16
2023/2024 OSRC Scholarship Recipients
01
Undergraduate
Achraf Abouras
Achraf Abouras is an Arab-American veteran majoring in psychology and minoring in philosophy. He is determined to obtain his Ph.D. in clinical psychology as he has observed and pondered about individuals’ maladaptive behaviors that are driven by emotions and cognition.
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Achraf research with Dr. Gottdiener will be focused on understanding the different adaptations of immigrant adolescents when facing cultural identity confusion.
Daven Asafo-Agyei
Daven Asafo-Agyei is a first-generation student, a current senior pursuing a CUNY BA degree in Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Human Ecology and Planetary Management.
Daven will be conducting research with Dr. Jessica Gordan Nembhard, where he focuses on providing lawmakers with potential informal techniques that are easy and accessible to ordinary individuals to ensure a just transition for sustainable development in environmental justice communities of concern.
02
Undergraduate
03
Graduate
Eliza Popa
Eliza Popa is a Graduate Student in the Forensic Mental Health Counseling program. Eliza’s clinical and research experiences within the field thus far have focused on psych endocrinology, prenatal stress, aggression, victimology, and psychosexual pathology.
Eliza will continue working with her mentor, Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic, to analyze dominance behavior subtypes’ (Authoritativeness, Restrictiveness, Disparagement) current relevance to sex roles and sexual dimorphism.
Emma Collie
Emma Collie is a second-year master’s student in the Forensic Psychology program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Currently, she is completing the dual thesis-externship track. For her externship, Emma works as a Family Service Intern with Geo Group, where she provides counseling services to offenders in a re-entry facility.
Emma’s thesis and OSRC mentor is Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic. Under Dr. Jeglic’s supervision, Emma seeks to describe the nature and prevalence of noncontact offenses by examining prior and current charges. Emma will also assess the progression of noncontact to contact crimes and investigate the differences between noncontact and contact offenders.
04
Graduate
05
Undergraduate
Imani Thomas
Imani Thomas is a first-generation undergraduate junior majoring in forensic psychology with a minor in Africana studies. Imani aspires to achieve a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and continue her research in sexual violence and abuse.
Imani will be under the advisement of Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic. She will be conducting research where she will examine the characteristics of LGBTQIA+ individuals who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). In examining these characteristics, she will analyze the characteristics of the perpetrator, the abuse itself, and the relationship between perpetrator and survivor.
Kaylee Rodriguez
Kaylee Rodriguez is a senior majoring in forensic science with a concentration in molecular biology. After graduation, Kaylee intends to attend medical school in pursuit of a career in forensic pathology.
Working with Dr. Anthony Carpi, Kaylee will be researching mercury concentration levels in the soil and the different factors contributing to the increase of mercury fluxes.
06
Undergraduate
07
Undergraduate
Lisa Haye
Lisa Haye is a senior at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, majoring in economics with a minor in computer science. She is also currently a research and administrative assistant at the Office for Student Research & Creativity. Ultimately, Lisa aspires to go to graduate school to continue conducting research.
Under the mentorship of Professor David Munns, Lisa’s research will investigate how the economics of eugenic measures was determined during the eugenics movement, how the ethics behind applying economic rationalizations on poorer classes were formed, and whether laissez-faire economics essentially endorses the elimination of those who pose as economic costs to society.
Melitta Oppenheim
Melitta Oppenheim is a BA/MA student in her junior year majoring in forensic psychology and minoring in biology and chemistry.
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Under the guidance of Professor Elizabeth Jeglic, Melitta’s project focuses on first-generation immigrant college students and their rates of depression and suicide compared to non-immigrant college students. Melitta hopes to contribute to mental health literature by highlighting the complex diversity of affected populations and elevating the discussion around the taboo subjects of depression and suicide, particularly in the immigrant population. Using previous data collected at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and statistical methods, Melitta hopes to identify protective and risk factors.
08
Undergraduate
09
Graduate
Ngayin Cheng
Ngayin Cheng is a first-generation student pursuing a master's degree in forensic mental health counseling. In addition to working on her MA thesis and lab project with Dr. Gottdiener, she is a Research Assistant at Dr. Allwood's Children and Adolescent Stress and Trauma Lab at John Jay College and Dr. Jaihyun Park's Social Cognition Lab at Baruch College.
Ngayin will conduct research under Dr. Gottdiener’ s mentorship using a psychoanalytic perspective. She aims to combine findings from her study and clinical experience to develop effective interventions for trauma and addiction.
Oscar Zielinski
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Oscar Zielinski is currently a senior at John Jay majoring in Forensic Psychology. Under the guidance of Professor Rougier, Oscar's research focuses on young people’s capacity of financial literacy.
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10
Undergraduate
11
Undergraduate
Parsva Shah
Mentor: Dr. Marcos F Soler,
Parsva Shah is a junior at John Jay pursuing a bachelor’s degree in law & society and Economics. His research project, guided by Professor Soler, focuses on Measure 110, which was passed in Oregon in 2020. This Measure, which was popular among voters and politicians at the time, decriminalizes hard drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine. The Measure aims to divert resources from law enforcement to drug rehabilitation for addicts. The research project will collect data on the impacts on Oregon of this controversial law. Parsva hopes that this project sheds light on both the drug epidemic that continues to ravage middle America as well as prospects of decriminalization of hard drugs in the United States.
Patricia St. Fleur
Patricia St. Fleur is a junior in the Honors program majoring in Cellular & Molecular Biology. After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to go to medical school and pursue her career as a physician to fulfill her passion for serving others and making a meaningful impact on individuals and communities.
Patricia will work with Dr. Wout to investigate the intersection between race and gender in patient- doctor interactions. Her research aims to shed light on patient’s perceptions of themselves by their caretakers and how sharing similar identity traits shapes their decision on whether to meet with a particular doctor.
12
Undergraduate
13
Undergraduate
Tiffany Andrea Rodriguez
Tiffany Andrea Rodriguez is a junior in the Macaulay Honors College at John Jay double majoring in Political Science and Philosophy. She likes to give back and improve her community. Tiffany is a current mentor for the John Jay Honors Community and through Latinas on the Verge of Excellence (L.O.V. E).
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Under the guidance of Professor Kim Liao, Tiffany will be exploring the issue of self-identity within the Latino community in the United States. Her research will address the balancing act immigrants and their children partake in to stay true to their roots but also assimilate into American culture. With her research, Tiffany hopes to shed more light on the feeling “ni de aquí, ni de allá” and create a feeling of solidarity among Latino immigrants.
Yan Shan Yu
Yan Shan Yu is a second-year MA student in the Forensic Mental Health Counseling program. As an OSRC scholar last year, Yan started to work on her thesis with Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic, who has been her mentor throughout her time at the college. Her thesis focuses on examining educator misconduct cases within the United States as it pertains to inappropriate sexual behaviors. As a second-year scholar, Yan will continue working on her thesis by collecting and analyzing educator misconduct cases from the Department of Education websites of various states. She will work on drawing conclusions and generalizing the data to discuss her findings. She hopes her research can provide important information in identifying the prevalence and characteristics of educator sexual misconduct.
14
Graduate
15
UnderGraduate
Yanira Rivera 
Yanira Rivera is a current Macaulay scholar is an undergraduate sophomore majoring in Forensic Psychology and minoring in cybercrime. She will be working with Dr. Geyer to research the prejudices that police officers develop when stopping everyday civilians. She will investigate the root of the problem that causes both parties to respond negatively to one another when they encounter each other. She hopes to discover what can be done to prevent negative interactions between police authority and its citizens.
Yunjung Lee
Yunjung Lee is a second-year graduate student in the forensic psychology M.A. program at John Jay College. Yunjung’s research interest focuses on understanding the reasons why bystanders may find it difficult to intervene when a colleague is a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, why they should still intervene, and how they can do so. Using Prolific, Yunjung will design her own questionnaire and collect data online from those who self-identify as witnesses of actual sexual harassment in the workplace.
16
Graduate