Brown University shieldBrown University

Six Sophomores Selected for Prestigious Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship

April 17, 2012
From l to r: Saudi Garcia, Paul Tran, Erika Lopez Garcia. Hayward Leach, Camisia Glasgow. Not pictured: Sean McAdams.

From l to r: Saudi Garcia, Paul Tran, Erika Lopez Garcia. Hayward Leach, Camisia Glasgow. Not pictured: Sean McAdams

Credit: Peter Goldberg

The Dean of the College office is pleased to announce the newest cohort of Brown Mellon Mays Undergraduate Scholars. Erika López García, Saudi García, Camisia Glasgow, Hayward Leach, Sean McAdams, and Paul Tran will conduct research under the guidance of faculty mentors, and receive stipends during their junior and senior years to support their research and preparation for graduate school.


Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Mellon Mays Program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in faculty positions at colleges and universities. Successful applicants demonstrate exceptional intellectual ability and motivation for graduate study. Fellows continue to receive support in graduate school and throughout their academic careers. Each scholar’s area of study is described below.
 
Erika López García is a geological sciences concentrator who hopes to pursue a PhD in planetary geology. Her research will investigate the origin of the south polar parallel folds on Enceladus, a small moon orbiting Saturn. Erika was also named a Rhode Island NASA Space Grant Fellow.
 
Saudi García is concentrating in anthropology and Education Studies. She will conduct ethnographic research on Dominican students in vocational high schools in Providence. Saudi plans to pursue a PhD in anthropology.
 
Camisia Glasgow is a Latin American studies and comparative literature concentrator. This summer she will travel to Argentina to conduct ethnographic research on Afro-Argentines and African immigrants.
 
Hayward Leach is concentrating in comparative literature. His research explores the literary style of Afro-Latin American literature, with a focus on representations of santería, a syncretic religious tradition prevalent in the Caribbean.
 
Sean McAdams, a political science and Latin American and Caribbean Studies concentrator, will research the social activism of Latin American emigrant communities. His work focuses on queer liberation movements in Perú and Argentina.
 
Paul Tran is concentrating in Africana Studies, Ethnic Studies, and history. He hopes to pursue a PhD in American studies. Paul’s project will examine black and Third World movements during the Cold War. His Mellon Mays work draws upon research that he conducted on Brown's Third World Center as an Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award (UTRA) recipient last summer.