Stephanie R. Dvareckas
Stephanie R. D
vareckas is a Ph.D. student in Art History at Rutgers University. She is a Dodge Avenir Fellow at the Zimmerli Art Museum where she works with the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union. Her research interests revolve around policy, cultural memory, and defense testing in the Soviet period. Stephanie’s work is supported by a fellowship from the Fulbright Scholars Program (Kazakhstan, 2022-23), a Foreign Languages and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship from Harvard University's Davis Center (2019), and a Graduate Dean Professional Development Award (2018). Stephanie holds an MA in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she wrote her master's thesis, Dialectics of the Soviet Avant-Garde in the First Exhibition of Ukrainian Nonconformist Art, and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design where she studied in the Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) department. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Catrina Palmer Johnson
Catrina Palmer Johnson is a doctoral candidate in the Management and Global Business department at Rutgers Business School – Newark and New Brunswick. She is majoring in Organizational Behavior and pursuing a minor in Social Psychology. Her research focuses on how gender and racial disparity affect mentorship relationships in the academy, as well as how criminal history affects job-searchers’ self-presentation. Along with helping to keep a structured writing timeline, since working with the Graduate Writing Program, Catrina has earned research funding through the Executive Women in New Jersey (EWNJ) scholarship and the Graduate School-Newark Dissertation Fellowship. Courses Taken: Writing for Publication, Writing the Dissertation
Pedro Cesar Lopes Gerum
Originally from Brazil, I am currently pursuing my doctorate in industrial and systems engineering at Rutgers. Additionally, I develop and implement machine-learning applications at American Express. In my research, we create models for long-term roadway planning decision-making and inspection policies for railways. As a result, we hope to see a decrease in congestion and the number of catastrophic derailments. Last Spring, I worked in the data-science group at NASA Ames in California. We developed deep-learning models for the classification of exoplanets. Initial findings suggest that there are stars observed during Kepler and TESS mission with planets still to be confirmed. Our results are to be endorsed shortly by expert astronomers. Presently, my work at American Express aims to decrease fraud and predict when a customer may default. As represented by my experience, what fascinates me the most in data science is the diverse set of fields through which it permeates. In the future, I hope to leave a positive legacy in the research community and provide lasting benefits for society. Pedrogerum.com Courses Taken: Graduate Writing, Writing for Publication, Writing the Dissertation
Adam McNeil
I am a PhD Student in History. I regularly contribute to academic blogs Black Perspective and The Junto. I also co-host the New Books in African American Studies podcast. Since working with the GWP, I wrote a book review of Aline Helg's book Slave No More: Self-Liberation before Abolitionism in the Americas, translated by Lara Vergnaud, which was accepted by the Journal of African American History. The Graduate Writing course, taught by Miriam Jaffe, was invaluable to my review gaining acceptance. I learned how to more finely craft sentences, avoid passive voice, and develop a stronger pool of active verbs into my vocabulary. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Sarah Ragsdale
Sarah Ragsdale is a graduate (May 2020) of the United Nations and Global Policy Studies Masters of Arts (UNMA) program in the department of political science at Rutgers University. At Rutgers, she was a Global Scholar, studying abroad at the European Summer Institute in Germany concentrating on the political economy of Germany and trade and development policy of the European Union. She was the Communications Intern at the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) and an intern in the United Nations Department of Global Communications, Civil Society Unit. As a performer and songwriter, she has spent time in Africa, Asia, and Europe working on international music projects and collaborations. Since working with the GWP, Sarah was awarded the Diversity Innovation Grant from the Rutgers Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement. This grant will fund her project “Rutgers Ready!” – an original song and music video that showcases cross-campus approaches to sustainability. The project includes a catchy original song promoting RU values of inclusion and diversity as well as innovation and creativity. The project serves as a model for encouraging artistic involvement in achieving a future of sustainability. To learn more about her work, please visit sarahragsdale.com. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Zaire Ali
I am the first person in my family to finish undergrad and get a graduate degree, but the GWP gave me confidence to tackle difficult writing task head first and not be afraid to try new things. Since then I started a Master’s of Public Health and a Doctorate degree and I have to give a big thanks to the GWP because they helped me articulate my thoughts into words. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Christopher Retzko
At the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information, PhD student Christopher Retzko is exploring organizational change communication, with a focus on the development of a culture of adaptability to prepare members of organizations for future change. He currently serves as the Director of Special Projects in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rutgers University assisting with University-wide accreditation and agreements with other institutions of higher education around the world, in addition to other responsibilities for university-wide academic affairs. He joined Rutgers in 2010, in the Office of the Secretary of the University, supporting the work of the governing boards. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Caterina Agostini
Caterina Agostini is a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University Department of Italian. Her dissertation project investigates the origins and development of scientific writing in early modern Italy. Caterina developed and curated Digital Humanities projects on medieval, Renaissance, and early modern science in order to enhance cultural learning, museum pedagogy, and an understanding of data visualization in the humanities. For more information, please visit sourcebookmedicalhumanitiesscience.wordpress.com. Courses Taken: Writing for Publication, Writing the Dissertation
Roxanna Ast
Roxanna Ast, LSW, PhD candidate, Rutgers University, is a New Jersey-based bi-national, International Social Worker and researcher who spent many years living, studying, and working in the Middle East, United Kingdom, and most recently the United States. As a social worker, her direct practice has involved working with immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who have experienced various forms of trauma including: rape, sexual assault, torture, war-based violence, human trafficking, and child abuse. She worked closely with interdisciplinary teams to help immigrants and refugees integrate into new communities and ensure they receive psychological treatment and support for their trauma. As a researcher, she has focused mainly on help seeking behavior of survivors of violent crimes, perceptions of violent crimes among Middle Eastern and immigrant populations, and intersection identities, especially among the refugee and immigrant populations. In addition, her research includes evaluation research specifically focusing on social service programs and interventions that are put in place to support immigrants and trauma survivors in their journey. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Nishka Uberoi
Since taking a course with the GWP, I have helped Prof. Karl Aspelund from the University of Rhode Island to write a primer on big data and artificial intelligence, which we expect to be published. Courses Taken: Writing for Publication
Paul Ferri
Since working with the GWP, Paul Ferri, a doctoral candidate in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Graduate Program, has advanced to candidacy, published an article, and given a presentation entitled “A Piezoelectric-Based Wireless Sensor for Monitoring Strain Through Inductive Coupling” at a national conference. Courses Taken: Writing for Publication
Mohamed Abdellatif
Since taking a course with the GWP, I advanced to candidacy in the Computer Science Graduate Program and also completed an internship. Courses Taken: Writing for Publication
Gregory Brodie
Since working with the GWP, Gregory Brodie, an MCRP candidate in the Bloustein School, has presented a paper entitled “Contentious Spaces: Newark, New Jersey and the Port of Newark” at the Association of American Geographers. Courses Taken: Graduate Writing
Amy Rosenthal
Amy Rosenthal recently received her Ph.D. from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. She specializes in food and agriculture policy, especially the ways these programs and policies can enhance individual and community wellbeing. She is currently a Social Science Research Analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, focusing on child nutrition programs. Amy has a Masters in Food Studies from New York University and a Bachelors in History from Stanford University. Rosenthal won the 2020 Graduate Student Paper Award of the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society for her paper, “'I like carrots but the carrots at this school are just …': Influences on students’ produce consumption in the National School Lunch Program." Her co-authored article “Meeting Students Where They Eat: A qualitative study exploring K-12 student experiences of the school cafeteria” is forthcoming in Children, Youth and Environments. She also published an op-ed for USA Today, “Cafeteria workers need support during COVID-19 pandemic.” Courses Taken: Writing for Publication
