the County Manager’s Office in Henrico County, Virginia. Throughout her internship, Sumaya examined changing demographics, the importance of diversity in education, and the disproportionality of school violence. She also got to play a role in developing projects for recreation centers and the renovation and rebuilding of county schools, specifically in marginalized communities, and she led a county-wide reforestation project. After graduation, Sumaya intends to pursue graduate school for education and public administration.

Payton Garcia

Payton is a rising sophomore from Chicago Illinois. His future academic plans include earning a Ph.D. in economics at Howard University. Payton is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow as well as a member of the Humanities and Social Sciences Scholars Program at his college. He is currently interested in researching urban planning and community development specifically in regard to black communities across the U.S.

Daniela Iturrino

Daniela is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM), pursuing a major in Political Science with a Curricular Sequence in International Relations. Daniela possesses a keen interest in gender studies, international affairs, and comparative politics. Currently, she is engaged in independent research focusing on the state's response to gender-based violence. In addition to her academic pursuits, Daniela has gained valuable research experience through projects such as studying political behavior in Puerto Rico's western municipalities and contributing to a mixed-methods investigation for the Puerto Rico Seismic Network. Furthermore, she has complemented her studies by participating as an international exchange student at the "Universidad Complutense de Madrid" in Spain and actively participating in various student organizations and bodies at the University of Puerto Rico. She aspires to pursue further graduate studies in International Affairs and Gender Rights, and ultimately aims to earn a Juris Doctor degree.

Pedro Lacerda

Pedro (he/they) is a rising junior at Hamilton College. Pedro majors in Anthropology and World Politics, emphasizing Latin America in his studies. On-campus, Pedro is involved with Hamilton's Black and Latine Student Union (BLSU), and Hamilton's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Pedro hopes to continue his previous research on Latin American feminisms, as well as violence against women in Latin America. Pedro is interested in globalization, ethnography, Latin American politics, militarism, political anthropology, migration and asylum, decolonization, race and racism, queering, and women-of-color/decolonial feminisms. Pedro hopes to attain a PhD in Anthropology or Political Science.

Sim Low

Sim (she/they) is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. She majored in Public Health and minored in Black Studies. During her time at JHU, Sim was president of the Debate Council while coaching high school students at Georgetown Day School. She is passionate about educating high school students on critical theory and increasing competitive access to debate for minority students, so she founded the Asian Debate Collective. Sim started her research experience in high school at Portland State University's Criminal Justice Department where she studied the impact of social networks on DUIs. At JHU, she worked on several research projects, her latest being on the Culion Leper Colony during the American occupation of the Philippines. Sim's research has been accepted to numerous conferences, including the Association for Asian American Studies annual conference. She has also been awarded the Provost's Undergraduate Research Award from JHU. Though Sim has many research interests, some of her more recent curiosities are the relationship between public health and empire, abolition, transnational solidarity and liberation movements, liberation theology, and transnational Asian American Studies.

Joana Ortiz

Joana (ella/she/her) is an undergraduate student at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. She is double majoring in Sociology and Political Science and is interested in researching colonization and self-determination processes, social and political identities, mobilization, epistemology and agnotology, and public opinion. She completed a summer internship at the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Agency (AAFAF), where she learned about the government’s organization and operation under the PROMESA Act, working at the Public Affairs and Communications Office and writing for the Intern AAFAF News newsletter. She has been a member of various student organizations, including the UPRCa’s Choir, where she served as the leader of the Soprano section, the UPRRP’s Abanderadas (color guard flag team), as well as the Puerto Rican Association of Political Science Students (APECIPO). Presently, she’s learning bomba, a Puerto Rican folkloric music and dance of African heritage of great cultural and political importance, through which she would like to promote inclusion, diversity and solidarity. She wants to pursue a master’s degree in Public Administration and a PhD. in Sociology, and aspires to be a researcher, focusing in public policy, its efficacy and its impact on society.

Kylah Rainey

Kylah is a graduating senior at Clemson University, where she is majoring in Sociology with an emphasis in Community Studies and a minor in Psychology. She graduated from high school in 2022 while also receiving her Associate's Degree in Theatre Arts. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society and acts as Director of Public Relations for Clemson's Black Student Union. Rainey's areas of interest include social theory, social justice mobilization, gender studies, racial inequity, and outcomes of economic disparities. She has conducted research on social media mobilization from various SMOs and has investigated environmental crimes to analyze their proximity to disenfranchised communities. She has completed an internship acting as a Curriculum Development Strategist for Verbalizing Visions, LLC, an Educational Consulting firm. Her experiences as a Black woman in rural America have led her to strive for progressive change in the socio-political arena, especially in areas of education, politics, and cultural norms. Through her research, she hopes to develop evidence-based strategies for policy change and social advocacy mobilization. In the Fall of 2024, Rainey will attend Graduate School to broaden her horizons in the field of social research.

Debanhi Rojas

Debanhi (she/her) is a junior at the University of California, Riverside majoring in Political Science International Affairs and minoring in Spanish. At UCR, Debanhi has been actively engaged in research, as she has participated in the Minority Serving Institution Research Academy, granted by the National Science Foundation. MSIRA offers undergraduate students hands-on training in how to do research. Currently, she is a research assistant, working directly with political science Professor Kim Y Dionne in studies relating to African Politics. Debanhi’s research interests include political psychology, political leaders, and democratic legitimacy within Latin America. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a PhD in Political Science to become, both, a professor and researcher.