Major: Psychology Major and Liberal Studies Major (Biology, MedSoc, and Anthropology)
Project: "Constraints, Resourcefulness, and Resilience in the Immigrant Latinx Community: Alternative Health Promoting Strategies for Diabetes Self-Management"
Mentor: Guillermo De Los Reyes

Ashlí is a second-generation immigrant originally from Costa Rica, but born in California. She is passionate about promoting cultural competency in medicine and improving health outcomes for black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Her research interests lie in understanding the barriers that make access to quality healthcare difficult for marginalized Latinx communities, which in turn perpetuate health disparities. Through the Mellon program, she aims to refine her understanding of what inequity in queer Latinx well-being looks like and gain a deeper socioemotional perception of how the individuals of the LGBTQ+ community experience the impact of these challenges. Over the summer, she would like to develop her methodology to conduct bilingual ethnographic research in local LGBTQ+ spaces during the Fall as a part of her Senior Honors Thesis.

Major: English Literature
Minor: Teaching
Project: "'A Rainbow of Razas:' An Analysis of the Chicano Identity through Writings"
Mentor: Maria C. Gonzalez

Alejandro Aguilar is majoring in English literature with an education minor. For his research over the summer, he is interested in studying education disparity in BIPOC communities and how these disparities have been portrayed through poems, books, and other forms of literature. When he completes the Mellon Research Scholars program, he plans to wrap up his undergraduate degree and will hopefully be attending graduate school at the University of California Los Angeles. He hopes to become an English professor one day, but would also like to spend a few years teaching in secondary schools to help students reach their full potential and recognize the importance of education.

Major: Psychology and Philosophy
Minor: LGBTQ+ Studies
Project: "Cissexism & Trans Women’s Denial of Subjectivity"
Mentor: Johanna Luttrell

Queer theory is Carla's biggest passion in life. Her personal euphoria is a true and deep understanding of gender, sexuality, and identity. She is currently minoring in LGBTQ+ Studies and plans for her certification. Following this program, she would like to combine both her majors and minor, exploring the philosophy of queerness. In a field dominated by cis white men, she feels the world needs the lens of queer philosophers.

Major: Communication Sciences and Disorders
Minor: Sociology
Project: "Education as a Fundamental Cause to Health"
Mentor: Kathryn Freeman Anderson

Growing up in the Greenspoint area of Houston, Citlali understood from a young age that for some reason, Black and Brown communities work very hard to barely get by. Citlali first started her academic career at Lone Star College North Harris. With time she learned that she wanted to be a speech-language pathologist, but after taking an intro to sociology course, she realized that sociology is her passion. When she transferred to the University of Houston, she was lucky to participate in an undergraduate research assistantship in the College of Education. Having experience with educational research and wanting to go into the health field, Citlali's research will be over educational disparities and health inequalities in Black and Brown communities through the sociological perspective. She hopes that her research will influence law and policy makers to better serve these neglected populations.

Major: English
Minor: Education
Project: "Perception and Power: How Student Perception of Assigned Texts in First Year Composition Impacts Their Self-Efficacy"
Mentor: Mark Sursavage

Growing up, Josh always loved storytelling in every form. Whether it was a video-game, a film, a book, or a song, he had a deep appreciation for all forms of writing! During his work as a tutor in community college he witnessed first-hand how students can become disenfranchised from readings they do not relate to; this fueled his belief that writing in all forms should be respected in the College setting. His long-standing passion for storytelling now has a distinct purpose in his plan to teach at a first-year or community college level, so his intention for the Mellon program is to conduct research on the impacts of texts in first-year English courses. He is specifically interested in effects that assigned texts have on student self-efficacy through their perception of those texts. Josh believes that there is a gap found at the intersection of student perception, self-efficacy, and first-year texts and would like to fill some of that gap.

Major: Spanish and Psychology
Project: "New feminist wave in Latin America"
Mentor: Mabel Cuesta

Laura is interested in researching the new wave of feminism that is occurring in Latin America in response to the rise in gender violence and the ultimate expression of it, feminicidios. With Dr. Mabel Cuesta, Laura will analyze different forms of art (literature, film, dance, poetry, etc) that women are utilizing to promote awareness and to create a much needed change in the Latin American “machista” culture.

Major: History
Minor: Phronesis
Project: "How to Think About Civic Education in Our Modern America [Divided]​"
Mentor: Terry Hallmark

Ariel decided to become a history major because she is interested in people and the stories they have to tell. The world is so vast and we all have different perceptions of the past, present, and future. With the Mellon Research Program, she is interested in trying to make sense of America's civic virtue, if we have a single version, through some early documents in America's founding to now. One of her favorite periods in history is America's founding because of the types of conversations that were being had, but also in regard to how America sees itself now.

Major: Public Health and Chinese Studies
Project: "Representation of Republican-Era Chinese Cities in State Owned Adaptations Redefining Popular Culture in State Controlled Media"
Mentor: Melody Li

Queen Epomba is a rising senior here at UH. Her majors are Public Health and Chinese Studies. She hopes to explore virtual entertainment and its culture, especially during COVID. After Mellon, she is preparing to attend graduate school.

Major: English Literature
Minor: Women Studies
Project: "Nature Greets Man: An Ecofeminist Reading of Elizabeth Bishop’s 'The Moose'"
Mentor: Lauren Brozovich

Susette spent years exploring different fields in search of what she is most passionate about; this journey has led her to the doorsteps of the Science building where her English literature courses once resided. The process of deciphering a poem and discovering the microscopic threads that have been intertwined by poets has been the most fulfilling part of her academic career. She plans to research American contemporary and modernist poetry examining the rise of feminism and queerness in Elizabeth Bishop’s collection during the twentieth century. She will include the masterwork of Simone de Beauvoir and her second-wave feminism philosophy to weave out the implicit trails of feminism that Elizabeth Bishop left behind and how they are marginalized using this lens. She would like to improve the field of literary criticism by incorporating different theories and creating an expanded analysis of poetry that has been largely reduced by many critics.

Major: Theatre with a concentration in Playwriting and Dramaturgy
Minor: Creative Work
Project: "You Have A Boyfriend?: Representations of Disabled People and Intimacy in Film and Television"
Mentor: Laurie Lambeth

Despite loving theater from a young age, Allie didn't consider pursuing a theater career until her junior year of high school. After repeatedly being told that she would never make it as an actress because there are no roles for disabled people, Allie decided to become a playwright and write disabled characters. Allie's research interests include the representation of disabled people in media and what these representations make people think of real disabled people.

Major: History
Minor: Art History
Project: "Conquering Tierra Firme: Labor Dependence and Conflict in Early Colonial Panama​"
Mentor: Norah Gharala

Tara Georgeson was born in Panama, Central America and immigrated to the United States with her mother when she was five years old. She is a senior majoring in History and minoring in Art History. Her interests lie in the history and cultural identity of Central America and the Caribbean. Her summer research will focus primarily on Panama's identity formation during the early years of colonization. She is grateful for the opportunity to work with fellow cohorts, the wonderful Mellon staff, and her mentor, Dr. Norah Gharala. She looks forward to exploring new resources and furthering her skills as a researcher. Her plans are to continue through graduate school and earn her PhD, with career goals in education and continued research.

Major: Political Science
Minor: Leadership Studies, Spanish
Project: "Native American Rights in the New World: A Spanish Perspective"
Mentor: Carol Cooper

Diego has always had an interest in politics. He remembers waiting in line to watch his parents vote as a young boy and staying up late to watch election results come in on TV, which has always been an important family tradition. Once he started college, Diego took the opportunity to learn about many different aspects of Political Science. However, he is especially interested in political theory and intends to research the under examined literature of Spanish political thought. He is most looking forward to investigating how Spanish colonizers interacted with indigenous Americans. His goal is to use this research to provide the general public with information on how the Spanish colonizers incorporated (or did not incorporate) the indigenous peoples into the preexisting canon of political and human rights.

Major: Liberal Studies
Minor: English, Art History, Sociology, and Political Science
Project: "COLLAGING IDENTITY: poetics to 'un-one' the Filipino"
Mentor: Roberto Tejada

Jack Morillo is exploring a burgeoning interest in poetry, inspired by the likes of Ocean Vuong and a slew of other contemporary poets who, for him, cracked open this possibility of brandishing language. His writing matter includes coloniality, grief, and sexuality. With Mellon, Jack hopes to continue to discover and mature his poetic voice, and to deliver a body of meaningful work, from which he might springboard into an MFA program in creative writing.

Major: Religious Studies
Minor: Spanish
Project: "Buddhism and Spiritual Technologies Amid the Pandemic"​
Mentor: Brandon Lamson

Jimmy is a first-generation college student. He enjoys investigating all things spiritual and has an appreciation for the diversity of spiritual expressions. He hopes his participation in the Mellon program will help him hone his writing skills and prepare him for graduate school, where he plans to study Buddhism further. His research interests include investigating the role that religion plays in developing human virtue. When he isn’t studying, he enjoys spending time with his mom.

Major: Mathematics
Minor: Philosophy
Project: "What Do You Want? Comparing Psychological, Sociological, and Buddhist Theories on Happiness"
Mentor: David Rainbow

Through her study of Mathematics, Sydney learned to appreciate the value of questioning and pattern finding, as well as the art of breaking complicated ideas down into their simplest components. Mathematics may be the median through which Sydney came to appreciate and develop these skills, but she found that Philosophy is the area in which she wants to apply them. Sydney seeks not any particular body of knowledge, but rather her interests lie in the seeking itself, the how behind the what. Philosophy is less of an area of study than a method of studying, and Sydney’s research will examine how great thinkers, from both eastern and western traditions, have used philosophical inquiry as a means of developing both the world and themselves. 

Major: Sociology, English
Project: "Reception of Transgender Women in Online Lesbian Spaces​"
Mentor: Amanda Baumle

Andreina is a Venezuelan immigrant who has been living in the United States for over a decade. As some queer communities slowly gain more visibility and acceptance, others still face widespread discrimination, even from fellow queer community members. Because of this, she is interested in researching the transmisogyny that exists in the community of lesbian and bisexual women and how it compares to the transmisogyny outside that community. After the Mellon Research Scholars Program, Andreina plans to get into graduate school to further study how the different queer communities interact with one another.

Major: History
Minor: Education
Project: "Spirit of the Confederacy and the Robert E. Lee Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy"
Mentor: Debbie Harwell

Whether working in early childhood education or mentoring college students as a Resident Advisor, Morgan consistently gravitates towards jobs that explore the personal and academic complexity of younger individuals. Yet to her, history and education are not exclusive. As a FrameWorks Fellow, Morgan experimented with oral narratives to develop a child’s perspective of the 1963 Birmingham civil rights movement. Now, Morgan aims to track the progression of youth activism against American gun violence by using public history as a tool for documenting populations under eighteen years old. Her interests include strategies teenagers use in response to disenfranchisement, political identity development, and informal protest mechanisms that youth develop alongside national organizations such as March for Our Lives. After graduation, Morgan plans to gain professional experience as a licensed teacher before attending graduate school for History or Higher Education.

Major: Spanish and Biochemistry
Minor: Chemistry
Project: "Lifestyle of People of Mexican Heritage and Heart Disease"
Mentor: Gabriela Baeza Ventura

Daniela has always had an interest in medicine and Spanish, which is why she decided to pursue a dual degree in a B.S. Biochemistry and B.A. Spanish along with a minor in chemistry. She decided to join Alpha Epsilon Delta National Pre-medical Honor Society in her freshman year to be exposed to medical opportunities throughout her college career. With the years she soon found herself wanting to help out the Hispanic community in a way that did not involve her becoming a medical doctor. Her research this summer will focus on the health disparities that the Hispanic community faces by taking a look at the diets that they live by and how statistically this leads to cardiac problems and even cancer. Daniela hopes to educate the Hispanic community on the vital importance of implementing healthy habits in one's life to live a prolonged healthier lifestyle.

Major: History
Minor: Energy and Sustainability
Project: "An Exchange between Latinxs and Houston"
Mentor: Debbie Harwell

Sandra is a history major with a minor in energy and sustainability. She discovered her passion for history as a freshman in high school. She appreciates the diversity at UH and in the city of Houston. She is interested in immigration and Houston history. She hopes to explore why different groups of people settled in Houston, specifically what that means for the city in terms of diversity and culture. She is passionate about learning from people and listening to their individual stories which is what attracts her to oral histories. She hopes to pursue a master's in Public History in the future and possibly become a professor down the road.

Major: Political Science
Project: "Equity in Education: The accessibility of higher education for Native American students"
Mentor: Julie F. Tolliver

Victoria is a Junior majoring in Political Science. She began studying at the University of Houston in 2019 after moving from Australia, and through her major and studies within the political science department, Victoria has been able to pursue her strong interest in the education and history of minority groups within the U.S. The Mellon Scholars Research Program provides Victoria with a unique opportunity to connect her interests, and she will be assessing the education disparities and accessibility issues faced by Native Americans across the U.S. Using her Political Science background, and the knowledge acquired through her extensive research, Victoria hopes to have published work that effects positive change and creates a just education system for all minority groups within the U.S.