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Who, What, Why

Who, What, Why: Nathan Nyitrai on the LGBTQ Certificate
Nathan Nyitrai stands with hands on hips in the garden in front of the SP2 building

Nathan Nyitrai is a rising second-year student in the masters of social work program earning an LGBTQ certificate at the School of Social Policy & Practice. With an interest in criminal justice and trans activism, Nyitrai hopes his future work will impact LGBTQ+ communities.

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Who, What, Why: Nathan Nyitrai on the LGBTQ Certificate

The master of social work student discusses the School of Social Policy and Practice program which provides supplemental education about the legal, health care, and social service needs of LGBTQ+ communities.

Kristina García

Who, What, Why: Recent graduate of the College Justin Roberts
Five people wearing red sweaters with an applique "P" holding clarinets. In front of them, three graduating bandmates sport gowns and regalia

Justin Roberts (middle, front row) and fellow clarinetists in the Penn Band.

(Image: Courtesy of Justin Roberts)

Who, What, Why: Recent graduate of the College Justin Roberts

May College graduate Justin Roberts, who will attend Penn Carey Law School in the fall, discusses his involvement with campus cultural centers and the meaning behind his graduation regalia.

Kristina García

Who, What, Why: Patrick Carland-Echavarria and queer Americans in post-war Japan
Man with red curly hair and glasses looks into the camera, which is giving a half-moon glow on the lower right side of the image.

Patrick Carland-Echavarria, an East Asian Languages and Civilizations Ph.D. candidate, says his research is all about readjusting the lenses of history. 

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Who, What, Why: Patrick Carland-Echavarria and queer Americans in post-war Japan

Ph.D. candidate Patrick Carland-Echavarria’s research looks at postwar Japanese queer cultures, translation, art, and literature and at how American gay men found refuge there during the Cold War and beyond.

Kristen de Groot

Who, What, Why: History Ph.D. candidate Arielle Alterwaite looks at Haitian debt
History Ph.D. candidate Arielle Alterwaite leans up against a light brown brick building with her arms crossed, smiling at the camera.

Arielle Alterwaite’s dissertation uses archives in seven different countries to explore Haiti's sovereign debt in the aftermath of the Haitian Revolution.

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Who, What, Why: History Ph.D. candidate Arielle Alterwaite looks at Haitian debt

Her work on Haiti’s sovereign debt in the aftermath of the Haitian Revolution holds lessons for what is currently happening there and more broadly for conversations around reparations.

Kristen de Groot

Who, What, Why: Kelly Garcia-Ramos, advocate for students with speech impediments
Kelly Garcia-Ramos outside under a tree.

Kelly Garcia-Ramos, a rising fourth-year neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences, has founded a support group, SpeechFluency@Penn, for students who stutter.

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Who, What, Why: Kelly Garcia-Ramos, advocate for students with speech impediments

Kelly Garcia-Ramos made the choice to no longer try to hide their stutter and last semester founded a support group, SpeechFluency@Penn, for students who stutter. 
Who, What, Why: Jing Jing Piriyalertsak on political messaging, Punch Bowl, and puns
Jing Jing Piriyalertsak stands in front of Perry World House.

Fourth-year Jing Jing Piriyalertsak says her classical studies, comparative literature, and history minors are the foundation for her international relations major.

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Who, What, Why: Jing Jing Piriyalertsak on political messaging, Punch Bowl, and puns

The international relations major explores how narratives are shaped and how we understand the world through writing.

Kristen de Groot

Who, What, Why: Jamie-Lee Josselyn
Jamie-Lee Josselyn sitting in a room full of chairs

As associate director for recruitment for the Creative Writing Program, Jamie-Lee Josselyn visits high schools across the country to talk with student writers about opportunities at Penn. A Penn alum, she is also the founder and director of the Summer Workshop for Young Writers at the Kelly Writers House. 

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Who, What, Why: Jamie-Lee Josselyn

As associate director for recruitment for the Creative Writing Program, Jamie-Lee Josselyn visits high schools across the country to talk with student writers about opportunities at Penn.