Peer Mentors & Ambassadors

Email: aabram02@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Sara Vasilenko

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: SOURCE Explore, Research Assistant through the Faculty RA Grant, SOURCE Symposia presenter

Research: I conduct research in the HEART Lab with Dr. Sara Vasilenko, focusing on predicting adolescent health issues and risk behaviors. My recent project examined whether there is a predictive relationship between social media use and the age at which adolescents begin using alcohol. This work aims to highlight public health issues and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that emerge early in youth development

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I enjoy bike riding, doing yoga, and going on long walks/hikes. On campus, I am a peer leader for First-Year Seminar, I occasionally volunteer at Upstate, and I am the Vice President for the Caribbean Student Association.

Email: gclinton@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Anupam Pandey

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Research Assistant through the Faculty RA Grant, Fellowship Award

Research: My work lies in the intersection of soft matter and fluid mechanics. More specifically, we work with harnessing mechanical instabilities for function. The most recent projects have involved creasing structures for fluid transport and characterizing rate dependence in beam buckling.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I play and coach soccer!

Email: apmilcho@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Sylvia Sierra

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Research Assistant through the Faculty RA Grant, Bridge Award, Fellowship Award

Research: I am a SOURCE Research Fellow working on an independent project with Dr. Sierra on queer media references and their function in everyday conversation; we are currently co-authoring an article for publication. I was the first undergraduate to present at Columbia University's Teachers College's Language and Social Interaction Working Group (LANSI) conference, where I presented this work. I am trained in discourse analysis, transcription, and take an interdisciplinary approach to sociolinguistics, incorporating media studies/analysis and queer theory to my work. I have also done research in the public history and archival field (Fulbright Canada Mitacs Globalink Research Internship and the Senator John Heinz History Center curatorial internship) and in English literature (English Distinction/Honors Thesis).

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I am the Editor-in-Chief of TENDER Magazine, an arts, literature, and cultural publication. I am also a Music Performance minor and am a classically trained vocalist, participating in the Hendricks Chapel Choir. Aside from my SOURCE Fellowship and Peer Mentor position, I am also an English Department Undergraduate Ambassador, a College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Career Ambassador, a VPA Peer Advisor, and a DJ/Radio Show Host for WERW Radio, an independent radio station on-campus. Outside of my involvements, I love to hike, draw, collage, and read. I am an animal-lover, and love to hang out with my dog, Andy.

Email: aray08@syr.edu

Year: Junior

Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Christopher W. Fernandez

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Meeting of the Minds conference, Fellowship Award

Research: I work in a fungal ecology lab focusing on ectomycorrhizal fungi which form symbiotic relationships with plant hosts. I am completing an honors and distinction thesis investigating the impacts of pH, soil organic matter, and inoculum on leaf litter decomposition, fungal diversity, and plant productivity.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I am a member of the Renee Crown Honors program and Phi Kappa Phi. I am also a member of the SU outing club within which I enjoy hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, and caving.

Email: optidd@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Research: Developing, conducting, and analyzing surveys throughout all fields with a focus on public organizations and politics.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I am an Undergraduate Course Assistant in the Policy Studies department and in my free time I go to the gym, I enjoy listening to music and watching sports.

Email: rfalamar@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Richard Kopp (Upstate) & Associate Professor Heather Coleman

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Research Assistant through the Faculty RA Grant, SOURCE Symposia presenter

Research: I currently work in a genetics lab that studies the genetics of neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on schizophrenia. My research examines how cortisol may contribute to the development of schizophrenia by analyzing various aspects of gene expression and neurodevelopment. Also, I have worked on various project that correlate to linguistic filed; including phonology, applied linguistics, and currently I am working toward examine sentences clarity in the medical field.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I volunteer at Upstate Children’s Hospital and am an active member of TriBeta Biological Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and several other organizations associated with the medical community.

Email: mbegley@syr.edu

Year: Junior

Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Lynne Vincent

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Bridge Award, Tyler Center Fellow

Research: My research examined the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in driving local economic development in Kenya’s emerging economy. I focused on how factors such as access to technology, education, personal initiative, and innovation influence the growth and sustainability of small businesses. My study highlights key challenges and opportunities facing SMEs and their importance in promoting job creation and long-term economic stability.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: On campus I am a member of Beta Alpha Psi and participated in the Whitman Kenyan Immersion Experience (Cohort 2025). I also love going to the gym and traveling!

Email: ddjusupo@syr.edu

Year: Sophomore

Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Yiqu Li

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: SOURCE Explore participant, Research Assistant through the Faculty RA Grant

Research: During my freshman year, I participated in the Source Explore program, where my team researched and applied graph theory as well as the breadth-first search algorithm to address the real world transportation-network challenges on Syracuse University’s bus and trolley routes. Currently, I work as a research assistant on a social media trace project analyzing immigration-related online data.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: My campus involvement includes the Society of Women Engineers, the Student Library Advisory Board, and Kappa Theta Pi. I’m also part of the Invent@SU 2025 cohort.

Email: shiatt@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ryan Griffiths

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Bridge Award

Research: I am currently working on my Political Science Distinction Thesis, which examines Native Hawaiian mobilization in the aftermath of the 2023 Lāhainā wildfires. I focus on a local community organization, Lāhainā Strong, and draw on interviews with the organization’s leadership and publicly available data. As a Bridge Award recipient, I was also able to conduct participant observation in Maui to better understand local perspectives and community-led initiatives aimed at rebuilding Lāhainā.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: On campus, I am a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Psi Chi, and Pi Sigma Alpha honor societies, as well as the Tri Delta sorority. Outside of academics, my interests include hot yoga, baking, and traveling.

Email: tskeefe@syr.edu

Year: Junior

Faculty Mentor: Professor Ramesh Raina

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Fellowship Award, SOURCE Symposia presenter

Research: I conduct research in the Raina Lab, where we study how different genes influence Arabidopsis thaliana’s responses to both abiotic and biotic stresses. Our work focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms that underlie stress tolerance.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I am Vice President of Biotechnology Society, President of Campus Cursive, a Shaw Center Leadership Intern, English Conversation Partner, and a Member of Pi Mu Epsilon (National Mathematics Honorary Society). My hobbies are running and making jewelry.

Email: ytkhasaw@syr.edu

Year: Sophomore

Faculty Mentor: Assistant Professor Era Jain

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Bridge Award, SOURCE Symposia presenter

Research: I currently work in the Biomaterials lab where we are creating a novel hydrogel using a unique polymer cross-linker. Our work's goal is to primarily characterize properties such as cell compatibility, protein diffusion, and material properties of the hydrogel. Biocompatible hydrogels can be used for controlled drug delivery, wound dressing, lubrication, and have been used in to make contact lenses!

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: In my free time I love to run, go on nature walks, and hanging out with my friends. On campus, I am involved in the Biomedical Engineering society, the Arab Student Association, and I volunteer at Crouse Hospital.

Email: lrlathen@syr.edu

Year: Junior

Faculty Mentor: Professor Pranav Soman

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Bridge Award, SOURCE Symposia presenter

Research: I work in the Soman Lab designing and optimizing microfluidic platforms to culture and study neuronal cells in controlled environments, with an emphasis on 3D cell cultures and engineered microenvironments to understand neuronal behavior and cell–cell interactions. Previously, I conducted research in cancer genomics, studying DNA double-strand breaks using sequencing-based techniques.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I’m involved with the SU Literacy Corps, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Society of Women Engineers. Outside of academics, I enjoy staying active through running and cycling.

Email: elong04@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Jay Thomas

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Bridge Award, Fellowship Award

Research: I currently do geology research in Dr. Thomas' experimental petrology lab. I run experiments at high pressure and temperature conditions to study how copper partitions between granitic melt and aqueous fluid.

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: Society of Physics Students, Undergraduate Organization in Geoscience, and SU Abroad Global Ambassador.

Email: elu103@syr.edu

Year: Senior

Faculty Mentor: Associate Professor Natalie Draper

SOURCE Programs I have participated in: Fellowship Award, SOURCE Symposia presenter

Research: Independent creative projects and original musical compositions presented at summer festivals/conferences. (Summer 2024 and Summer 2025).

Campus Involvement and Hobbies: I am a Remembrance Scholar, VPA Community Committee Student Representative, and VPA Peer Mentor. I am a part of University Singers, Hendricks Chapel Choir, SU Wind Ensemble, and SU Saxophone Ensemble.