Four UA students, who are putting the UA's 100% Engagement initiative into action, will spend the summer writing about their work with a technology development company, the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, two dance companies and the U.S. Agency for International Development in Tanzania.
Four UA students, who are putting the UA's 100% Engagement initiative into action, will spend the summer writing about their work with a technology development company, the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, two dance companies and the U.S. Agency for International Development in Tanzania.
To amplify student voices and share the University of Arizona experience with a broad audience, four students have been selected to participate in a new columnist initiative during the summer.
The UANews Student Columnist initiative will provide a platform for undergraduate and graduate students to share their summer experiences working and conducting research.
Students applied to serve as columnists and were selected through a competitive process. Applicants were required to be in good academic standing and have an internship, research position, training or other work solidified at least through the summer of 2015.
The selection committee members were:
- Pete Brown, director of communications for the College of Engineering.
- La Monica Everett-Haynes, senior communications manager for University Relations, Communications.
- Lisa Romero, senior director of communications and public affairs for the BIO5 Institute.
- Paul Tumarkin, marketing and communications manager for Tech Launch Arizona.
Members of the first cohort of UANews student columnists are:
Andrew Granatstein
Granatstein, an Honors College student studying aerospace engineering, intends to one day launch his own private space corporation.
Granatstein will spend the summer serving as a business associate intern for Aztera, a technology development company that worked with the UA's Tech Launch Arizona to expand TLA's Wheelhouse Arizona, a network of business and product experts from a variety of industries. Tucson-based Aztera offers solutions in technology development, prototyping, manufacturing, equipment testing, and the commercialization of inventions and discoveries.
Granatstein is also a student in the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program, where he is developing skills in management, financial modeling, marketing and other competencies, which he said complement his background in engineering.
"At the culmination of my senior year, I will receive my Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering as well as the irreplaceable, non-quantifiable education I received in entrepreneurship from the Eller College of Management," he said.
Elizabeth Sutton
Sutton is a junior in the UA School of Dance, one of the top dance programs in the country. Also, she is a communications major who is studying business administration.
"I have enjoyed every second of my experience at the UA, and plan to make the most of the two years I have left," Sutton said.
Prior to her time at the UA, Sutton participated in dance competitions and in numerous stage performances, including the WNBA Sparks halftime show, the Power of Youth and Dancescape in Los Angeles. She also has spent several summers training with renowned choreographers at various summer intensives, including the California State Summer School for the Arts, SoulEscape, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and River North Dance Chicago.
This summer, Sutton will complete two intensives, which are rigorous, immersive training programs.
First, she will attend the Perry-Mansfield summer intensive in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The premier training organization offers competitive programs, drawing dancers from across the U.S. and abroad.
Sutton then will attend the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago summer intensive in Chicago. The preparatory program is designed for pre-professional and early-career dancers.
Ashley Tsosie-Mahieu
Tsosie-Mahieu (Navajo) is a doctoral candidate in the American Indian Studies program.
She is one of four fellows to be selected to work with the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, and she will serve as the Curatorial Fellow in Native American Art and Culture, working closely with Karen Kramer, the curator of Native American art and culture.
Living with other fellows at Salem State University during the summer, Tsosie-Mahieu will work on forthcoming Native American exhibits and programs. She also will conduct research and participate in outreach under the Native American Graves Protections and Repatriation Act.
The two main exhibits with which she will assist are "Native Fashion Now," a traveling exhibit of Native American fashion from the 1950s to the present, and an exhibit on the late T.C. Cannon (Kiowa/Caddo), an influential Native artist of the 1960s and '70s. Both exhibits will debut at the museum at the end of the year.
Tsosie-Mahieu also will visit other museums in the region, including those in Boston and New York.
Leishara Ward
Ward is in the Masters in Public Administration program in the in the School of Government and Public Policy and also working toward a certificate in collaborative governance.
With more than 11 years of professional experience working in government, both in the U.S. and in Africa, Ward has a background in regional development. She is also a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow, having volunteered in Kenya.
This summer, Ward will serve as a public administration intern with the U.S. Agency for International Development. She will be stationed in Tanzania, working with the U.S. Embassy. During her time abroad, Ward will help the Tanzania office establish a monitoring and evaluation program for its development projects.
"After spending 2.5 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, one year processing refugees for the U.S. Resettlement Program in Africa and nine years as a regional transportation planner with the state of California, I decided it was time to go back to school," Ward said.
Add new comment