Archived Program | Undergraduate Cohort V

Jeremiah Baldwin is a triple major in government, rhetoric and writing, and African and African diaspora studies, with minors in LGBTQ/sexuality studies and educational psychology. His research interests include using an intersectional framework to understand the multidimensional identities of Black queer communities. Outside of being a Mellon ESI Fellow, Jeremiah is actively involved in various capacities here at The University of Texas at Austin. Currently, he contributes to the Liberal Arts Honors Program as a Teaching Fellow for the program's signature research-based honors course. He has further contributed to our university as a campus tour guide and as an elected representative in The University of Texas at Austin Student Government. After graduation, Jeremiah plans to become a practicing civil rights lawyer who equips marginalized communities with legal resources to challenge oppressive structures. Through the ESI program, Jeremiah plans to use an intersectional framework to organize a community-wide event that destigmatizes and raises awareness on HIV/AIDS.

María Beusterien Pereira is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, pursuing a degree in International Relations and Global Studies and Spanish, with a minor in Portuguese. María has spent 2022 studying abroad in Brazil, where she pursued both language and culture courses and an internship at an NGO called Ibase (the Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis) that allowed her to work closely with a research team seeking to map inequalities in favela communities. Her experience was formative to her research interests and career goals, and she hopes to expand upon some of the research methodologies that she learned through her upcoming Mellon fellowship. As part of her research for this fellowship, María will get into contact with refugees housed in Casa Marianella in order to replicate some of the qualitative data collection methods that she has been using on-site in Brazil. María’s research interests include Latin American and Lusophone Studies, Subalternativity, Urban studies, Environmentalism/Sustainability, and Ecofeminism, among several other subjects. María’s graduate plans include expanding her research through a PhD program, as well as going into human-rights focused policy work.

Serline Coelho is a fourth-year, first-generation student pursuing a degree in Psychology with Honors and a certificate in Forensic Science. Her research interests encompass the field of cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology, and she focuses on investigating neural mechanisms that empower learning throughout childhood and adolescence. From a broad perspective, Serline’s main goal is to examine the brain-behavior relationship and find practical ways through which neuroscience can support those who experience socioeconomic and mental health challenges. For her ESI capstone project, she plans to organize an engaging event to promote learning in the local community. She will accomplish this by implementing interventions from the field of Positive Psychology to engage those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds especially. Serline hopes to translate empirically supported methods into enriched experiences that support the community's educational development through literacy skills and engagement with science.

Celeste Gonzalez Osorio is a first generation fourth year International Relations major with a minor in Korean and is Pre-Medical. Her interests include neurodegeneration, writing, and wrestling. She is passionate about serving underserved communities and enjoys volunteering as a medical assistant (MA) at Hope Medical Clinic. As a volunteer MA Celeste is able to interact with people of various backgrounds and is able to put her multilingual skills to use. She hopes to produce research that helps underserved communities attain comprehensive healthcare. 

Ariana Guerrero, better known as Ari, is a first-generation, third-year student, at the University of Texas at Austin, double majoring in International Relations and Global Studies and Race, Indigenous, and Migration studies with minors in Spanish and Portuguese along with a Human Rights and Social Justice Bridging Disciplines Certificate. Ariana wants to focus her research on human rights abuses, immigration policies, and discrepancies inside the U.S. immigration system. She hopes to specifically explore the experiences and testimonies of undocumented migrants as they enter the workforce inside the U.S. Ariana aims to depict different patterns inside the undocumented community and how labor law exclusions and mistreatments impact not only the daily lives of migrants but the lives of their families economically and emotionally as well. Through this community-based research in conjunction with non-profits around Texas, Ariana hopes to bring consciousness and activism to the undocumented experience and to the ignored issues around it, such as the human rights abuses happening domestically. She strongly believes in education through reformation, and her ultimate goal is to aid in a much-needed, unbiased, proactive immigration reform. Outside of ESI, Ariana is a Rapoport Scholar, and one of the newest members of the Texas Orange Jackets service-spirit organization. Ari has devoted her time and focused her community service work inside non-profits that are working to promote, protect and advocate for migrant rights such as the ACLU of Texas and La Union Del Pueblo Entero.

Kumail Syed Imam is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Plan II Honors, with a minor in Persian. Kumail's research interests lie in the field of South Asian history and refugee health. For his honors thesis, he will analyze data obtained from the Government of Pakistan about the health status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He seeks to explore the Afghan refugee experience through an oral history project, preserving their stories and documenting the impact of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, which he hopes will contribute to improving refugee health policy. He seeks to also explore the long-term effects of British colonialism and its policies on the South Asian population, which he hopes will elucidate the impact of starvation and famine on South Asian health. 

Zachary Kenny is a third-year, first-generation student pursuing a double major in Psychology and Humanities Honors, and a certificate in the Bridging Disciplines: Patients, Practitioners, & Cultures of Care track. He is an active member of multiple on-campus organizations including Humanities Student Council, Students for Planned Parenthood, The Black, Queer, & Trans Collective, and DIVE in Psychology. He also works part-time as a Mental Health Technician at a psychiatric treatment facility in South Austin. Zachary's primary research interests are centered on understanding how racial imagery and racial judgment predicate associations between race and crime. Particularly, he is interested in examining psychopathology and neurobiological trauma in incarcerated populations, with the ultimate goal of designing novel interventions to reduce disparities existing within the domains of public healthcare and criminal justice. After graduating, he plans to obtain a PhD in clinical psychology and dedicate his career to conducting research and advocacy work for underserved communities.

Mahitha (Mahi) Kovvuru is a third year Neuroscience and Humanities Honors double major on a pre-medicine track. Her interests include medicine, public health, and medical equality as well as domestic violence and stigmas in the south-asian community. She is currently in the Junior Fellows Program where she is researching how different underlying nuances such as colonialism, difference in practices, and cultural variation can impact how prevalent partner violence is in different regions of India. She hopes this research could help Indian women feel heard and help inform women’s rights groups. Through ESI she hopes to help make the voices of South Asian survivors of domestic violence in the US heard. After graduation she intends to pursue a career in medicine in order to advocate for women of color.

Oscar Armando Lopez III is a Government and Business Honors student at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2019, he was named a Google Public Policy Fellow where he worked with Public Knowledge and the National Hispanic Media Coalition on issues concerning broadband access, data privacy, and net neutrality. In 2020, Oscar worked as a Policy Fellow with Next Century Cities where he researched the effects of the digital divide on low-income and marginalized communities. While in Washington DC as a spring 2022 Archer Fellow, Oscar worked on federal climate policy as a White House Council on Environmental Quality intern. Oscar has spoken about the digital divide at the Opportunities for Bipartisan Tech Policy Conference in Washington DC and the TEDxUT Austin Conference. He is a recipient of the Texas Exes President’s Leadership Award and the Sharon H. Justice Leadership Scholarship and is a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. A native of Laredo, Texas, Oscar is proud to be a South Texas fronterizo. 

Bibi Macias is a third year first-generation double majoring in Economics and Sustainability Studies with a minor in Mexican American and Latino/a Studies born and raised in Austin, TX. Her personal and academic interests include creating more sustainable and equitable practices in all processes and stops in food production as well as understanding food justice as a reparative method for folks suffering the effects of climate change. Having grown up in the dynamic Austin restaurant industry with a love for dining out, she is impassioned by the community and growth experienced through the sharing of food and uplifting the voices of everyone involved in the foodservice trade. Through the Engaged Scholar Initiative, she looks forward to focusing her research on Latinx immigrant sustainable practices related to waste management and creating a culturally relevant bilingual waste sorting educational program. Ultimately, she hopes her work will help to shed light on underrepresented groups’ environmental work to create a more balanced discussion around implementing sustainability aids to address climate concerns. Her graduation plans include attending a Masters program in Sustainability with a focus on environmental justice and to continue to work and research varied sustainable efforts to apply throughout the world’s food chain.

Safa Michigan is a senior undergraduate pursuing majors in Race, Indigeneity, and Migration and Plan II Honors, a minor in History, and a certificate in Human Rights and Social Justice. Her academic and research interests center the effects of colonization and racialization in relation to migration and refugee flows, urbanization and gentrification, mass incarceration and policing, foster care and child welfare, and climate and environmental justice. Outside of this program, she works as a student journalist, creative writer, and editor, and she has interned with both a post-incarceration reentry and a Bangladeshi interest non-profit. Through ESI, she will either be researching the experiences of those who moved to Houston from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, or expanding the thesis she is working on through the Plan II program. This thesis seeks to trouble mainstream narratives around the relationships between addiction, criminality, incarceration, social services, foster care, and adoption. Her central research question will investigate to what degree federal adoption incentives are driving family separation—i.e. placing foster children into adoption without allowing mothers and families (mostly of color) a fair chance at family reunification—in the states of Texas and California, and precisely how racialized histories of the criminalization of addiction are inextricable from this phenomenon. 

Pritika Paramasivam is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, pursuing degrees in Health and Society & Neuroscience and a certificate in Asian American Identity and Reproductive Justice. Broadly, her research centers community voices and solutions for health and healthcare. Specifically, she focuses on reproductive justice solutions for the South Asian and immigrant community. Outside of Mellon ESI, Pritika has traveled to the United Kingdom to research the BIPOC student experience through the President's Award for Global Learning and is currently developing a zine as a reflection on mental health, collective care, and hair. Through ESI, she hopes to understand the labor experience of South Asian migrant nurses during COVID 19. After graduating, she aspires to work in community and population health initiatives prior to pursuing medical school. Ultimately, Pritika's research and future goals are grounded in community and reimagining health.

Kimia Pourebrahim is a third-year undergraduate Biology and Humanities Honors double major at the University of Texas at Austin. As a first-generation Iranian immigrant in Belgium and the United States, Kimia is committed to using research and advocacy to better serve migrant communities. Her scholarly interest is centered on the intersection of medical anthropology, immigration, and health policy, specifically for immigrants of middle eastern backgrounds. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Kimia intends to continue her research in this field and attend medical school. Through the Engaged Scholar Initiative, Kimia aims to implement community-based research to truly understand immigration as a social determinant of health. She hopes her research will help catalyze change in attitudes toward immigrant populations and improve integration of immigrants in healthcare systems of the U.S. and Europe. Outside of her scholarly interests, Kimia serves as a leader at the C.D. Doyle free clinic associated with Dell Medical School, volunteers to support Iranian orphans through Golestan Foundation, and recently completed a 4,000-mile charity bike ride from Austin, TX to Anchorage, AK with Texas 4000 for Cancer. Kimia aspires to use her life experiences and research to prepare for a future as a leader and advocate in medicine and immigrant rights.

Dona Ravandi is a second-year Longhorn, double-majoring in English Honors and Public Health. Her research interests stem from her compassion for addressing communities that have historically been neglected. Through the Mellon Engaged Scholar Initiative, Dona will collaborate with the recent immigrants of Afghanistan to help improve markers of physical and mental health, especially among youth. Currently, she tutors Afghan elementary students through Students Expanding Austin Literacy to improve their English language skills. Such volunteer work has revealed the health inequities present within this Austin community, and Dona hopes to not only promote resources but also be an advocate for their success. Those that have been wrongfully casted as second-hand concerns can rise to be respectfully acknowledged through community-driven research, which is why the Initiative can propel her goals of eliminating health disparities. Serving the underserved allows for the advancement of equity and as a Fellow, Dona strives to amplify voices by bridging the gap in healthcare among immigrants.

Carolina Vela-Aragón is a fourth-year first-generation undergraduate student, majoring in History with a minor in American Studies. Vela-Aragón’s past research has centered on cultural studies, national identity, geographies & technologies of displacement, and under-told histories in both Mexico and the United States. Through ESI, they hope to explore alternative methods and pedagogies of communication and education to better work alongside communities towards an inclusive future for all. As a lifelong student, Vela-Aragón hopes to continue learning and growing alongside their beloved hometown of Laredo, Texas as a community educator.