The fellowship program is a University-wide partnership with participation from academic, service, outreach, and administrative units. Fellowship teams engage in a year-long shared learning process, develop projects that apply dialogue and deliberation to specific content areas and curricular settings, and make use of, and potentially contribute to, current research in practice.
Current Fellows
Maya Bolles
Maya is a senior double majoring in Urban and Community Studies and Sociology. Her passions are centered in understanding how spatial stratification and socio-spatial inequality affect mobility of all types. She hopes that through this dialogue initiative, she can foster meaningful conversations among people of all communities with the aim of bringing awareness to the power of place. In life, her main goal is to further pursue her education and research in urban sociology so that she can ultimately find ways to redistribute the power from place back to community.
Alyssa Bredefeld
Alyssa Bredefeld is a dual degree student in Allied Health and Human Rights. She is co-chair of the Response Committee on the President’s Council on Combating Sexual Violence and Harassment and is involved with Protect Our Pack. Alyssa works as an EMT and interned with the Child Labor Coalition in Washington, D.C. She has also mentored a child with an incarcerated parent through CLICC and guided high school students completing civic engagement projects in the Human Rights Close to Home program. Her experiences have shaped her goal of pursuing a career at the intersection of health and human rights.
Katrina Hatch
Katrina is from Cape Cod Mass and is a current sophomore at UConn. She is a human rights major and is hoping to gain a second major or degree in natural resources or environmental studies. Her main goals in life are to develop the capability and knowledge to positively impact the world around her and internationally. She hopes that through this dialogue initiative, she can improve and engage her skills in communication and listening to start her goal of helping others on a campus level, and she believes that this will lead to her helping on a global level.
Suleen Kareem
Suleen is a sophomore double-majoring in Philosophy and Human Rights at UConn. Inspired by her Kurdish roots and family’s refugee experience, she is committed to pursuing a career in immigration law and advocating for human rights.
Victoria Esteves
Victoria is a freshman student studying Environmental Studies. Her main goal is to become a diplomat working for the United Nations Environmental Programme focusing on international environmental issues. She hopes to broaden her views and perspectives while working with the Fellows, gaining experience in public speaking and communication. Inspired by her family's Polish background, she wants to continue sharing stories through her interests in writing.
Victoria Muccio
Victoria studies Human Development & Family Sciences and Spanish at the University of Connecticut in the Special Program in Law. Her main goal in life is to help others around her who may not have a voice to advocate for themselves properly. Her hope is that through this dialogue initiative, she can strengthen her skills in bringing awareness to topics that need to be talked about by helping those in her community and the world.
Yoghari Natarajan Jegadeeswaran
Yoghari is a dedicated student majoring in Economics and Political Science, with aspirations of becoming a lawyer through their pre-law track. Known for engaging in thoughtful discussions on controversial topics, Yoghari enjoys diving deep into complex ideas and debates. Outside academics, he pursues various interests, including martial arts, video games, and cooking
Hayley Schwartz
Hayley is a Junior Molecular and Cell Biology Major, minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Hayley plans to attend medical school after graduation, and pursue a career as an OBGYN specializing in Reproductive Endocrinology. This is her second year being a DDI fellow, and she has truly valued the opportunity to create a safe space for students to have conversations on campus, along with the communication and leadership skills she has gained.
Phillip Purcell
Phillip Purcell is a student majoring in economics and biological sciences with interests in law. He is passionate about advocacy and civil discourse. Phillip hopes to provide a voice to those who struggle to find a voice of their own. He hopes to bring valued attention and discussion to human rights. Beyond academics, Phillip loves to play sports, listen to music, and explore nature.
Leah Owusu
Leah Owusu is a Philosophy major on a pre-law track. During the summer into my senior year in high school I became a Human Rights Close To Home fellow. Through this fellowship I developed a civil action project which focused on getting public defenders more funding and providing resource flyers for formerly incarcerated people to reintegrate into society. These are issues that I am deeply passionate about. It's what fuels my passion to go to Law School. I enjoy talking about current political issues through healthy discourse. I'm passionate about criminal law to be a voice for the voiceless. This is my first year as a DDI fellow. I also enjoy listening to music and binge watching scandal.
Aeryn Northway
Aeryn is a junior pursuing an Individualized Major in Applied and Comparative International Studies alongside a minor in History. This is her first semester as a DDI Fellow and she looks forward to contributing her ideas, perspectives, and skills to growing spaces on campus where critical topics can be discussed in a healthy manner.
Bernardo Torres-Zuniga
Bernardo Torres-Zuniga is a second-year student at the University of Connecticut majoring in Psychology with a focus in social-political psychology. As a Mexican American inspired from a young age by local policy and community service, he is passionate about advancing dialogue on social and political issues and fostering inclusive solutions. Through the Democracy and Dialogues Fellowship, he aims to strengthen his skills in leadership and communication while contributing to the wellbeing of his campus and broader community.
Damian Howson
Damian is a freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is majoring in Environmental & Natural Resource Economics with minors in Geography and Sociology. He is a Sustainability Outreach Intern for the North Campus residence area as a part of UConn’s Office of Sustainability, where he promotes environmental themes to his peers. In his free time, Damian loves spending time talking with his family, playing sports with his friends, and reading. He is passionate about environmental justice, public policy, and is extremely excited to be participating as a Democracy and Dialogues Leadership Fellow!