Graduate Students
2024 Cohort
Amara Aimufua
Amara recently graduated from UC Davis in the summer of 2024, obtaining her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a law and society emphasis. While in Davis, she minored in African American Studies and played D1 Volleyball. She has been honored as a Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society member since Spring 2024. She is grateful to be nominated for excelling in disciplines about which she is passionate, like improving societal functionality through social institutions, processes, and culture. During undergrad, she worked with city council members and government representatives in various charters, gaining invaluable experience in political advocacy and passionately working towards increasing diversity in the government sector. She is thrilled to expand her knowledge of the public humanities and aspires to apply those insights in law and government!
Lena Beasley
Kendall Bryant
Anjelika Deogririkar Grossman
Anjelika Deogirikar Grossman (she/her) is an educator, activist artist, and researcher. Interested in the connection between arts, culture and public policy, she is curious to explore: How might arts and culture build understanding and communities of belonging? She is an artist-in-residence at Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital; and serves on the Board of the DC Arts and Humanities Collaborative. She received a Certificate in Arts and Peacebuilding Culture from George Mason University; and she holds a Master of Public Policy, and Bachelor of Science in Biological Science and a minor in Chemistry. By day, Anjelika is the Associate Director of the Massive Data Institute in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
Samantha Forshay
Samantha (Sam) grew up in Puyallup, Washington with Deaf parents and an older brother. After graduating high school in 2017, Sam moved to D.C. to pursue a degree in Mathematics (B.S.) at Gallaudet University and graduated with honors in 2021. In that summer of the same year, Sam joined a conservation corps crew where she got to work with CorpsTHAT and U.S.F.S in Virginia and Maryland. She connected with some of the CorpsTHAT folks and ended up working as CorpsTHAT’s AmeriCorps VISTA Member for two years. After ending her second AmeriCorps term, Sam decided to apply at the ENPH program to dive more into the nonprofit sector and public policy.
Tomás Harmon
Tomás Harmon is an award-winning public relations professional whose career began in the newsroom in Charlottesville, VA. He has since supported U.S. foreign diplomacy, worked on underage substance use prevention, tackled America’s mental health crisis, protected voting rights, and advanced health care for Veterans. A passionate visual storyteller, Tomás is interested in how art helps us make sense of the world. Growing up a queer, Cuban kid in Northern Virginia, he credits Selena, Greek mythology, and cafecito Cubano for getting him through high school and into college. At Georgetown, he looks forward to exploring the humanities, making art accessible and meaningful for people now and in the future, and sharing cafecito with his new community.
Abby Hutzel
Denelle Joynes
Denelle is a Baltimore native dedicated to leveraging her passion for writing and storytelling to generate transformative change and shed light on undertold stories. She is a Grants Associate working at the Johns Hopkins University Office of Research Administration supporting the development, review, and submission of proposals to sponsors to fund world-class research & activities of University faculty and affiliates.
Prior to her current role, she served as Grants Manager for the Maryland Food Bank submitting proposals and applications to government entities, corporations, and foundations to fund the organization’s mission. Denelle has a B.S. in English from Towson University and during her undergraduate journey worked alongside a team of student grant writers to garner financial support for grassroots nonprofits across Baltimore City.
Karolina Kalset
Elle Lapsen
Elle is from Seattle, Washington, and attended Smith College for undergrad, where they double majored in English and Sociology. They are passionate about social change, particularly LGBTQ+ rights, and doing interdisciplinary work that translates the academic into the activist. They aim to bridge the gap between awareness of social issues and action. At Georgetown, they hope to strengthen their academic skills and translate them into socially impactful, public-facing work.
In their free time, Elle enjoys hiking, going to concerts, and hanging out with their cat, Tasha.
Sophie McCarthy
Sophie McCarthy is a New Jersey native and recent graduate of Clemson University, where she earned her BA in History with a minor in Sociology. During her undergraduate studies, Sophie interned with Clemson’s Historic Properties Department, sparking her interest in Engaged and Public Humanities. She is a full-time student in the ENPH program, concentrating her focus on American Studies and Museum Education. Since coming to Georgetown, Sophie has joined the Graduate Student Government as the MA Senator at Large, serving on both the Communications and Senate Leadership Committees. She is currently working as the Visitor Services and Education Assistant at Tudor Place, a historic home located in Georgetown, and is an avid coffee drinker, Yankee fan, and beagle mom.
Ainsley McDonnell
Cameron Newman
Cameron is a proud double Hoya hailing from Dana Point, California, where she was fortunate enough to attend public schools K-12 that included fine art, drama and music curriculums. Access to free arts programming was formative for her personally and academically, instilling in her a deep appreciation for public humanities and a desire to pay it forward. In May 2024, she completed a B.A. at Georgetown in American Musical Culture, Government, and Italian. She is thrilled to return to Georgetown to pursue an M.A. in Engaged and Public Humanities, synthesizing her love for arts, culture, and public service. In her free time, she enjoys exploring museums, doing bad karaoke with her friends, and serving in children’s ministry at her local church.
Siera Nezaj
Janiah Rorie
Madeleine Vahey
Maddie graduated from Yale in 2015 with a degree in American Studies. Since graduating from college, Maddie has worked as an elementary school teacher in Boston and Washington, DC. While teaching, Maddie earned her master’s in elementary education and certification special education. Maddie will continue working as a special education teacher in DC while pursuing her master’s in Engaged and Public Humanities at Georgetown. While at Georgetown, Maddie is excited to study how Americans engage with television through podcasts, especially after the fall of the monoculture.
Zachary Vossler
Zachary Vossler, originally from Syracuse, New York, graduated from Brandeis University in 2022 with a BA in History and a minor in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. Zachary’s passion for the hospitality industry began in his toddler years and he plans to use the Engaged and Public Humanities to help others learn about the industry and the impact its practitioners have on others and the world. His main focus areas include hospitality and faith traditions, the history of hospitality, and how nations use hospitality through diplomacy. Zachary also works as an Operations Coordinator at the School of Continuing Studies.
