Mellon Research Fellows projects
In August 2024, a group of Mellon Pathways Program students from Brightpoint and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community Colleges began year-long research projects in the humanities and arts under the mentorship of a community college faculty member and a VCU faculty connection as part of the Mellon Research Fellows program.
Through weekly meetings with their mentors and peers, attendance at monthly symposia, and many hours of reading, interviewing, reflection, writing and learning, our Mellon Research Fellows have produced 11 thoughtful, unique and creative final projects, which can be explored below. Most of these Mellon Research Fellows will be transferring to VCU in the upcoming academic year.
2024-25 Research Fellows
Stafford Armstead
Project: Unblemished Documentary
Abigail Flowers
Project: The Salem Witch Trials: The Impact on the United States Society
Algernon Harvey
Project: I Saw it on TikTok: An Analysis of Citizen Journalism, Social Media, and the Short-Form Video
Nehemiah Klee
Project: Prevalence of Nightmares by Work Environment
Rylee Lawson
Project: Against Natural Order: Discretionary Scarcity and the Structure of Money
Dianne Marentes
Project: What are the challenges that authentic artists deal with when it comes to the present and future presence of AI-generated art?
Elijah McLeod
Project: Jamaican Pottery and Art
Tiffany Millner
Project: True Grit, The Universal Quality: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Resilience and Determination Among Different Races, Cultures, and Backgrounds
Grace Orrick
Project: Whitewashed Tombs: Coercion, Abuse, & the Hidden Sins of the Fundamentalist Church
Auder Reyes Morales
Project: Latinx vs. Latine: How Culture Influences Identity Language
Diana Vite
Project: The Cultural Footprint of Latinos in the USA
Faculty connections
Each Mellon Research Fellow worked with both a faculty mentor at the community college and a faculty connection at VCU. The VCU faculty connections not only provided feedback on students’ projects in the spring, but also discussed students’ goals, academic and professional aspirations, and VCU opportunities.
The VCU faculty connections are:
- Caddie Alford
- Richard Bargdill
- Christopher Brooks
- Ana Edwards
- Aloni Hill
- Sarah Meacham
- Daniel Morales
- Sameneh Oladi
- Gaby Perez-Leon
- Christopher Saladino
- Mayda Topoushian