Humanities Edge Undergraduate Research Symposium | Summer 2020

Angela Garcia is a second-year undergrad student majoring in Pre-pharmacy and a peer tutor for philosophy at the Kendall Campus of Miami-Dade College. Originally from California, she moved to Miami as a child and grew up in South Florida. She worked for several years in the wireless telecom industry until she decided to enroll in college to pursue her dreams of working in medicine. She has always had a strong passion for science and a sense of duty to help others in need.

Breauna Gibbons is pursuing an Associates degree in English at the Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College. Writing has been her passion since elementary school, and her highest aspiration is to be an international best-selling author. When Breauna graduates with an Associates, she wants to continue her academic pathway at Florida International University. Breauna Gibbons is always known as the underdog, whether it be in her academic studies or personal life. However, she is not afraid to embrace any adversity that she comes up against. If anything, she is determined to succeed in life.

Winsome Drummond is from the island of Jamaica where she experienced firsthand the stigma against Patois speaking persons. She attends Miami Dade College where she is pursuing her Associates in Arts degree in Drama/Drama Education. Her 4.0 GPA has placed her on the Dean’s List; she is also an English tutor at the North Campus. Her passion for drama and desire to advocate for Patois drives her research projects because she strongly believes the two can make a difference for her country. Winsome strongly believes that Patois is the verbal representation of the Island’s motto “Out of Many One People.”
 

Marlene Montenegro-Toirac is a digital humanist and advocate for building partnerships to prevent and end homelessness. She has degrees in psychology and radio and television production. Her interests include photography, film, data analytics, and instructional design. Marlene believes that educating ourselves allows others to learn. She enjoys education through travel, plays the piano, and loves classical music and poetry.

Juan Romero is a graduate of the The Honors College at Miami-Dade where he majored in English. Growing up reading literary classics and cult favorites like Harry Potter and The Giver, he knew that he wanted to explore the world of literature. His love for the creative arts can be seen in his work as an editor for the Axis Creative Arts Magazine published throughout Miami-Dade College. Passionate about Human Rights and their importance in society, Juan has given several speeches about the service-learning work he has conducted at a local high school where he led Human Rights seminars. During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his friends and family. He can usually be found listening to music in his backyard with his dogs.

Labiba Zaman is a Miami Dade College sophomore majoring in Secondary Education Mathematics. She graduated from William H. Turner Technical Arts Senior High School where she ranked in the top 3 percentile of her graduating class. As a child, Labiba discovered a love of art and immersed herself in painting, drawing, and sketching. Labiba also found a connection to mathematics and plans on transferring to the University of Central Florida after graduating from MDC to pursue a bachelor’s degree in math. She currently tutors elementary and middle school students in mathematics.

Nicholas Dore is a student at MDC Padrón campus, and is majoring in political science. In 2017, he graduated from Brito Miami Private School and worked retail management for 2 years before deciding to enroll in college and pursue his career goal. His hobbies and activities include advocating for social justice reform, volunteering on political campaigns, and he is currently interning on congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s reelection campaign. After he completes his A.A. at MDC, he plans to transfer to a university, with the hopes of working in international relations and foreign policy.

Laura Santos is a first-generation immigrant originally from Honduras who has a deep passion for challenging the status quo and improving her community. She emigrated to the United States in 2014 and became really invested in politics and economics with an aspiration to pursue law with public policy; thus, completing a degree in political science. As an orphan, she holds deep interest in social policy in order to improve the system and infrastructure for those who have undergone similar situations.

Benjamin Shannon is currently majoring in biology at Miami Dade College and plans on transferring to John Hopkins University to attain his Bachelor's in biology and ultimately becoming a trauma surgeon. In his off time you can usually find him entertaining his affinity for classical music, staying up late researching other topics he finds interesting, meditating on his thoughts or a combination thereof. His professional research, however, focuses on cognitive processes- specifically, memory- and how they relate to feelings of closeness in groups.

A great opportunity that led Benjamin towards his research interest was a 4-week marine-biology science expedition in the British Virgin Islands. This project consisted of studying local microorganisms and their impact on the ecosystems, discovering newly invasive creatures, tagging turtles, aiding local rescue efforts, and coral reef preservation efforts to name a few.

Mariely Deleon was born in Miami to Dominican parents who helped her find her love of design. Her passion for fashion stemmed from her high school classes where she took fashion design classes alongside computer editing classes for her four years. During her time at MFI, she worked on her design skills in designing garments and developed many projects that showcased her imagination and creativity. She hopes to become a costume designer for TV and movies and to publish books.

Frances Ariel Perez strives to make information accessible to a broader audience. Currently pursuing her associate degree in English, Frances uses her experience with research and writing to further her goal. During the spring semester, Frances worked with Professor Henry and the Humanities edge program to develop a project that focused on gentrification. Through her understanding of the digital humanities, Frances developed a timeline that followed several of Miami’s historical sites from their blueprints to their destruction. As a student in the Honors program at MDC, she hopes that she can share her projects and encourage peers to create their own.

Pick Ticks: A Graphic Movie

Florida Left Behind: Bilingual Education Policy Under the No Child Left Behind Act

Martina Brady is a senior year at FIU, majoring in English and minoring in Political Science. She was born in New York City and grew up in the Caribbean. Previously, she attended Miami Dade College, where she covered Arts & Entertainment at The Reporter. She is currently employed as a research assistant for the Computer Science department at FIU. After graduation, she hopes to be a journalist. When she is not writing, she enjoys playing guitar and cooking.

Anaridia R. Molina graduated this May from Florida International University with a B.A. in English Literature and certificates in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies. She is a fellow of the Andrew W. Mellon-HSI Pathway to the Professoriate, and a member of the Mellon-Humanities Edge Program, Tau Sigma Academic Honor Society, and Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She is also a recipient of FIU’s Global Learning Medallion. In the fall, Anaridia plans on attending the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor to pursue her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature.