Alyssa Moncure

Alyssa Moncure is a first-year student from Kansas City in the FDDS program. Alyssa intends on majoring in Sociology and African American and African Diaspora studies. Alyssa's experiences with race, gender, class and sexuality have ignited their interest in critical race theory. But more importantly, in their passion for community organizing, they are concerned with bridging the theory of the ivory tower to the practice of movements on the streets. Alyssa is also interested in the violent structures that impact oppressed communities in the US and the world and resisting these structures by building alternatives through community organizing. In the future, Alyssa plans on either becoming a public sociologist and synthesizing academic language and theories for the people, and/or continuing with community organizing in the most appropriate role according to their skills.

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David Curtiss

David is a junior in the Communications, Law, Economics, and Government (CLEG) program in the School of Public Affairs. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. David currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for Building Hope Project, an international student sponsorship that serves underprivileged children in Uganda. Along with David's given interest in international development, David's passions also include restorative justice policy and international prison and policing reform. After graduating from law school, David hopes to start a fulfilling career in poverty reduction and criminal justice reform.

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Diego Aleman

Diego Aleman is a junior majoring in Sociology with a minor in Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences. Shaped by his life experiences in both Salt Lake City, Utah and South Texas, his passion lies in studying the experiences of Latino high school and college students, with a focus on the institutionalized racism they face in those educational settings. After graduation, he plans to continue his academic career to obtain his Ph.D and work as a professor, studying these same issues.

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Elliott Sanders

Elliott Sanders is a first year student from Ashburn, Va in the School of International Service. He is interested in facilitating conflict mitigation between Europe and the Middle East from a historically competent perspective, particularly surrounding the intersection of human rights and climate sustainability.

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Eric "EJ" Vignola

Eric Vignola is a senior double majoring in Sociology and Computer Science. He is from Sicklerville, New Jersey. Eric is head teacher in FotoSynthesis where he helps teach elementary and middle school students about culture through social media and technology. Eric also cares about education inequality. In the future, he hopes to combine the technical skills of computer science with the lens of Sociology in order to develop social impact video games. These video games would try and address the issues of education inequality as well as foster a greater interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among the youth.

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Genae Hatcher

Genae Hatcher is a first-year student from Harford County, Maryland. She is majoring in Sociology with a minor in French Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Genae is an activist with a passion for social justice and civil rights. After graduation, she plans to attend law school to become an international human rights lawyer with a regional focus in West Africa. Her long-term goal is to one day run for public office in the U.S.

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Hana Manadath

Hana Manadath is a first year student in the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars Program from Cary, North Carolina. She intends to major in Public Health. Hana's upbringing as a daughter of first generation immigrants from India galvanized her interest in refugee and migrant rights. Having traveled to India and Greece for service, Hana has a deep interest in developing impactful solutions for the poverty and discrimination marginalized communities face. In the future, Hana hopes to turn her passions into a career focused on mitigating healthcare disparities present in refugee and migrant communities.

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Indira Mohabeer

Indira Mohabeer is a first-year Scholar. She is originally from New York City, but her family recently relocated to Princeton, New Jersey. She intends on majoring in Justice and Law, in the School of Public Affairs. Indira has traveled and lived in many countries such as: Greece, London, Dubai, France, and Luxembourg. These cultural influences have encouraged Indira to become interested in the social, and psychological plights amongst human beings, especially when it comes to criminology. She intends to utilize the skills that she learns at American University, to analyze the patterns of unlawful behavior. After graduation, Indira plans to obtain a law degree and potentially work within the criminal justice system, as a criminal profiler.

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Isobel Araujo

Isobel Araujo is a junior majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Communications, and she intends to pursue a graduate degree in urban planning. Throughout her professional career, she hopes to push for sustainable urban policies that prioritize creative community engagement, aiming to mitigate climate change and foster social justice in our rapidly urbanizing world. Originally from Chicago, she wants to one day live abroad in a Latin American city before returning home and serving her community as an urban planner.

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Jessica Rothman

Jessica Rothman is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in public health and statistics. She grew up in Voorhees, New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia. Jessica serves as the Director of Operations for Fotosynthesis. In the future, she plans to pursue an MPH, and have a career in the fields of epidemiology and biostatistics.

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José Israel Cruz

José Israel Cruz is a sophomore majoring in Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences and minoring in Sustainability in the Kogod School of Business. He hails from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. J.I. cares deeply for the relationship between communities and their natural environments, and he has a heavy interest in exploring how socio-economic factors affect this relationship. Additionally, J.I. has a deep interest for local politics and its capacity to catalyze meaningful change. He hopes to foster and build Puerto Rico’s green economy through Research & Development in Materials Science and Energy, using the power of business and local governance to simultaneously bring economic progress and dramatically change how Puerto Rico’s urban communities impact their natural environment.

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Mehvish Jamal

Mehvish Jamal is a senior from Stony Brook, New York studying Economics with a minor in International Relations. She is passionate about using the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to address social and environmental injustices. Mehvish has had the opportunity to gain experience in the social innovation field through her work with the Case Foundation and MISFIT Juicery, and her participation in the Creative Minds Social Entrepreneurship Hackathon and the University College Dublin's Innovation Academy. Mehvish looks forward to re-launching the American University Social Enterprise Association (SEA) and co-leading an Alternative Break program focused on Race, Gender and Health Beyond Borders during her final undergraduate year before going on to continue her work with social enteprises.

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Nathnael Bulcho

Nathnael Bulcho is a senior in the Kogod School of Business. Nathnael’s family is originally from Ethiopia; he was born in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. and raised in Damascus, Maryland. He is majoring in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Finance and International Business. Nathnael has gained wide internship experiences, having worked in the KPMG London office with Lord Michael Hastings, as well as interning with General Electric’s Financial Management Program (FMP) in Atlanta, Georgia this past summer. He is passionate about corporate citizenship and finding ways to utilize public-private partnerships to better serve under-privileged and under-resourced communities. He hopes to parlay these experiences into a full-time position where he can work to utilize the power of business to promote social good.

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Sarah Everett

Sarah Everett is a sophomore student from Dripping Springs, Texas. They are double-majoring in Political Science and American Studies with a minor in Literature. Looking to the future, Sarah hopes to build a career that allows them to function as a conversation piece between non-profit advocacy groups and public officials, working to produce public policy that empowers LGBTQ+ citizens and expands civil rights.

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Shaan Chilukuri

Shaan Chilukuri is a sophomore double-majoring in Political Science and History and minoring in Economics. He grew up in Menlo Park, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is passionate about combining his fields of study and using historical analysis to bridge the gap between politics and policymaking and economic literacy. Most recently, he interned at the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

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Shyheim Snead

Shyheim Snead is a Junior studying Political Science and Education, with a concentration in policy and a certificate in Community-Based Research. Originally from Bridgeport, CT, Shyheim’s upbringing has led to an irrepressible spirit to holistically improve communities, support the most underperforming schools, and disrupt the impacts of intergenerational poverty. Shyheim is passionate about how institutions can best support the communities they serve, and has reflected this through his work as the Student Trustee, and through his experiences at the Mayor’s Office and DC Public Schools. His ultimate goals are the pursuit of graduate degrees in law and policy, and leading a life and career dedicated to public service.

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Sophia Vos

Sophia Celeste Vos is a sophomore in the School of International Service, with a minor in the Kogod School of Business. She is also pursuing a certificate in Community Based Research. Sophia was raised between Boston, MA and Central Mexico, which lead her to develop international interests in Human Rights and Latin America, especially related to migrants and refugees. Sophia is interested in using entrepreneurship and non-profit work to create social change to empower women and children. Sophia hopes to combine her domestic and international interests of meaningful inclusion of marginalized an disenfranchised populations into a career focusing on advocacy and social entrepreneurship.

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Winter Brooks

Winter Brooks is a junior from Detroit, MI in the Kogod School of Business majoring in business administration with concentrations in marketing and information systems/technology. During her time at AU, she has developed a passion for finding solutions to social issues, specifically economic disparities and educational inequality,using innovative technology.Winter is interested in pursing a career in the technology industry after graduation. On campus, Winter is a peer consultant in the Kogod Center for Business Communications, a Marketing teaching assistant, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. In the future,Winter hopes to use her interests in marketing and technology to pursue a career where she can empower people of color to start their own businesses.

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