Giumette awards granted to 11 college students
From left to proper: Isabella Doulas, Ashna Kelkar, Jolie Black, Roshni Ray, Tanner Eustace, Sahil Muthuswami, Norah Khadraoui, all members of the category of 2024 and recipients of the Giumette Educational Achievement Award.
Might 11, 2022
Late final month, 11 college students celebrated receiving the the Giumette Educational Achievement Award (GAAA), which is able to present them with $5,000 every semester for his or her remaining two years at Brandeis.
The GAAA acknowledges presently enrolled sophomores who’ve distinguished themselves and made a major contribution to the group throughout their first two years at Brandeis. The award, which started in 2004 because the Brandeis Educational Achievement Award, was renamed in 2015 in honor of Peter Giumette P ’03, who served because the Dean of Scholar Monetary Providers for over 20 years and who had a deep dedication to growing entry to instructional alternatives for first-generation and low-income college students. The aim of the award is to acknowledge excellent scholarship and educational achievement as evidenced by grades, school suggestions, and private accomplishment.
Floriesha Bastien is a first-generation school pupil, double majoring in sociology and Crucial Media and Cultural Research (IIM). Floriesha is obsessed with studying about why society capabilities the way in which it does and needs to use sociological theories to her IIM research. Her IIM in Crucial Media and Cultural Research represents Floriesha’s curiosity in digital media and mass communication. She additionally felt it was essential to seize the methods during which race and racism affect the media world. Along with her majors, Floriesha additionally plans to minor in Psychology. She is presently on BASO’s (Brandeis African Scholar Group) e-board as their communication coordinator. In BASO, Floriesha is ready to discover and domesticate group. Most significantly, she is obsessed with youth empowerment. For that purpose, she determined to turn into an SSSP peer mentor and has stayed engaged together with her highschool by serving as a useful resource for highschool college students in her group.
Jolie Black is double majoring in Well being: Science, Society, and Coverage and psychology, a mix that permits her to pursue her curiosity in social and behavioral well being sciences, well being psychology, and public well being coverage. She is from New Jersey and was raised in a Russian-speaking household. Jolie works on-campus as a analysis assistant on the CasaLab for the Heller College, a well being coverage lab, and on the Reminiscence and Cognition lab within the psychology division. Off-campus, she is the senior intern at Cease TB USA, a home tuberculosis advocacy group, and is a determine skating coach. Her love for studying utilized quantitative strategies and knowledge evaluation leads her to take several types of statistics programs. As Jolie was homeschooled in highschool, she considers her hands-on experiences outdoors of the classroom an integral a part of her educational training and expertise and constantly seeks alternatives for work that complement the fabric taught within the classroom. Jolie can be the treasurer and rising president of the Brandeis Skating Membership and is working instantly with Ukrainian refugees globally to offer assist for emigration, job purposes, discovering housing, acquiring medical insurance coverage and care, enrolling in faculties, studying English, and every other assist households would possibly want.
Isabella Doulas intends to double main in Well being Science, Society, and Coverage and biology with a enterprise minor. She is a Bridge to Wellness Peer Well being Educator and established Brandeis College’s Dental Brigades chapter that serves in partnership with the nonprofit group World Brigades, the place she is presently organizing an upcoming dental service journey to Panama scheduled for January 2023. Final February, Bella and her staff partnered with Waltham Partnership for Youth to design a specialised media platform, Circles, to attach native youth to sources and academic alternatives, which received the Non-Technical Sport Changer Award as a part of DeisHacks 2022. At Brandeis, she is a Brandeis Beacon and likes to spend her spare time within the MakerLab the place she prints and assembles 3-D printed prosthetic palms for kids as a member of the Prosthesis Membership.
Tanner Eustace is pursuing a double main in biology and Well being: Science, Society, and Coverage, in addition to a minor in psychology. He enjoys working as a Supplemental Instruction Chief for Normal Chemistry, the place he creates actions for the scholars to interact in a collaborative studying surroundings, together with Jeopardy-style assessment video games. He additionally works as a Delight Rep on the Gender and Sexuality Heart, advocating for fairness in STEM, and he completely loves taking part in percussion in three musical ensembles on campus: Wind Ensemble, which performs quite a lot of genres; MAD Band, a student-run pep band that performs at varied Brandeis occasions; and High Rating, a student-run group that focuses on film and musical soundtracks, during which Tanner not too long ago turned a conductor. When he can, Tanner additionally enjoys going to Quiz Bowl apply, placing his trivia abilities to the check.
Ashna Kelkar is double-majoring in Well being: Science, Society, and Coverage and enterprise. At Brandeis, she serves on the EBoard of the Scholar Union because the Govt Senator and the Interim Vice President. On this function, she goals to attach college students to administration and be an advocate for her friends, in hopes of creating an actual and significant change on campus. She can be a coordinator for the Waltham Group “Advocates for Group Transformation” the place she works in partnership with an area Waltham group referred to as Watch CDC to advocate for varied points on and off campus. Lastly, Ashna presently serves as a Group Engagement Ambassador for the Division of Group Service, the place she works on campus outreach and advertising alternatives supplied by the division. Ashna’s overarching objective inside all her positions is to function a liaison and voice college students’ issues to proceed making our college an excellent higher place to be!
Norah Khadraoui is a present sophomore and MLK Fellow majoring in sociology and minoring in authorized research, Social Justice and Social Coverage, and studio artwork. She is co-president of the Girls of Coloration Alliance (WOCA) and is concerned in The Proper to Immigration Institute (TRII) which gives pro-bono authorized illustration to immigrants within the Waltham space. Presently, Norah is engaged on a mural for PARC and GSC that facilities round individuals of colour and the communities she belongs to. With this mission Norah actually needed to rejoice the group she had discovered right here at Brandeis.
Sahil Muthuswami is majoring in biology with a minor in Well being: Science, Society, and Coverage, which permits him to look at overlapping variables that have an effect on well being outcomes. Sahil is actively concerned on the Brandeis campus as a Senator within the Brandeis Scholar Union and on the E-board of the South Asian Scholar Affiliation. Previous to attending Brandeis, Sahil voiced youth issues as a pacesetter of Brave Conversations and College students In opposition to Harmful Choices. Now, as a volunteer within the Waltham Group’s Children Connection and Advocates For Well being, he can hook up with the higher Waltham inhabitants by offering sources to youth teams. Sahil has been impressed by the robust analysis tradition at Brandeis and will probably be increasing his ardour for scientific discovery over the summer time as a biomedical analysis intern on the College of Pennsylvania. Exterior of the classroom, Sahil enjoys portray, taking part in tennis, working, and touring every time the chance arises.
Roshni Ray is a member of the Quantitative Biology Analysis Group honors program learning neuroscience and pc science. On the Paradis Lab, she makes use of molecular biology methods to review the mechanisms of inhibitory and excitatory synapse formation. It has been tremendously thrilling to discover developmental neurobiology and conduct analysis with purposes in neurological issues reminiscent of epilepsy. Exterior of the lab, Roshni writes for The Hoot, the place she covers campus information. Having had rewarding educational experiences at Brandeis, she is motivated to assist different college students by way of mentorship as a Neuroscience Undergraduate Departmental Consultant. Roshni’s future objectives embrace conducting neurobiology analysis, participating in science entrepreneurship, and creating enriching science training sources.
Scarlett (Tong) Ren is a global midyear pupil, majoring within the Worldwide and World Research Program and minoring in journalism. Born and raised in Shanghai, China, she studied overseas alone beginning on the age of 11 in Seattle, WA. Her humanities and social science pursuits span throughout spiritual research, anthropology, and philosophy whereas sustaining a aggressive GPA. She is closely concerned in campus initiatives and occasion planning as an E-Board director of the Scholar Union, Brandeis Chinese language Cultural Connection (BC3), and TEDXBrandeis. As well as, she serves as an admissions ambassador, alumni weekend pupil coordinator, and a mission join facilitator to make the most of campus sources and connections to bridge and supply for home and worldwide college students. Scarlett writes for the campus newspaper The Hoot, performs on the membership tennis staff, and will probably be learning on the Nationwide College of Singapore subsequent spring, additional embarking on her journey as a worldwide citizen.
Noah Risley is an Worldwide and World Research Program and comparative literature double main and a authorized research minor. In case you may assist Noah decide a second minor, they’d vastly admire it. They’re initially from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and love to speak in regards to the South with anybody that can hear. On campus, they have been concerned with the Brandeis Democrats, the Scholar Union, the Brandeis Legislation Journal, and helped to refound Brandeis Mannequin United Nations, the place they’re presently working to create a convention for prime schoolers referred to as DeisMUN. They’re additionally a Analysis Assistant for Professor Kerry Chase, the place they’re serving to him assess how america has “named and shamed” genocides and mass atrocities, and beforehand helped him discover movies for his POL15A class which made worldwide relations really feel actual for college students. Exterior of extracurriculars, Noah’s favourite spot on campus is Dunkin’.
Logan Shanks is a Posse Atlanta Scholar who majors in African and African American Research and English, with an curiosity within the Sexuality and Queer Research Program. Logan’s work enhances the locations the place Black individuals spend most of their time and vitality by creating genuine areas for group members to interact with their histories, cultural nuance, and aesthetics by way of extra intentional means. Logan has finished this by way of her “Dismantling White Patriarchy” lecture and The Sesa Wo Suban Undertaking, a group service mission that serves Black College students in Atlanta by remodeling at-risk college students into brokers of change who push for liberation of their communities. Presently, by way of her “Exploring Black Intimate Dwellings: Black Bookstore,” she is exploring how Black bookstores are areas of liberation for the Black group. Logan defines herself as a “Black feminist curator” who demystifies conventional “educational” understandings of blackness by pairing Black theoretical data with on a regular basis, acquainted encounters of Black tradition and artwork to create areas the place Black methods of figuring out are validated and elevated.
