APSA Names 2008-2009 Minority Fellows

In recognition of their outstanding academic and personal achievements, APSA is pleased to announce the APSA Minority Fellows for the 2008-2009 academic year. Awards are based on the students' undergraduate course work, GPA, GRE scores, extracurricular activities, and recommendations from political science faculty. A selection committee designated these individuals as the 2008-2009 Fellows:

• Fabian N. Arzuaga is a graduate of Vassar College with a BA in political science and a minor in history. He has also completed the European Union Politics Program in Denmark’s International Study Program in affiliation with the University of Copenhagen. In addition to his academic interests in politics, philosophy, and history, Fabian has worked as a journalist in Poughkeepsie, NY and in his native New York City. He is a recipient of Vassar College’s Jane Dealy and Woodrow Wirsig Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement and promise in journalism. He is looking forward to graduate study in political science where he will focus in political theory. He plans to continue studying Marxism, theories of the state, the relationship between sovereignty and contemporary capitalism, and questions of political power and democratic citizenship. Eventually, Fabian plans to teach political science at the university level.
  
  
  
• Nyron Crawford, a native of Danbury, Connecticut, is a senior at Howard University majoring in Political Science with a minor in Community Development. Through the support of Howard he has been exposed to several academically enriching opportunities, like the APSA’s Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, the Ronald E. McNair Program, and a study abroad program in Cairo, Egypt. In addition to serving as the Vice President of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honors Society, Nyron is a 2006 Young People for the American Way and Yitzhak Rabin Fellow, as well as founder of the Project Voice campaign on Howard University’s campus.  His dedication to the discipline has led him to intern and conduct research on both Capitol Hill and with the Center for American Progress’ Poverty Task Force. Nyron’s research interests focus on the intersection of racial, judicial, and urban politics in the United States. 
  
  
  
• Emmanuel De La Torre is currently a senior, pursuing a B.A. in Political Science and Chicana/o Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). While an undergraduate at UCLA he has been involved with Proyecto de Jornaleros, an organization that provides guidance, assistance, and resources to the Day Laborers and their families. His commitment to his community is reflected in his community service and scholarship endeavors in the area of Latina/o Politics, specifically immigration policy, Critical Race Theory, education policy, and Latino political behavior. As a graduate student, he wishes to explore how the political tensions between the growing Latino populace and their respective suburban communities are transforming the landscape of racial politics in America.
  
  
  
• Lena Eastin* is currently a senior at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in both International Studies and French Language. She is the recipient of a four year merit scholarship, The Robertson Scholarship, which gives her “dual-citizenship” to both UNC and Duke University. For her leadership and commitment to service as President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Lena was initiated into the Order of Omega and Gamma Sigma Alpha National Greek Honor Society. Ranking in the top tier of all students taking French courses, she was also inducted into the Pi Delta Phi National French Honor Society. Lena’s commitment to service has been shown through her volunteer opportunities, such as teaching chemistry to students from under-resourced areas in New Orleans, working as a counselor for the Ministry of Health in Argentina and giving Spanish courses at a Durham charter school. Lena plans to pursue her graduate work in international affairs, political science and human rights.
  
  
  
• Bernard Fraga is currently a senior at Stanford University, with majors in Political Science and Linguistics and a minor in Spanish. He is a recipient of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation), is a participant in the Undergraduate Honors program in political science, and has worked as a research assistant at both Stanford and the University of Notre Dame. He has also served in various positions through Stanford's student government and Chicano/Latino student community, and has studied abroad in Santiago, Chile and Leuven, Belgium. In the spring, Bernard will complete his honors thesis in Political Science. His research currently focuses on issues relating to language policy and politics in California and the United States, particularly in the education of linguistic minority students and electoral participation.
  
  
  
• Rachel Gillum was born and raised in Seattle, WA and is now a senior pursing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of Washington. Rachel’s research interests, broadly defined, focus on the Middle East and American Foreign policy.  In the fall of 2006, Rachel completed an internship at the Department of Defense Near East South Asia (NESA) Center in Washington D.C. In an environment similar to that of a think-tank, she was able to work with NESA professors, government officials and security specialists from around the world as a research assistant as well as participate in various seminars and roundtables analyzing foreign policy issues. In the summer of 2007, Rachel completed the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute at Duke University, sponsored by the APSA. At Duke, she took graduate courses in political science, quantitative methods, and statistical analysis. Rachel later presented her RBSI paper, related to the question of democracy in the Middle East, at the 2007 APSA Annual Meeting in Chicago. For her honors senior thesis, Rachel is currently looking at Turkish and Iranian public opinion and anti-Americanism. Rachel is a McNair Scholar, member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society, and has maintained Dean’s List status during her time at the University of Washington. Rachel hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in Political Science at a major research institution. 
  
  
  
• Keneshia N. Grant graduated from Florida A&M University (FAMU) with honors. She holds a B.S. degree in Political Science and a M.A.S.S. Degree in Public Administration. For the past year and a half Keneshia has served as a member of the faculty at FAMU, teaching classes in Political Science and Public Administration. During her undergraduate career she served as the Student Body vice-president.  Her research interests include African American political behavior, state and local government, and the politics of the budget. In her time as a graduate student, she served as the only student member of the Governor’s Access and Diversity Commission.  In this position, she was instrumental in the creation of the First-Generation Matching Grant program.  Her research interests include Black political behavior, state and local government, and the politics of the politics of public budgeting. 
  
  
  
• D’Juan Marqe Hopewell attended The Ohio State University for his undergraduate studies. While attending the university he was granted permission by the College of Arts and Sciences to design his own major. Fueled by his love for the city and developing inner city neighborhoods, he designed a major that incorporated business, urban sociology, urban political geography, political science and urban geography.  After attending Ohio State, D’Juan pursued a Master’s in Divinity at Oral Roberts University. While developing his love for theology D’Juan worked for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to foster his interest in community development. In addition to this, his studies led him to discover many valuable ancient truths about the all important concept of justice. The policy implications of such a discovery led him to pursue yet another degree- a Ph.D. in Public Policy. D’Juan will be pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
  
  
  
• Brenda Lenard received her BA from Beulah Heights University in Atlanta Georgia. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Public Administration at Kennesaw State University and plans on entering a Ph.D. Program in Political Science in the Fall. The American Political Science Association MFP Fellowship and the academic training she will receive in graduate school will assist in preparing her to become an political scientist and an emerging public administrator. While in graduate school, Ms. Lenard intends to explore, among other topics, how the bureaucracy and democracy can be reconciled, and federal, state and local level organization and policy implementation. She plans to continue to be engaged in public service aimed at keeping the government accountable while protecting constitutional values and nurturing and enhancing the legal structure.
  
  
  
• Rosemarie Lerma is from Bakersfield, California and is the first in her family to attend college. Her work focuses on Latin American, particularly Mexican, economic growth and political development. Ms. Lerma is interested in identifying barriers and remedies to sustainable economic and political development. She hopes to disseminate this scholarship through teaching at the university level and in research; with the goal of inspiring others just as she was inspired. Ms. Lerma holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Chicano Studies from the University of California Los Angeles and is currently completing work on a Master of Arts in Political Science from California State University Northridge.
  
  
  
• Porschea Lewis is a senior at the University of Rochester, majoring in Political Science. Ms. Lewis is a 2007 Ralph Bunche Institute Scholar and she was also named a McNair Scholar. She attended the annual McNair Scholars Research Conference where she presented her research paper entitled, “The Role of Group Consciousness in Latino Political Efficacy.” Porschea is an aspiring doctoral candidate in the field of American Politics. Her research interests lie in how America will deal with incorporating its ever increasing minority population politically and socially.
  
  
  
• Amanda McCree recently graduated from Texas A&M University in December of 2007 with a BS in political science and a minor in sociology.  She is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha and vice president of Alpha Kappa Delta honor society.  With the support of faculty mentors at Texas A&M and the University of Texas at Austin, Amanda has participated in two National Science Foundation funded Research Experience for Undergraduates.  As an REU fellow, she presented a paper entitled “Reversing the Trend: Factors that Contribute to Academic Success among African American Secondary School Students” at the 2007 Southern Demographic Association annual meeting.  She is also a research assistant for The Project for Equity, Representation, and Governance at Texas A&M University.  Her interests include education policy and health care policy in relation to the African American population.  Amanda looks forward to becoming a professor and using her research to address inequalities in health care and public education.
  
  
  
• Alexander Parets is a senior at Marquette University, double majoring in Political Science and Economics. He is the recipient of the Marquette University Jesuit High School Scholarship, travel grants to attend conferences on US-Cuban relations at Georgetown and Princeton, and three travel grants to attend the International Youth Leadership Conference in 2007 held in Prague, Czech Republic. Alexander is the President and Founder of Marquette’s Cuban American Student Association, Chairman of the Aspin Alumni Council and Program Chair and Executive Board Officer of Pi Sigma Alpha. He is also a member of the International Economics Honor Society and the Hispanic Honor Society. He plans to begin his doctoral studies in International Relations in the fall of 2008 and his research interests include international arms trafficking, the impact of the illicit economy on international security, US-Cuban relations and the role of transportation systems (air and sea transport) in illicit transactions.
  
  
  
• Geneva Román* is a senior at Boise State University working towards a Bachelors degree in International Political Science with an Honors citation.  Geneva is president of the Political Science Association at Boise State and has participated in the Model UN group. Her research interests include human rights and international legal protections.  As a McNair Scholar she worked with Dr. Ross Burkhart analyzing the human rights practices of multilateral development banks.  By investigating multilateral lending practices and human rights records, she examines whether human rights records are a substantial consideration among international financial institutions as mandated by international law. Geneva plans on attending graduate school in the fall to study international relations, human rights and diplomacy.
  
  
  
• Simon Tu will graduate in the spring of 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Economics from Boise State University. As a McNair Scholar and Research Fellow, his research on income inequality in the U.S. expanded the definition of economic globalization to include two previously neglected, but essential, variables in the production process, namely authorized and unauthorized immigration. Simon’s interests include international political economy, international migration, and the politics of race and ethnicity. Thanks in large part to the good people at Boise State University, he continues to benefit from several graduate-quality experiences, such as developing original research, presenting at a variety of academic conferences, guest lecturing for upper-division courses, and working as a research and teaching assistant for professors in the political science and sociology departments. Simon is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, Vice President of the Red River Powwow Association, and is active in his American Indian and Mexican-American Communities. 

*Non-Funded APSA MFP Fellows

2008-2009 Minority Fellows Selection Committee

Jessica Lavariega Monforti
University of Texas, Pan American 
Committee on the Status of Latinos and Latinas in the Profession 

Angela Lewis
University of Alabama
Committee on the Status of Blacks in the Profession, Co-Chair 

Janelle Wong
University of Southern California  
Committee on Asian Pacific Americans in Political Science, Chair 

For more on the Minority Fellows Program >>