Jose Chiquito ‘24
José is a junior majoring in International Relations. Although born in the United States, José lived in México until he moved back to the U.S. at the age of twelve. His experiences as a foreign-born Mexican and as a migrant U.S. citizen have presented José with questions about his identities and how they provide him with certain privileges, including legal rights. These questions constitute the basis for many of Jose’s research interests– he is interested in studying how conceptions of a national identity determine the treatment of people living within a nation-state. This has served as an inspiration for his research project at Mgrublian, which explores the systemic erasure of a Black identity in the Mexican national identity–Mexicanidad–and the Mexican state’s treatment of Afro-Mexicans. Additionally, his project analyzes the implications of the recent Constitutional recognition of Afro-descendant communities as part of Mexico’s pluricultural composition.
Miriam Farah ‘23
Miriam is a senior from Redondo Beach, CA majoring in Public Policy and History and plans on attending law school in the future. On campus, she works as an Atheneum Fellow and volunteers as a 1Gen mentor for first-generation college students. She is interested in criminal justice and housing law, and her passion has led her to work for law firms and nonprofit organizations to help marginalized communities. Additionally, she worked for Haysbert & Moultrie, LLP, which was a Mgrublian-sponsored internship, and learned more about international human rights law. She looks forward to connecting with 5C students to help support domestic and international human rights campaigns.
Valentina Gonzalez ‘23
Valentina is a senior from El Paso, Texas studying International Relations and Human Rights, Genocide, and Holocaust studies. Living on the US-Mexico border, she was exposed to many injustices within immigration beginning at a young age. Learning about human rights abuses experienced by immigrants, and the driving forces that push these populations into the United States inspired her to dedicate her academic and professional career to this field. Apart from being a student assistant, she is a part-time assistant for Human Rights Watch, a research fellow with the Mgrublian Center, and a 1Gen mentor. She is excited to continue working with the Center as they highlight critical human rights issues around the world.
Joshua Morganstein '25
Josh is a sophomore at CMC, double majoring in International Relations and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). After researching human rights abuses during Argentina’s Dirty War for the Mgrublian Center last year, he is excited to co-host the Mgrublian Center’s new podcast with Joseph this year. Josh also works for the Keck Center as a Program Assistant, interns for the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and conducts research on Asian politics and economics for a senior research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. On campus, Josh runs the CMC Chapter of the John Quincy Adams Society, competes on the Model United Nations team, and is part of the Robert Day Scholar community. In his free time, Josh loves to play chess, soccer, and Civilization 6 with friends.
Emma Pan ‘25
Emma is a sophomore at CMC, dual majoring in Psychology and Film Studies with a Legal Studies Sequence. The past summer, she traveled to different countries as an Appel Fellow and researched how the media affected people’s perception of Covid. She also conducted the winter break passion project through the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies to analyze the “California Dream” construction in Chinese culture. As someone born in China and lived in Asian countries most of her life, she started reflecting on her previous understanding of Asian culture and history after seeing them from the western perspective. Having worked in multiple NGOs, she has had first-hand experiences encountering inequality in rural areas of Asian countries. Through this research fellowship, she wishes to examine how the historical, cultural, and economic factors lead to the current human trafficking network in Asia.
Michelle Ramirez ‘23
Michelle is a senior from Los Angeles, CA majoring in Public Policy with a sequence in Human Rights, Genocide Studies, and Holocaust Studies. She works as a Success Coach, as a Tour Guide, and is involved as a mentor for 1GEN. As a first-generation college student and daughter of immigrants, she holds a deep interest in education rights, immigrant and refugee rights, and indigenous rights, specifically in Latin America. Her passion has led her to work in nonprofit organizations focused on human rights advocacy, special education law, and community programming related to public service. After college, she plans on becoming a public interest lawyer. Michelle looks forward to working with students passionate about human rights and justice.
Sasha Shunko ‘25
Sasha is a sophomore at CMC from Seattle with a Post-Soviet Estonian background. She is majoring in International Relations and potentially focusing on human rights. On campus, she works at the Gould and Soll centers and pole vaults on the CMS track team. As someone who sees the effects of Russian propaganda (especially throughout the Ukrainian war) amongst her own family and a majority of the Russian population, she wants to deep dive into why so many people are influenced by the lies the Kremlin is spreading. Why do people support a war that is causing massive human rights abuses? She is very grateful to have the support of her advisor Professor Lower and the Mgrublian Center for this project.
Joseph Zhong ‘25
Joseph is a sophomore from Elkhorn, Nebraska, pursuing a dual major in Public Policy and Economics at Claremont McKenna College. Joseph is excited to create the podcast program for the Mgrublian Center with Josh, shedding light on global humanitarian issues and their potential solutions. He has long loved using the media to raise awareness of humanity’s critical issues. Outside the Mgrublian Center, Joseph is an Economic Journalist for the Lowe Institute, writing about manufacturing reshoring trends, competing industrial development, and the effect of foreign agricultural investment. Sometimes, Joseph is spotted giving tours to prospective CMC students. In his free time, Joseph loves to read books that challenge his beliefs, hike with friends, and watch the sunsets.