Connect with a Grad Diversity Ambassador

The Graduate Diversity Ambassadors are current MIT graduate students who partner with OGE GradDiversity to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community at MIT.

Over the past year, our Graduate Diversity Ambassadors engaged with over 775 prospective graduate students by attending 12 diversity recruitment conferences, hosting eight GradCatalyst sessions, reviewing 20 statements of objectives of our MIT Summer Research Program – General (MSRP) alumni applying to MIT graduate programs, evaluating almost 500 applications for MSRP, acclimating MSRP interns to the MIT community, and established a Graduate Students of Color Advisory Council to foster collaboration across student organizations and enhance the overall graduate student community.

The legend below indicates the various ways the ambassador is involved in Grad Diversity programs during the academic year. Prospective students are invited to reach out to the ambassador of their choice with any questions.

  • View by Department:

Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16)

Ryann Hee

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, AeroAstro grad program, Women in stem, Grad student life (first gen experience)

Architecture (Course 4)

Jola Idowu

Degree Objective:
Master of Architecture, (SMArch)

Undergraduate Institution(s):
UChicago

Hometown:
Chicago, Illinois

Amanda Ugorji

Degree Objective:
MAarch

Undergraduate Institution(s):
Brown University

Hometown:
Cambridge, MA

You can ask me about:

Architecture

Biological Engineering (Course 20)

Oluremi Akindele

Degree Objective:
PhD

Bianca Lepe

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
Caltech

Hometown:
Los Angeles, California, USA

You can ask me about:

BE Grad Program, Graduate Student Council

Biology (Course 7)

Gabriella Lopez Perez

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research program, Biology Grad Program, Grad Student Life

Yamilex Acevedo-Sanchez

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program Biology, Grad Student Life, Diversity, Mental Health

Giselle Valdes

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
Florida International University

Hometown:
Miami, Florida

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, MSRP-Bio, Biology Grad Program, MIT housing, Grad Student Life, Biology Application Assistance Program (BAAP)

Anais Tsai

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
Standford University

Hometown:
Stockton, California

You can ask me about:

Biology Grad Program, Off campus housing, Moving from the West Coast, Grad Student Life, Work Life Balance

Oscar Molina

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of California, Los Angeles

Hometown:
San Diego, California

You can ask me about:

Biology Grad Program, Moving across the country, high school outreach programs

Christian Loyo

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of Wisconsin – Madison

Hometown:
Plainview, MN

Juana De La O

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of Chicago

Hometown:
Chicago, IL

You can ask me about:

Navigating the graduate admissions process (GradCatalyst), MIT Housing, off-campus housing, finding well-priced food/groceries, finding/building community making friends (like me!), MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) General or Biology

Manraj Gill

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of California, Berkeley

Hometown:
Ludhiana, Punjab, India

You can ask me about:

Biology Ph.D. Program; Science and Public Policy; Teaching, Mentorship, and Outreach Opportunities at MIT

Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Course 9)

Raul Mojica

You can ask me about:

MSRP in Bio/Neuro, Off-campus housing, BCS Graduate Program, and applying to MIT

Josefina Correa

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, Grad Student Life, BCS

Chemistry (Course 5)

Amanda Cowfer

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, Off-Campus housing, Grad Student Life

Marissa Vera

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, Chemistry Grad Program, Off-campus housing, Grad student life

Andrew Dorfeuille

You can ask me about:

Chemistry Grad Program and Grad Student Life

Axel Vera Sanchez

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

Hometown:
San Sebastian, Puerto Rico

You can ask me about:

MSRP, Chemistry, Genome Editing, CRISPR, Broad Institute

Andrea N. Marcano-Delgado

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of Puerto Rico-Humacao

Hometown:
San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, Chemistry Grad Program, MIT Housing, Grad Student Life

Civil and Environmental Engineering (Course 1)

Zane Schemmer

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT housing, CEE department, IM/Club sports

Chelsea Medina

Degree Objective:
Master of Engineering, (MEng)

You can ask me about:

MIT Housing,Grad Student Life, CEE

Computational and Systems Biology (CSB)

Emanuel Burgos

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MSRP, Biology Grad Program, CSB program, CSB-AAP

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Course 6)

Sandy Jean-Charles

Degree Objective:
Master of Engineering, (MEng)

Undergraduate Institution(s):
MIT

Hometown:
Brooklyn, New York

Alvaro Sahagun

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Science, Engineer’s Degree (ScD)

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of Illinois at Chicago

Hometown:
Chicago Heights, Illinois

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, EECS Grad Program, MIT Housing, Grad Student Life

Miela Gross

Degree Objective:
PhD

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of California, Berkeley

Hometown: 
San Diego, California

You can ask me about:

EECS Grad Program, GAAP Program, Grad Student Life

Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST)

Diana Grass

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

Undergraduate Institution(s):
Rutgers University

Graduate Institution(s):
National University of Colombia

Hometown: 
Cartagena, Colombia

You can ask me about:

MIT spouses, parents and families – First-Gen – Grad life – International experiences

Keegan Mendez

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

Favour Obuseh

You can ask me about:

Feel free to contact me about: MIT Summer Research Program, HST PhD Program.

Management (Course 15)

Christian Bradley

Degree Objective:
Master of Business Administration, (MBA)

 

You can ask me about:

MBA Program, Entrepreneurship through Acquisition, Healthcare

Lili Wondwossen

Degree Objective:
Master of Business Administration, (MBA)

Dennis Kamara

Degree Objective:
Master of Business Administration, (MBA)

 

You can ask me about:

Grad Student Life, GRE Test Prep, Entrepreneurship at MIT

Materials Science and Engineering (Course 3)

Jacqueline Baidoo

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

You can ask me about:

Grad student life, international research experiences, materials science grad program

Mechanical Engineering (Course 2)

Eugenio Caraballo-Justiniano

Degree Objective:
Master of Science, (SM)

You can ask me about:

MechE Grad Program, MIT ENGAGE, MIT Makerworkshop, MIT housing, Grad Student Life

Vineet Jagadeesan Nair

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

You can ask me about:

Grad Student Life, MechE/CCSE grad programs, LGBTQ+ community, Energy/Climate/Sustainability issues

Ozioma Ozor-Ilo

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

Brandon Rios

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

You can ask me about:

MSRP, Mechanical Engineering, Intramural/ Club Sports

Media Arts and Sciences (MAS)

Raechel Walker

Degree Objective: 
SM

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of California, San Diego

Hometown:
Temecula, California

You can ask me about:

Grad Student Life, Research Opportunities

Pedro Colon-Hernandez

Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)

Undergraduate Institution(s):
University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Hometown:
San Juan, Puerto Rico

You can ask me about:

You can contact me about the MIT Summer Research Program, Applying to graduate school, grad student life.

Physics (Course 8)

Junior Peña

Degree Objective:
PhD

You can ask me about:

MIT Summer Research Program, Grad Student Life, Work-Life Balance

Timothy Zaklama

Degree Objective: 
PhD

You can ask me about:

You can ask me about MIT Fellowships, Quant finance and life in industry, traveling, Research overseas, or anything related to Grad Student Life

Urban Studies and Planning (Course 11)

Katelyn McVay

Degree Objective:
MCP

You can ask me about:

First Generation/ FGLI Student Experiences, Grad Student Life, Urban Planning and Studies, Research