Faculty Mentors - Humanities Edge Undergraduate Research Symposium | 2025-2026 - LibGuides at Miami Dade College Learning Resources

Benjamin Augustyn Social Sciences, Wolfson Campus	Eric Belokon Social Sciences, Wolfson Campus

Benjamin L. Augustyn is Associate Professor, Sr. of Anthropology and Sociology in the Department of Social Sciences at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus. After receiving a BA in Anthropology at U.C. Berkeley, he completed an MA in Anthropology, Political Philosophy, and Reflexive Social Psychology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany, where he focused on conflict in Africa. He is currently pursuing his interdisciplinary PhD at Florida International University in globalization and migration, in particular German immigrant cultural performances and the politics of race and ethnicity.	Dr. Eric Belokon was Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, came to US at the age of 10. After high school, went to UM-JMH radiology technologist program. Working with CT scans and MRI had become interested in neuropsychology. Received a Ph.D. and a Psy.D., from Carlos Albizu University, and trained at Albert Einstein Medical College. Over the years conducted research in brain-behavior relationship, worked in field of addiction, and clinical practice, etc., He has been teaching at MDC for twenty years, as a Professor of Psychology, and has developed a course in Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychology of Genocide. He has established a P.E.A.C.E. Center (Personal Enrichment and Collective Empowerment Center) at the Wolfson campus. and developed a College Credit Certificate in Mental Health - Neuroscience and Aging. Recently, presented work, entitled “Interfacing Minds and Media”, at International Conference of Media for Man at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Poland.

James Bennett English, Communications, & Mathematics, Homestead Campus	Jennie Canete English, Communications, & World Language, Hialeah Campus

Dr. James Michael Bennett is an Associate Professor at MDC Homestead. He holds degrees in Mathematics and Statistics from Providence College and Loyola University Chicago, the Humanities from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Southern California. A native of Tucson, Arizona, he teaches courses in writing, literature, and mathematics. He is also a faculty co-lead for the Homestead Campus student publication Estuaries.	Jake Guyton is a full-time English language and English Composition instructor. He holds one Master’s degree in Linguistics and another in Foreign Language Education: TESOL. His research interests include leveraging art to improve education, interdisciplinary environmental education, and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). In addition to being the recipient of the 2014 Truby Award for outstanding achievement in Linguistics at Florida International University, Jake has conducted research on the application of TBLT in a college-level grammar course, differences in phonetic production of flapped /t/ and /d/, and phonological awareness training resulting in improved phonetic production. Ultimately, Jake plans on continuing his higher education journey by completing his PhD in Teaching and Learning: Curriculum, Cultural, and Social Studies while conducting research on the utilization of art, with a focus on rap music, as a pedagogical tool to improve the interdisciplinary cooperation, acquisition, and application of environmental-focused education.

Danixia Cuevas Law Center, Wolfson Campus	Lyle Culver Architecture & Interior Design, Kendall Campus

Dr. Danixia Cuevas is a senior professor at Miami Dade College and teaches paralegal and law classes. She is the internship coordinator for the Law Center and has over 25 years of experience using collaborative teaching pedagogy and experiential learning methodologies. Dr. Cuevas served as a Fulbright-Nehru scholar to India. She has served as a Fulbright Specialist twice and as a Fulbright Scholar Alumni Ambassador. She has served as a peer review for the Fulbright Scholar program; the Fulbright student program as well as the Fulbright Specialist program. Dr. Cuevas is currently an Advisory Board Member for the World Learning program which administers the Fulbright Specialist program. She has written articles and presented at conferences nationally and internationally on law-related matters including access to justice, paralegal education and international law. Dr. Cuevas has received two Endowed Teaching Chairs for outstanding teaching excellence at MDC.	Dr. Lyle Culver is a professor at Miami Dade College, where he teaches architecture, interior design, and visual communications. His courses include Architecture History, Design Studios, Global Architecture, Urban Studies, Graphic and Furniture Design, and Travel Sketching. He also created MDC’s Summer Teens College Architecture & Design Program, introducing high school students to design and architecture pathways. A nationally recognized educator and advocate for diversity in architectural education, Dr. Culver has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Miami Herald, Diversity – Issues in Higher Education, Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, and The MDC Journal. He has presented at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the National Council of Hispanic Community Colleges, focusing on expanding student access to design fields. Dr. Culver has guided hundreds of students in transferring to leading architecture and design programs—such as Pratt Institute, Cornell University, Cooper Union, SCI-Arc, the University of Florida, and SCAD—and has helped establish articulation agreements to strengthen these pathways. His teaching excellence has been recognized with the Dr. Robert H. McCabe Teaching Endowed Chair and the NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award. He holds a Doctor of Education focused on study-abroad experiences, along with graduate degrees from Florida International University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of St. Andrews. Fluent in French, German, and Spanish, he brings a global, humanistic perspective to design education.

John Frazier Arts & Philosophy, Kendall Campus	Adrian Garcia Film & Digital Production, North Campus

John Frazier is a renowned non-Western cultural expert who has consulted with the United Nations, UNICEF, Louvre Museum, Field Museum of Chicago, Walt Disney Company, U.S. Department of Education and numerous universities. Frazier has traveled the world working with disenfranchised populations and helping people educate their youth, including the Baka Pygmies of Central Africa, Sudanese refugees in Chad and Kenya, Rwandan orphans in Kenya, Vodou practitioners in Haiti, rape survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mexican street artists. Professor Frazier's educational programs and curriculum, have served more than 6.5 million children, 65,000 teachers, and 15,000 refugees. For his contributions to humanity, former U.S. President Obama honored John Frazier with a Lifetime President's Volunteer Service Award in 2016.	Adrian Garcia is an Associate Professor at Miami Dade College, where he holds the Daniel K. Gill Endowed Teaching Chair. Specializing in film production and screenwriting, he has taught generations of students a new way of seeing. He hosts the Women Above the Line and Actor’s Spotlight interview series. Recognized with a Golden Communicator Award and a Suncoast Emmy nomination, he has connected students with many industry icons, including Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, four-time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke, Golden Globe winner Tom Hiddleston, two-time Golden Globe nominee Jason Isaacs, and Peabody Award recipient José Díaz-Balart. Garcia has taught innovative production courses to incarcerated populations and launched the first-of-its-kind Telemundo Academy, as well as study abroad programs in Prague and Vancouver. A member of the Miami Film Festival Screening Committee, he has traveled to 49 countries—recent trips include Japan, Lebanon, and Jordan—and is an avid tennis player and foodie with a fondness for Brazilian and Indian cuisines.

Adam Gonzalez Communication, Arts, & Philosophy, Padrón Campus	Michael Lenaghan Social Sciences, North Campus

Adam Gonzales is an award-winning Instructor of Speech Communication, recognized for his dedication to excellence in teaching and student development. His academic journey began at his local community college, where he majored in public speaking and cultivated a strong foundation in rhetorical theory and performance. He later transferred to Illinois State University to further his studies and was subsequently awarded a prestigious graduate teaching assistantship by the School of Communication at the University of Northern Iowa. Currently, Mr. Gonzales serves as the faculty convenor for Speech Communication and co-coordinator of the Miami Dade College Spring Communication Conference. In this role, he oversees the planning and execution of the annual campus-wide speech and debate competition, which he also produces and hosts. His work reflects a deep commitment to fostering student confidence and empowering individuals to become effective and articulate public speakers. He is married and has two cats: Fiano and Charlie.	Eight-time NEH Summer Workshop Fellow and Endowed Chair of Teaching Excellence Professor in Political Science and International Relations, Dr. Lenaghan invites scholars to engage in exploration of literature that relates to each one’s special interests, aspirations. Presuming each student brings a unique genius to a course or seminar, he invites each to identify books, creative or performing arts or sources of ideas, insights and inspirations by which to make the learning community more meaningful. And by research, reading, writing, oral presentation or graphic representation each make the whole of the course experience greater than the sum of its parts.

Charles Meehan Communication, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Homestead Campus	Matthew Nesvet Arts & Philosophy, North Campus

Professor Charlie Meehan’s MDC journey started in 1999 as a part-time writing tutor while juggling an MFA at the University of Miami. By 2001, he was a full-time Instructional Assistant II, helping to manage the College Prep Writing Lab and teaching ENC 1101 and ENC 1102. After a Rhode Island detour in 2005, Charlie returned to Miami in 2010 as an adjunct, adding Creative Writing and Jazz Literature to his repertoire. In 2017, he stepped into the role of Kendall Campus Academic Writing Support Coach, where he coordinated writing help across disciplines, managed the Writing Lounge, and helped to lead the pivot to virtual tutoring during COVID. Through it all, Charlie kept teaching and building toward his next chapter: in 2023, he became full-time English faculty at Homestead Campus. From jazz to poetry and literature, Charlie’s passion for writing—and helping others master it—has been the rhythm of his career.

Matthew Sagorski English & Communications, North Campus	Emily Sendin English & Communications, Kendall Campus

Matthew Sagorski is a professor of English at Miami Dade College’s North Campus where he teaches composition and literature courses. He earned his M.A. in English Literature at Central Michigan University where his studies focused on Modernism, British and Irish literature, and the works of James Joyce. At CMU, his master’s thesis focused on James Joyce’s embrace of cosmopolitanism and explored how Joyce’s work was responding to and challenging the Irish Nationalist Movement’s focus on rural identity in the early 20th century. His other literary interests include comic books and graphic novels, science fiction, fantasy, dystopian literature and films, and Miami’s cultural and literary history.	Emily Andrea Sendin is a professor of English, literature, journalism, and creative writing at Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida, with twenty-six years of teaching experience. She is a two-time Endowed Teaching Chair and Fulbright Scholar. Her areas of expertise are feminist, gender, postcolonial, and media studies. She teaches global sustainability and Earth literacy studies, service-learning, and Honors College courses. She is the founding advisor of the award-winning Urbana Literary and Arts magazine, and, most recently, of StoryBytes Media, a student-led initiative sharing stories through digital innovation such as film and podcasts. She is also the founding advisor of two Sigma Kappa Delta National English Honor Society chapters. Sendin is the co-founder of the Tengo un Sueño and Hermandad MaryKnoll High School programs supporting the educational journeys of youth in rural Nicaragua now expanded to Peru. Sendin is a published author who serves on the board of several national organizations. Her life’s passions are teaching, writing, traveling, and serving.

Marisol Varela English & Communications, Kendall Campus

Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Varela moved to Florida to join her family and pursue her college education. She has been teaching since 1995 and holds a Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Curriculum Development and Organizational Leadership. Her teaching expertise includes developmental education, first-year composition, rhetoric, literacy, research, and service learning. A lifelong advocate of community engagement, she began volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House at age 14, shaping a philosophy rooted in service learning. Dr. Varela co-authored Making Connections: A Global Approach to College Reading and developed two online writing courses (ENC0015 and ENC0025). Her global work includes a humanitarian mission to Ecuador and curriculum training for educators in Kenya. She is a two-time Endowed Teaching Chair recipient and a 2024 NISOD Excellence Award honoree. Her current projects focus on research in literacy, assessment, and education.