We are delighted to welcome back our second-year MA candidates as they continue their endeavors and their theses and projects
Sonbol Bahramikamangar is passionate about domestic violence advocacy and prevention. She completed the Florida Domestic Violence Core Competency Training and now serves as a Prevention Advocate for Education and Youth with Peaceful Paths, where she supports shelter initiatives and youth education. Under the guidance of Dr. Maddy Coy, her M.A. research explores cultural and religious forces that perpetuate violence against Kurdish women in Iran.
Mary Kate Di Fresco is writing her thesis under the advising of Dr. Alyssa Zucker. Mary Kate’s M.A. research explores the use of eco-memory in its relation to gardens and intergenerational healing. Outside of the Department, Mary Kate has been organizing the Gainesville Climate Café and working with local organizers to create a comprehensive web of climate action in Gainesville.
Amya Ellison has interests in Black Feminism, grassroots organizing and activism, radical healing theory and collective liberation. They are currently working on their M.A. project under the supervision of Dr. Cinnamon Williams, exploring Black women’s experiences with misogynoir at predominantly white institutions, to provide insight into support programs that are necessary for collective well-being in these spaces
Alexandria Gibson is working on her M.A. thesis under the supervision of Dr. Olivia Adams. She created an oral history archive with the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, titled “Sitting at the Feet ofElders” that traces the prevalence oftraditional healing among women in the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Alexandria presented at the Sex Down South ‘24 Conference and was awarded a grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Gainesville Branch for her research
Whitney Rodríguez Minda is working on her M.A. project on black sexualities and other types of sex work and labor, and on archival research on Sinnamon Love’s career as a professional sexual performance artist. Her project is supervised by Dr. Jillian Hernandez and Dr. Anita Anantharam.
Zuzu Tadeushuk is working on her thesis examining theories of embodiment, visuality, and modeling, advised by Dr. Jillian Hernandez. She is interested in phenomenology as a method to describe the experience of the model body. Zuzu presented her work at two academic conferences this Fall.