2024/2025
Scholarship Recipients
Abdoulaye Sedego
This past year as a mentored researcher has been one of the most transformative experiences of my academic journey. Being part of this program not only allowed me to explore my passion for cybersecurity but also helped me grow intellectually, and personally. My research, titled
"Understanding Cybersecurity Threats: A Study on Vulnerability Management Practices," has served as a gateway into the complex, ever-evolving landscape of information security, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to deepen my knowledge in this area with the support of my mentor, Dr. Shweta Jain, and the community within the program. The community within the cohort has been a source of inspiration and motivation.
Alham Alkhatri
When I first started the research program, I was really excited to do my own project but I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to research. I had ideas but couldn’t figure out what topic would be meaningful enough for me to spend the whole year and maybe beyond. I remember sitting down with Bettina and the questions she asked helped me think more clearly. That conversation helped me come up
with a topic I truly cared about and also helped me find the right mentor. My research is focused on anti-hate crime policies and how well they protect Muslim women in New York City. I looked at how these policies work in real life, not just on paper. I wanted to see if people knew about the policies, whether they used them, and why or why not. This research helped me grow as a student, and it also helped me realize that I really want to be a lawyer who fights for people’s rights.
Boris Krakovskiy
Participating in the OSRC mentored research program has been a tremendous help to my academic and professional journey as a STEM student looking to work in the field of
toxicology. Through the program, I gained useful experience in working in a laboratory environment, specifically with the skill of cell culturing, which is a very beneficial skill to be proficient in for a toxicologist, or other scientist in a related discipline. The mentored
aspect of it made the experience an excellent introduction into the world of serious investigative research. In terms of struggles with other aspects of the program, such as occasional
unclearness or uncertainty on topics such as how to best present my work, meetings with Bettina Muenster, as well as the rest of the people in the OSRC such as my fellow researchers were a major help. During these meetings, I received plenty of valuable feedback on things such as my presentation and writing skills. It was really interesting to be able to exchange ideas with this community, as well as share our collective joys and frustrations about how our respective projects were
doing. I look forward to continue my research with the OSRC for a second year and plan to gather enough data to be able to present my research at the Society of Toxicology’s annual conference, which takes place on March 22-25 next year.
Christina Lama
Throughout this year-long research project, I was fortunate to have Professor Chelsea Binns as my mentor. She has been extremely helpful and supportive from the very beginning. Through her guidance, I learned so much about the fraud field, which was essential for building my understanding of the topic.
Throughout this experience, I learned the importance of having a clear structure and maintaining good time management habits. The sense of community within the cohort was important to me as well. Interacting with other students gave me insights into different presentation styles and research approaches. This
environment fostered a supportive network that made the research experience more enriching. The mentorship I received, the support of the cohort community, and the learning opportunities this program offered have all left a lasting impression on me as both a student and an aspiring professional. In summary, this research journey has been one of significant personal and academic growth. I am grateful for Professor Binns’s mentorship and the encouragement of my peers. I look forward to continuing my research, building on what I have learned, and exploring how AI and human
investigators can work together to improve fraud detection techniques. The experience has deepened my understanding of the fraud field and motivated me to pursue further study and research in this important area.
Erin Watkins
This past year has been a transformative period in my life, both personally and professionally. As a
student researcher under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic and the support of the Office of Student
Research and Creativity (OSRC), I embarked on a deeply meaningful project: unmasking grooming behaviors in child sexual abuse (CSA), particularly the often-overlooked tactics used by female perpetrators. Dr. Jeglic’s mentorship provided structure, expertise, and compassion.
Bettina and the OSRC team offered an incredible foundation of support
throughout the process. They provided not only logistical assistance but also emotional encouragement. Their willingness to meet students where they are—acknowledging the real-life challenges we may face—enabled meto continue engaging with my research, even during challenging moments. This experience has transcended the boundaries of a research project. It has been a transformative journey of growth, responsibility, and purpose. I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic for her unwavering mentorship and to the OSRC team, particularly Bettina, for creating a supportive environment that fostered both intellectual and personal growth. This work has solidified my commitment to addressing complex issues with clarity, compassion, and courage and
strengthened my resolve to pursue a career focused on advocacy, justice, and trauma-informed care. I am proud of my accomplishments and even more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.
Gian Kaur
I've been giving a lot of thought to how much this research experience has changed me both academically and personally as I come to the end of this school year. Through mentorship, thorough research, and crucial community support, my study on the intersectionality of sexual
assault in India and the obstacles faced by marginalized survivors in seeking justice has made
significant progress. I learned how to engage with people and speak in public via the presentation training and cohort meetings. My skills in public speaking, feedback acceptance, and script refinement were all improved through practice in front of an audience. The camaraderie fostered through thesemeetings was equally as significant. Learning about other people's initiatives, challenges, and achievements fostered a shared support environment that helped me stay focused throughout the year. My one-on-one interactions with BM and the staff were really beneficial to me as well. These sessions reminded me of the program's overall objectives, provided me with individualized support, and assisted in identifying and resolving problems with the scope and framework. Their support allowed me to overcome times of uncertainty and make course
adjustments as needed.
Imani Thomas
Over the past two years I have made significant progress toward my research goals. In collaboration with Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic, I conducted an extensive literature review to identify gaps in the existing knowledge base around grooming and childhood sexual abuse in sexual minority populations. I then used her current data which focused on survivors of CSA and examining grooming behaviors. Additionally, I was responsible for analyzing secondary data from LGBTQ+ individuals compared to heterosexual individuals.
Through this process, I gained
experience in data cleaning, statistical analysis, and qualitative interpretation. I was also able to learn how to use different figures and tables in order to interpret my data, and use qualitative
responses within my results to further amplify the voices of the survivors.
Ultimately, this research is more than a project—it’s a professional commitment. As a Black queer woman, I am driven by a desire to ensure that no survivor feels invisible. Through this work, I have learned to balance rigorous analysis with empathy, and I am continually inspired by the resilience of those whose stories I encounter.
Lisa Haye
My second year as an OSRC scholar encompassed mentorship under Prof. Lygia Sabbag-Fares, my inclusion in John Jay’s CIRE cohort, and a presentation in this year’s CURC conference, all while concluding my Bachelor’s degree in Economics. OSRC cohort meetings provide me an opportunity to learn how to tailor information for specific audiences; I am in awe at the work that each scholarship student does, and I learn so much about how each discipline influences their presentation styles and the kinds of information they choose to include in their projects. I hope my work can further the literature by introducing a new framework that combines two understood ideologies, eugenics and necropolitics, to look at how they specifically interact to affect the lives of Black women. Research is not research unless it considers how disciplines intersect at any given topic, and so I applaud how the interdisciplinary nature of the scholarship program seeps into how their projects are designed, the questions they consider, and the data they choose to illustrate to emphasize their findings. OSRC excels at welcoming and encouraging students to consider various lenses when they think about the design and impact of their work - their lived experiences, their communities, and their disciplines all mesh together so that research serves as the vehicle for their advocacy and justice-oriented passions.
Mya Levis
Looking back on this year, my research project has had a lot of ups and downs. I started with a clear goal: to get published. That hasn’t happened yet. At the same time, I can recognize that the project has improved. The scope is broader, the argument is stronger, and I’ve done more with it than I originally planned. Originally, my research focused mainly on misinformation around immigration. Now, it includes other case studies, such as anti-LGBTQ+ policies and election outcomes, which helped to create a wider lens on how misinformation operates in different social contexts. This expansion allowed me to draw connections across fields like political science, media studies, sociology, and psychology. I think that an interdisciplinary approach is where my project contributes sounique. Rather than just focusing on one aspect of the problem, I’ve tried to show how misinformation emerges from a combination of political, cultural, and technological factors. Looking ahead to my second year in the OSRC, I’m now thinking about how to expand the work in a new direction. Specifically, I want to start collecting my own data through surveys of young people in areas with and without book bans. I’m curious about how those different environments affect the way kids think about truth, censorship, and misinformation.
Patricia St. Fleur
As a second-year OSRC scholar, I can reflect on my experience and my research project, as well as the assistance I got from my mentor and the OSRC staff. This program not only helped me advance intellectually and professionally, but it also increased my awareness of the difficulties of race, trust, and healthcare. Most significantly, it allowed me to contribute to a cause that I am really passionate about: enhancing patient-physician relationships, particularly in
historically underserved populations. Dr. Wout, my faculty adviser, provided me with guidance throughout the year. As a biology major I did not have a psychological background. However, Dr. Wout's encouragement and direction was amazing. He was patient, always clarified ideas I didn't understand, and helped me transition into a project based on social psychology rather than hard sciences. He was generous with his time and skills, and his support gave me the courage to explore a topic of personal and academic significance. His guidance was important in
transforming the research from a vague concept to a well-structured and useful study. I am very happy to see our idea come to life.
Tania Jahanpanah
I am especially grateful to my mentor, who dedicated so‬ much time to checking in, offering support, and providing thoughtful feedback. Everything I‬ have learned through this process will stay with me as I head into my final semester and prepare‬ for my capstone course this fall.‬ At times, I felt stuck and unsure of how to move forward with my project. Speaking with BM‬ was incredibly helpful, she provided the guidance I needed to gain clarity and direction. She also helped me move beyond simply thinking about my ideas to actually putting them down on paper.‬ While that may seem like a small step, it was a turning point that helped me better understand‬ my thought process and recognize how I could continue developing the project, even when I felt‬ overwhelmed or uncertain.‬
Terry Holman
I first met Dr. Strange during my first semester when I took her Cognitive Psychology class. She was actually the person to push me to apply to this program with her as my mentor, as she has previously been involved. I’ve benefited in so many different ways with her as my mentor. I feel
that through this program, I was able to improve my relationship with her and get the opportunity to work with her and her students. I was also introduced to the reality of psychology research, as it can be extremely frustrating. With her guidance, I’ve learned how to make a proper PowerPoint presentation as well as a poster. I was also very proud of my first PowerPoint presentation, as it was centered around a psychology research-based talk.
Tiffany Andrea Rodríguez
To be able to have pursued a project like this was one of the most gratifying experiences up to date. Every time I was asked about the research project, I would mention it was more of a passion project than a work project. The cohort community was extremely supportive and helpful to me. I made friends with 3 other students and looked to them for advice and support. They were always available to talk about anything project wise and were great listeners. This work helped me understand my culture and my identity more. As you may remember, the question “Where am I from” was one that I really struggled with. To do this project for my second year allowed me to find the answer to the question that plagued me for so long. I am from both. A product, a child, a fighter for both. If there are other students and researchers that have similar questions they should be given the opportunity to figure this out on their own.
