Faculty Mentors - Humanities Edge Undergraduate Research Symposium | Fall 2023 - LibGuides at Miami Dade College Learning Resources

Trinidad Arguelles Social & Behavioral Sciences, West Campus	Rodney Castillo English & Communications, Hialeah Campus

Dr. Trinidad Argüelles is Associate Professor of Psychology at MDC West Campus. Dr. Argüelles is a self-identified Applied Gerontologist, with vast teaching experience at FIU, MDC, and UM. Her research endeavors include 18 ½ years of work as part of UM’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Center on Aging), publishing and presenting about Neuropsychology, Human Factors, Caregiving, and Aging. Her outreaching to minority populations suffering from Neurocognitive disorders and their families also led to an Andrus Foundation Fellowship with the AARP foundation at the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Argüelles is also the founding and lead advisor for both the West Campus Psychology Club and the West Campus Chapter for the Psi Beta Honor Society. Dr. Argüelles is also Co-Chair for Changemaking at the West Campus. This August marked her tenth year of full-time employment at the college, with ten years prior to that of part time teaching. Dr. Argüelles was recently awarded The Honorable Jack Gordon Endowed Teaching Chair, 2022-2024.	Born in Cuba, Professor Rodney Castillo migrated with his parents to South Florida at the age of thirteen. An alum of Miami Dade College, he graduated from Florida International University with a bachelor's and a masters in English Literature, a minor in Asian culture, and a Certificate in Exile Studies. His areas of academic concentration are Shakespearean studies as well as literature that explores the human experience through exile, migration, and displacement. He currently teaches English at Miami Dade College – Hialeah Campus.

JJ Colagrande English & Communications, Kendall Campus	Trisha Foster Communications, Arts, & Philosophy, Pádron Campus

J.J. Colagrande is an Assistant Professor at MDC, Kendall. He is the author of several novels, including Headz and Decò 2.0. Colagrande has written about Miami culture for almost twenty years, first with The Miami Herald, then Miami New Times and Huffington Post. He is also the publisher of Jitney Books.	Professor Tricia Foster has an MA in English Literature and has been working at Miami Dade College since 2012. She teaches English Composition 1 (ENC1101), English Composition 2 (ENC1102), and Introduction to Literature (LIT2000). She was recently awarded the President's Innovation Grant at Miami Dade College for her work on remediation modules that run concurrent with core classes to help students succeed in their freshman year. She also presented at the first Humanities Edge sponsored Creative Writing Workshop at Miami Dade College last June.

Taurie Gittings Wheeler Humanities, Music, & Arts, West Campus	Victor Gomez Arts & Philosophy, North Campus

Associate Professor Taurie Gittings-Wheeler, a student of the arts since middle school and a graduate of the New World School of the Arts, is an artisan, performer, and educator, with over 23 years of teaching experience. In addition to her degree in Theatre from Florida A&M University, she holds two master’s degrees: one in Interdisciplinary Arts from Nova Southeastern University and an additional one in Art & Visual Media from Tiffin University. She teaches Humanities, Cinema, Art, and Theatre Appreciation courses. She serves as the MDC Online Faculty Developer for Art and Theatre Appreciation and is a Faculty Lead for The Humanities Edge grant. She is committed to bringing the transformative power of the arts to everyone. Through global education, she aims to broaden students' perspectives on the world and has taken 56 MDC students to England, France, Italy, and Greece. Through teaching, mentoring, and service to MDC, she has implemented arts-infused high-impact practices to improve student achievement. She is the recipient of the 2023 AT&T II Endowed Teaching Chair award.	Victor Gomez is a dedicated and passionate artist and professor. As a BFA student at Temple University, he interned at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Education Department. He worked with the Education Department, teaching sculpture to enrolled students. While in pursuit of his MFA at Hunter College, he did the same at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The combination of teaching and study abroad programs, granted Professor Gomez direct access to the Historical Art that was being referenced throughout his courses. Accepting a faculty appointment at Miami Dade College has been a wonderful opportunity to implement all of these experiences.

Wendy Goodwin Communications, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Homestead Campus	Sarah Jacob Humanities, Music, & Arts, West Campus

Wendy Goodwin has been an English professor at Miami Dade College for eighteen years. She teaches a range of courses, including developmental, creative writing, and composition. She served for three years as faculty advisor for The Homestead Campus award-winning literary magazine Estuaries and annually chairs the genocide awareness committee where each year student volunteers help set up art installations around campus. She began her career teaching English to juvenile offenders in an outward-bound style program that included riding horses and camping in fields. She also served for four years as outreach director for Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, a nonprofit which assisted learning disabled and visually impaired students.	Sarah Jacob, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Miami Dade College’s (MDC) West Campus, is a proud alumna of MDC (Wolfson Campus). She graduated with her AA in 1997 before earning a BA in Philosophy from Florida International University (FIU) in 2000. Following her studies Sarah worked as the Marketing Director for a wellness company for over fifteen years before returning to FIU’s philosophy department to earn her MA in Liberal Studies (with a focus on environmental philosophy). Sarah is currently finishing her Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of South Florida, writing her dissertation on the Buddhist influences on Nietzsche’s philosophy of the future. Sarah has been teaching at Miami Dade College since 2013 and has been full time since 2017. She serves on the Earth Ethic Institute Council, co-Advises for the YES! Club and the Nothing Café Philosophy Club. She also serves as a faculty lead for Humanities Edge.

Shannon Kennedy Communications, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Homestead Campus	Jairo Ledesma Communications, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Homestead Campus

Dr. Shannon Kennedy is an Associate Professor Senior at Miami Dade College Homestead Campus. There, she teaches a variety of introductory and electives psychology courses, including psychology of genocide and social psychology. She is active on the campus Changemaking committee and has presented in forums on the topic. A native to Illinois, Dr. Kennedy has been in Miami for over a decade where she pursued her graduate studies. Dr. Kennedy holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in Psychology and Gender and Women’s Studies and a Master’s degree in Psychology from Florida International University. Her doctorate also was completed at FIU in developmental psychology, focusing on emerging adults (18-25-year-olds) and intimate partner violence. She has published in the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. When not working, Dr. Kennedy enjoys time with her husband and three young children especially enjoying the Miami weather at the beach.	Jairo Ricardo Ledesma is a Professor of History and Sociology at Miami Dade College’s Homestead campus. For over twenty years, he has worked at private and public institutions serving in different higher education roles, including student counselor, career counselor, academic adviser, Grant Director, and as an adjunct instructor. Professor Ledesma holds a Bachelor of Science in communications and a Master of Arts in sociology from St. John’s University in New York City. He also holds a Master of Arts in history and is currently a third-year history Ph.D. student at Florida International University. Throughout his career, Professor Ledesma has worked with underrepresented groups. The hundreds of students he has advised or taught are now industry leaders or educators throughout the world. He is former USDA Kika the la Garza Fellow, and a Humanities Edge Grant recipient where he led undergraduate students in historical research. Currently he is a board member of the Homestead City Hall Museum, sits on the F.I.U Statewide Federal Government Conference committee, and is the Chair of the Hispanic Heritage Month committee.

Michael Lenaghan Social Sciences, North Campus	Susan Lichtman Communications, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Homestead Campus

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.	Susan G. Lichtman is an associate professor of speech, public speaking, mass communication, and American Federal Government at the Homestead Campus, where she also teaches Honors College courses. An Endowed Teaching Chair, she co-advised Homestead’s literary magazine, Estuaries; founded the Journalism Club; and served as PTK advisor, leading the chapter to win its first international Hallmark Award. Professor Lichtman has written and produced three oral history video documentaries for Miami Dade College, one of which was supported by a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. She completed her MA in Mass Communication from Michigan State University, and BA in Government and Spanish with honors from Clark University. As an undergraduate, she studied in Costa Rica and Mexico, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and was named a Fulbright Scholar to Colombia, where she completed a research study on radio’s impact on public health. She is an active Rotarian dedicated to community service and a member of the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami.

Carmen Lopez Social Sciences, Wolfson Campus	Teresa Mitchell Humanities, Music, & Arts, West Campus

Dr. Carmen Lopez is an Associate Professor at the Wolfson Campus. She earned a B. A. and M. A. at Florida International University and holds a PhD from the University of Miami. She teaches courses in American, World and Holocaust history for the Department of Social Sciences, the Honors College and MDC Online, where she serves as the developer for history courses. She also co-chairs the campus Impact Team and is a faculty co-facilitator for the Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy. She also serves on the Diverse Voices Committee as well as the Project Based-Learning Task Force. She has published articles in Tequesta Journal and History Miami Magazine and has worked several times with Cengage Publishing to revise their Global Americans textbook and create supplemental instructional materials. Most recently, she led the effort to add the History of Women in the United States to the course offerings at Miami Dade College.	Dr. Terri Mitchell, Associate Professor of Music at MDC West, is an accomplished flutist and a consummate musician and educator. Dr. Mitchell teaches Music Appreciation, Jazz and Popular Music. She is also the UFMDC Vice President for West Campus. In addition, she is the advisor for the Dialogues for Democracy Club at MDC West Campus. She is also co- advisor for the Creative Arts club with Professor Gittings. She received her Doctorate in Music from the University of Miami in 2003 where she received the Award for Academic Achievement and won the Concerto Competition in her first year at the University. She has lectured on musicians’ health, the subject of her doctoral research, at the University of Miami and at the Florida Flute Fair as well as in Brazil. She has played with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe and has performed solos with the Alhambra Orchestra, the Ars Flores orchestra and the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra. She was awarded the SGI Renaissance Award in 2004 for her contributions to the community within the field of music. She is also a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, the music honors society.

Scott Murphy Social Sciences, North Campus	Matthew Nesvet Arts & Philosophy, North Campus

Murphy is a sociologist. His courses explore how the empirical realities of everyday life are related to broader public issues. His students are active with the Earth Ethics Institute and the Institute for Civic Engagement & Democracy and he advises the Global Medical Brigades Club and the Sociology Club. He is currently researching the relationships between meaning, purpose, and housing in the tiny house movement. His work has appeared in Sociological Forum, Qualitative Sociology, Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Florida Public Health Review, and Higher Education. He earned a B.A. in Social Science from the University of Northern Colorado, a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from San Diego State University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology from the University of California-Riverside.	Matthew Nesvet is an anthropologist and critical security studies researcher. He is also an assistant professor at Miami Dade College, where he leads a federal grant-funded social anthropology and human rights lab focusing on medical and psychological anthropology, STS, and the science and technology behind militarization, policing, governance, and state and extra-state violence. Prior to joining Miami Dade College’s faculty, Dr. Nesvet was a policy expert at the U.S. Congressional Research Service, Congress’ nonpartisan internal think tank, where he led a criminal justice policy portfolio. Dr. Nesvet’s writing has been cited by academic researchers and in popular publications such as The Nation, and he has been interviewed by The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other media. Find Dr. Nesvet’s research and reportage at MattNesvet.com and reach out to him via Twitter or Academia.edu.

Ginny Peterson-Tennant Social Sciences, North Campus	Emily Sendin English & Communications, Kendall Campus

Over the course of the past 30 years, Dr. Ginny Peterson Tennant has taught over 10,000 undergraduate students in both the Social Science department and the Honors College at Miami Dade College. She also serves as one of two faculty leaders in the Honors College at the North Campus. As a qualitative researcher, she has explored topics such as reverse acculturation, work/family balance and service learning. Her research appears in peer-reviewed journals. She has received grants and led students on study abroad programs. Twice, she was named as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) scholar. In 2017 she was honored as the recipient of the Ruth & Jack Kassewitz Endowed Teaching Chair award at Miami Dade College.	Emily Andrea Sendin is a professor of English, literature, and creative writing at Miami Dade College with over two decades of teaching experience. She is a two-time Endowed Teaching Chair and Fulbright Scholar. Her areas of expertise are African American literature, feminist, gender, and postcolonial theories and media studies. She teaches global sustainability and Earth literacy studies, service-learning and Honors College courses. She is the founding advisor of Urbana, the award-winning literary and arts magazine of the Padrón Campus, which she advised for 15 years. She is also the founding advisor of Gamma Eta, the Padrón Campus chapter of Sigma Kappa Delta National English Honor Society. In 2009, she founded FNE International’s Tengo un Sueño and Hermandad MaryKnoll High School supporting the educational journeys of youth in rural Nicaragua for the past 14 years. Her life’s passions are teaching, writing, traveling and serving.

Ahmed-Karim Soliman Social Sciences, Wolfson Campus	Marisol Varela English & Communications, Kendall Campus

Ahmed-Karim Mohamed Soliman is an instructor of History at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus. He earned a M.A in History in 2015 and a B.A in History in 2012 from Florida International University. He is currently a faculty mentor for the Gateways Emotional Intelligence Program and the Co-Advisor for Model United Nations. As a self professed nerd, he has a wide range of personal and professional interests which include literature, gaming, fitness, tracking the growth and impact of 20th century popular culture trends, the Cold War and cultural diasporas.	Dr. Varela, hailing from the vibrant city of New Orleans and the child of immigrant parents, embodies a unique blend of diverse cultural influences. She proudly began her academic journey at MDC, later earning her Bachelor's degree from Florida International University. Her dedication and intellectual curiosity led her to pursue higher education, culminating in the attainment of both a Master's and Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Varela's academic path is fueled by an insatiable passion for research. She tirelessly seeks to expand the boundaries of knowledge and make a meaningful impact on her field. In her relentless quest for discovery, she continues to inspire and contribute to the academic community and beyond.

Sabrina Walters English & Communications, North Campus

Dr. Sabrina Walters is a Professor in the English and Communications Department at Miami Dade College, North Campus. Her research has centered on the plight of African American males in higher education. She has focused on coping mechanisms employed by African American males to determine specific strategies associated with the achievement outcomes among Black males at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs). Prior to joining Miami Dade College, Dr. Walters was a reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Sun-Times, and the Miami Herald. She is a recipient of an Education Writers Association fellowship and a National Press Foundation fellowship, which allowed her to travel to Mexico to study Spanish. Dr. Walters attended the University of Miami where she completed her doctoral studies in Higher Education Leadership. She also earned a BS in Journalism from Michigan State University and MS in English Education from Nova Southeastern University.