Summary

The Hub is pleased to announce the members of its second cohort of summer scholars.

Eight scholars from around the country will arrive at East Carolina University (ECU) this June to embark on a transformative journey and participate in the CHEER Hub’s 2024 summer scholars program.

This program is designed to prepare a diverse cohort of new researchers for careers in convergent disaster science and help students learn about the science behind and implications of natural hazards through hands-on activities. Over the course of six weeks, students will participate in various research activities, travel to several different locations across North Carolina to conduct fieldwork, learn about various topical issues related to climate change and community resilience, and meet with Hub partners and local government officials.

“We are delighted to work with our new summer scholars to help them develop their research skills,” said Rachel Davidson, the CHEER’s principal investigator. “We know they’ll contribute a great deal to the CHEER Hub as well.”

The cohort will live on ECU’s campus in Greenville, NC, which is located in one of the Hub’s three case study areas. Meghan Millea, CHEER’s education director and ECU economics professor, will lead them.

“I am thrilled to welcome the new cohort of summer scholars,” Millea said. “These talented individuals will have the opportunity to learn on-site about the important challenges these communities face, further their research on natural hazards, and make lifelong friends with their peers and fellow CHEER team members.”

In addition to gaining knowledge and experience in emergency management and hurricane resilience, summer scholars will also become institutional review board (IRB) certified, a practical and important curriculum that instills the importance of ethical standards, regulations, and institutional policies in research.

The various hands-on activities and professional networking opportunities are a core part of the Hub’s effort to develop and implement a robust, research-based mentoring program.

Each student will be assigned a mentor–one of CHEER’s postdocs or researchers–who will guide them through an independent study project. At the beginning of the program, each student will select a topic within the Hub’s scope of research that matches their background and interests. At the end of the six weeks, they will summarize their key findings in a presentation to their peers, community stakeholders, and Hub faculty and staff.

These presentations, which cover a wide range of topics, disciplines, and themes, highlight the varied academic and professional backgrounds of program participants. They are one facet of the Hub’s effort to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a key part of the overall project.

The cohort, which includes two graduate and six undergraduate students, represents seven universities. Partnerships with the McNair Scholars Program and Bill Anderson Fund, two highly respected national organizations that prepare and support graduate students from underrepresented groups across all disciplines and in disaster studies, respectively, complement this effort.

Read on to learn more about the Hub’s second-annual cohort of summer scholars. 

Amidu Kalokoh | Virginia Commonwealth University, Public Policy and Administration

Amidu is a doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Administration and a Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness program at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He has a professional security background, having worked as a security analyst for the Office of the President of Sierra Leone, where he supported national and international security, peace, and development initiatives. His research focuses on public policy, homeland security, emergency management, criminal justice, and governance. Amidu’s research on social equity aims to design policies and programs that sustainably tackle hazard vulnerabilities, build community resilience, and enhance public safety and justice for all. In addition to being a Bill Anderson Fellow, Amidu was the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Public Policy and Administration Doctoral Student at VCU.

Learn more about Amidu here.

 

Melissa Villarreal | University of Colorado – Boulder, Sociology

Melissa is a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado–Boulder in the sociology department. She has worked on projects that focus on women’s experiences during and after disasters, structural vulnerability and reproductive health access for Mexican-origin women, and parental notification and access to abortion among minors. Melissa is also a graduate research assistant, working on several projects concerning the enhancement of the ethical quality of disaster research, the increase of diversity in the hazards and disaster field, and the reduction of post-disaster vulnerabilities for marginalized communities.  She is currently working on her dissertation, an intersectional, multi-level analysis of Mexican-origin women and their post-disaster recovery trajectories in the context of cumulative disaster impacts. In addition to being a Bill Anderson Fellow, Melissa was a 2021 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Equity & Inclusion Fellow. 

Learn more about Melissa here.

 

Susan Funes | Kean University – History

Susan is a rising senior working toward a degree in history at Kean University. She loves to travel and create memorable experiences. During her travels to Central America, she realized that there is misogyny deeply rooted in her culture. After coming back to Kean University, she started taking Latin American Politics and Sociology classes that helped her understand the root cause of the “machista” society in Latin America. Once diving in, she has combined her passion for law and the dangerous culture surrounding women in Latin America. Now, her research focuses on violence against women with a concentration on Latin American women who have or almost have fallen victim to femicide. Susan hopes her work will spread awareness about the effectiveness of the legislation related to femicide and the urgent need for global action to address such matters. In addition to her academics, Susan has been involved in the McNair Scholars Program since February of 2023 and has presented her research “A Mi Me Van a Matar: A Legal Analysis of Femicide in Mexico and Central America” at several McNair Research Conferences.

Learn more about Susan here.

 

Max Masleyev | Cornell University, Atmospheric Science

Max is a rising junior majoring in atmospheric science and pursuing a minor in computer science at Cornell University, where he is currently a research assistant for the  Earth and Atmospheric Science (EAS) Department’s Precipitation and Climate Research Group. Max’s earlier research has looked at the Rx1day precipitation index, with his most recent project examining shifts in rain frequency and rain amount distributions across different time scales. His upbringing in New England sparked his interest in meteorology, as he experienced various weather phenomena over the years, from hurricanes and severe thunderstorms in the summer to blizzards in the winter months. Max hopes to further his research in an interdisciplinary setting and is passionate about science communication. On campus, he serves as secretary of Cornell’s Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and the president of the Chordials, one of the university’s co-ed a cappella groups.

Learn more about Max here.

 

Sydney Sherbitsky | Stony Brook University, Environmental Studies

Sydney is a newly minted graduate of Stony Book University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Environmental Law, Waste Management, and Public Policy. Additionally, Sydney pursued three minors in Coastal Environmental Studies; Ecosystems and Human Impact; and Environmental Design, Policy, and Planning. Sydney was the President of the Stony Brook Environmental Club and participated in research under Dr. Sharon Pochron in Stony Brook University’s Ecotoxicology Lab over the last two years. In her final semester in the ecotoxicology lab, Sydney mentored a team of 5 first-year students in researching earthworm behavior and health after exposure to the eco-toxin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and presented this research at the 2024 Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (URECA) Symposium. Sydney aspires to work as an environmental consultant or within an environmental government agency such as the EPA to continue contributing to environmental stewardship.

Learn more about Sydney here.

 

Grace Weinrich | University of Colorado – Boulder, Psychology and Sociology

Grace is a newly minted graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She also minored in philosophy and graduated with a certificate in Social Innovation and Care, Health, and Resilience. Recently, Grace presented her honors thesis, “Crisis of Masculinity: Exploring the Digital Manosphere Discourse Through Podcasts,” at the 2024 Pacific Sociological Association Conference in San Diego, CA. As an undergraduate, she was a research assistant for Dr. Sarah Goodrum’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence project with the CU Institute of Behavioral Science. Upon graduating, Grace looks forward to gaining more experience in sociological and psychological research and applying to graduate school.  

Learn more about Grace here.

 

Alasqa Farley | University of Delaware, Resource Economics

Alasqa is a rising junior at the University of Delaware, where she is majoring in environmental and resource economics with a concentration in the economics of sustainability and policy. She is also pursuing a minor in statistical data analytics. Her main area of research interest surrounds the intersection of climate change and economics as well as the equity implications of hurricanes and climate change. Her current goal is to apply to graduate school and become an environmental economist. On campus, she is a research assistant in the Center for Experimental and Applied Economics a part of the Climate Scholars program.

Learn more about Alasqa here.

 

Nimay Mahajan | University of Miami, Meteorology and Mathematics

Nimay is a rising junior at the University of Miami double majoring in meteorology and mathematics and minoring in computer science. Under the guidance of Dr. Ben Kirtman, his research has examined two long-term climate model data sets, one of which displays enhanced carbon dioxide signatures within the atmosphere. By analyzing and producing plots using both of these data sets, he has been exploring the true impact larger fluxes of carbon dioxide can have on numerous types of weather systems, such as tropical cyclones. He is currently involved with the University of Miami’s American Meteorological Society (AMS) chapter, serving as a social media manager on the E-Board. He is also vice president of the university’s new AI club, UnlockAI, which explores the responsible interdisciplinary uses of artificial intelligence.

Learn more about Nimay here.