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.
Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16)
Ryann Hee
Degree Objective:
PhD
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
Architecture
Biological Engineering (Course 20)
Oluremi Akindele
Degree Objective:
PhD
Bianca Lepe
Degree Objective:
PhD
Undergraduate Institution(s):
Caltech
Hometown:
Los Angeles, California, USA
BE Grad Program, Graduate Student Council
Biology (Course 7)
Gabriella Lopez Perez
Degree Objective:
PhD
MIT Summer Research program, Biology Grad Program, Grad Student Life
Yamilex Acevedo-Sanchez
Degree Objective:
PhD
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
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
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
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
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
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
MIT Summer Research Program, Off-Campus housing, Grad Student Life
Marissa Vera
Degree Objective:
PhD
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
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
MIT Summer Research Program, Chemistry Grad Program, MIT Housing, Grad Student Life
Civil and Environmental Engineering (Course 1)
Chelsea Medina
Degree Objective:
Master of Engineering, (MEng)
MIT Housing,Grad Student Life, CEE
Computational and Systems Biology (CSB)
Emanuel Burgos
Degree Objective:
PhD
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
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
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
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)
Grad student life, international research experiences, materials science grad program
Mechanical Engineering (Course 2)
Eugenio Caraballo-Justiniano
Degree Objective:
Master of Science, (SM)
MechE Grad Program, MIT ENGAGE, MIT Makerworkshop, MIT housing, Grad Student Life
Vineet Jagadeesan Nair
Degree Objective:
Doctor of Philosophy, (PhD)
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)
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
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 contact me about the MIT Summer Research Program, Applying to graduate school, grad student life.
Physics (Course 8)
Junior Peña
Degree Objective:
PhD
MIT Summer Research Program, Grad Student Life, Work-Life Balance
Timothy Zaklama
Degree Objective:
PhD
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
First Generation/ FGLI Student Experiences, Grad Student Life, Urban Planning and Studies, Research
