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Roosevelt Fellows

Peer Academic Advisors

Roosevelt Fellows are peer mentors who offer one-on-one academic advising to all Brandeis students with a focus on first years. We are upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) who have gone through an application process in order to hold this position. It is our job to share the benefits of our Brandeis experiences, and we are eager to do so. We can tell you about everything from choosing classes and professors to doing well on your tests to taking advantage of cool events on campus.

We are friendly and open to speaking with any student. All incoming first years are assigned a Roosevelt Fellow, but students can communicate with any Roosevelt Fellow they wish. We are easily accessible during our drop-in hours, which are held every weekday from 11 AM to 3 PM in Academic Services. Additionally, we run a number of noteworthy events on campus to reach out to students and to let you know what Brandeis has to offer.

We hope you will come see us; we are looking forward to meeting you! For information about events "like" our Facebook page.

- The Roosevelt Fellows

2012-2013 Roosevelt Fellows

Roosevelt Fellow Biographies and Emails

Pokuaa Adu  padu3@brandeis.edu 

Pokuaa is currently enrolled in the five-year dual-degree program at the International Business School which she hopes to graduate from in 2014 with a Masters in International Economics and Finance. Outside of class, Pokuaa takes her role as Events Coordinator for the Brandeis African Students Organization very seriously. She aims to help develop a community at Brandeis were African students can share their culture with the rest of the Brandeis population, She works with the International Students and Scholars Office where she is lucky to interact with students from all over the world on a daily basis. Dance, music and food are Pokuaa's passions. She has performed each year for the annual Cultural celebration, Culture X, held on campus and intends to do so the coming year as well. She also enjoys getting people to sample (very spicy) food from her home country. Pokuaa appreciates the variety that comes from all aspects of life at Brandeis and encourages the incoming class of 2016 (who she is so excited to meet ^_^) to explore all of it.

Sarah Azarchi  saraz@brandeis.edu

Sarah is a senior from Marlboro, NJ double majoring in Biology and Health: Science, Society and Policy. Sarah is on the pre-med track, and on campus she works with a post-doctorate student in the Petsko-Ringe lab, is co-editor of The Pulse (Brandeis' pre-health literary magazine), and a Senior Interviewer for the Office of Admissions. She enjoys volunteering and currently is a tutor for General Tutoring, one of the many community service clubs of Waltham Group. In her free time, Sarah is addicted to playing Words with Friends, loves re-watching episodes of Friends, and enjoys collecting all things that are purple (her favorite color). Sarah is a returning Roosevelt Fellow and is super excited to welcome the incoming class of 2016! 

David Benger   dabenger@brandeis.edu

David is a member of the Class of 2014. He thought he would be the only Brandeisian from New York City, but he has very happy to have met one or two other New Yorkers during his time in Waltham. He is a double major in Poltics and Russian Studies (for which he is also a UDR), and a minor in Theater Studies. He is also pursuing the recently discontinued minor in Yiddish and Eastern European Studies in hopes that the minor will be reinstated for future Brandeis students. Most of his free time is taken up by theater related activities. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the FreePlay Theater Cooperative and the president of Brandeis Players. He has acted in several shows at Brandeis, and has recently made the switch to the directing role.He spent last summer at a Yiddish Language Intensive in New York, while simultaneously acting in an off-off Broadway production of "Macbeth." He was also awarded a URP for his research on the writings of Russian-Jewish-Canadian author David Bezmozgis. David writes for the Justice, and was a dancer with B'Yachad, which he hopes to return to. He also plays hockey for the little known Brandeis club team. David loves travelling, working on challenging theater, resting, reading good books (ideally in their original languages), and being inspired by the talented people around him. Dear class of 2016, welcome to Brandeis!

Ariana Boltax boltax@brandeis.edu

Ari is a junior majoring in Biology and Chemistry with specialization in Chemical Biology and minoring in Health: Science, Society, and Policy. If that is not enough of a mouthful, Ari is also passionately devoted to her self-proclaimed major in Usdan Dining Hall. As a pre-veterinary student interested in science education, she regularly appears on the Dean’s list. This year, Ari is very excited to be working on independent research on Huntington’s disease. Ari hopes to use her research to augment the integration of curricula for the Biology and Organic Chemistry teaching laboratories. She also serves as an Organic Chemistry Laboratory Teaching Assistant. Ari is a former orientation leader and former research assistant in the Pepperberg lab. When she is not in the science complex (a rare occurrence indeed), Ari can be found traversing the turf as a member of Banshee Women’s Ultimate Frisbee, or coordinating fundraisers as Special Events Chair of the Relay for Life committee. In her free time, she enjoys performing magic, playing guitar, making friends with Brandeis faculty and staff, learning random science facts, and collecting nerdy toys/apparel. Ari is super excited to be a Roosevelt Fellow and cannot wait to welcome in the Class of 2016.

Ellyn Getz ellgetz@brandeis.edu

Ellyn is a senior from Sharon, Massachusetts, pursuing double majors in Business and Theater and a minor in Hispanic studies. Maintaining a strong GPA and making Dean's List are very important parts of her Brandeis experience as is  getting deeply involved with extracurricular activities in the community. Ellyn is a group fitness instructor at the Gosman gym, a member of the Brandeis co-ed a cappella group Starving Artists, the founder and lead vocalist of Spellbound a campus jazz group , one of three Theater Undergraduate Department Representatives (UDR), and the President of A Cappella Etc. She loves to perform onstage, and her favorite past roles include Mimi in Tymp's "Rent," Diana Morales in Tymp's "A Chorus Line," and Celeste in Brandeis Theater Company's "Sunday in the Park with George." She has also enjoyed producing a number of benefit concerts on campus to raise money for performing arts-based charitable foundations, including Broadway Cares and the Save Our Steinway Project. Ellyn believes that balance is the key to success, and in her free time, she loves to hang out with friends and family, learn different languages, hike (especially in Acadia National Park), cook, travel, work out at the gym, and cheer on the Boston and Brandeis sports teams.

Margaret Huey mhuey@brandeis.edu

Margaret Huey is a senior originally from Connecticut, with a double major in Psychology and Health: Science, Society and Policy and a minor in French and Francophone studies. Although academics always come first, Margaret loves to get involved with many different aspects of the community. She is Music Director for the all-female a cappella group, Up the Octave, and the group is currently gearing up to produce their fifth CD! Community service is very important to her. She is a Waltham Group Coordinator for Volunteer Vacations, the alternative spring break program on campus. Margaret has interned at Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization in Brighton, MA that provides essential goods to children in low-income and homeless situations.  In the Spring of 2012, she had the immense pleasure of studying abroad in Paris, where she studied with the Boston University Internship Program and interned at Santé en Entreprise, a French public health organization. Margaret is currently interning at Mi Casa, a maternity home in Connecticut that provides a safe home for teenage mothers and their children. Also at Brandeis, Margaret has served as an Orientation Leader, a Students Talking About Relationship (S.T.A.R.) counselor, a face-to-face peer counseling group, a host for the admissions office, a volunteer with the Emotion Lab and the Blood Drive. She loves spending whatever free time she has with her friends, trying new foods, practicing her French, spending time in sunshine, and meeting new people, and is especially looking forward to meeting members of the incoming Brandeis Class of 2016!

Maya Jacob mjacob49@brandeis.edu

Maya is a senior from Haydenville, Massachusetts, majoring in Sociology and Latin American and Latino Studies, and minoring in Hispanic Studies. While maintaining a high GPA is very important to her, she has also taken advantage of the wide variety of clubs and organizations at Brandeis. Maya is a long-term member of Adagio Dance Company, competitive participant in intramural soccer, Housing Advocate at the W.A.T.C.H. Tenant Advocacy Clinic in Waltham, and Student Supervisor of Brandeis' Phonathon program. She is also a World of Work Grant recipient and spent the summer of 2011 working as a community organizer in the anti-foreclosure campaign Springfield No One Leaves. In her free time Maya likes reading, making culinary masterpieces, hanging out with friends and family, kicking a soccer ball, and holding impromptu dance parties. After spending fall 2011 studying in Bolivia, she is all the more passionate about using her Spanish skills in promoting greater social justice and will spend this summer doing Spanish/English translation at a law office specializing in pro bono work. Maya is extremely excited to be a Roosevelt Fellow and can't wait to welcome the class of 2016!

Deepti Kanneganti  kdeepti@brandeis.edu

Deepti is a junior from Stoneham, MA pursuing majors in Neuroscience, Health: Science, Society and Policy, and Biology and a minor in Chemistry. She is a pre-health student who regularly appears on the Dean’s List. On campus, Deepti has been an active participant of the South Asian Students’ Association, currently serving as its Co-President, and continues to indulge herself in the arts by working as part of the electrics crew at Spingold Theatre. As a passionate believer of giving back to the community, Deepti participates in many community service activities, including volunteering for Horizons for Homeless Children, Tutoring in Public Schools (T.I.P.S.) and various hospitals as well as serving as coordinator for Habitat for Humanity. This summer, Deepti is working in a lab at New England Biolabs that focuses on epigenetic research. In her spare time, she adventures away from the world of science by exploring anything she can, watching the Celtics, and quoting the television show Friends.

Linda Li  lindali@brandeis.edu

Linda is a senior born and raised in Queens, New York, but absolutely loves Massachusetts! In her spare time, she likes to read, run, and catch up on her "Modern Family." She knew Brandeis was right for her when she visited as a junior in high school. So as a first-year at Brandeis, she became involved in many clubs such as the Student Union as Senator of Massell Quad, the Waltham Group as a tutor for T.I.P.S. (Tutoring in Public Schools), and the Brandeis Democrats. Linda is studying History and American Studies. She just returned from study abroad in Amsterdam, and although she had the opportunity to travel to beautiful cities like Berlin, Dublin, London, Paris, and Rome, she is excited to return back to Waltham, the Watch City, after a semester away! This summer, Linda will be working in Admissions as a senior interviewer. Next year, she hopes to be a more active member of the Brandeis Cheese Club. Additionally, she will be an Undergraduate Departmental Representative for History and a member of Clubs In Service along with being a Roosevelt Fellow. She cannot wait to meet the amazing Class of 2016!

Nicholas Maletta malettan@brandeis.edu

Nick is a senior from Sherborn, MA pursuing a double major in Business and Economics. He is actively involved in music and theater at Brandeis and has appeared in musical theater productions with Tympanium Euphorium, FreePlay, and Hillel Theater Group. Nick has also served as a Producer and Executive Producer for two undergraduate musical productions. He has also worked as a Coordinator for Brandeis Reunion, and as an Orientation Leader in the Fall of 2010. During the school year, Nick works as an assistant to the program administrators of both the Business and Economics Departments. Nick is incredibly excited for his second year as a Roosevelt Fellow and can’t wait to meet the incoming first-years!

Rebecca Richman brichman@brandeis.edu    

Becca is from the Washington, D.C. area, but has loved spending her college years in hilly and chilly New England.  Becca came to Brandeis eager delve into an exciting academic journey and to join her older summer camp friends in their supposed "camp-like college experience" at 'deis.  Now, as a senior, Becca is more fulfilled than she could have imagined by her courses, professors, extracurriculars, and the larger Brandeis community.  Becca is majoring in Psychology but is dedicated to taking classes in many different disciplines.  She is channeling her passion for child development and environmental studies through her interdisciplinary senior honors thesis, which explores how children develop a sense of awareness and responsibility for conserving natural resources.  When she's not camped out in the library or meeting with professors, Becca spends her time writing poetry or taking long walks along the Charles River... She highly recommends this for an afternoon or weekend activity, especially in the fall!  Becca is also strongly devoted to the Brandeis Community Garden, which she founded during her freshman year, and to her role as Religious Programming Coordinator for the Brandeis Reconstructionist Organization (BRO).  Becca loves talking about the wonderful things Brandeis has to offer and cannot wait to help the class of 2016 begin this exciting journey! 

Lenny Schnier lschnier@brandeis.edu

Lenny is a senior majoring in Fine Arts (Studio). He came into Brandeis as a Midyear and immediately felt like Brandeis was where he always belonged and quickly delved into all the different opportunities offered to him. Since his arrival he been involved with Triskelion, the QRC, Junior Brandeis Achievers (Waltham Group), "The Justice," Brandeis Graphic Design Alliance, Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum (SCRAM) and done a bit of theater. In the upcoming year, he will be working at the Hiatt Career Center and The Rose Art Museum. However, he is most looking forward to continuing as a Roosevelt Fellow and meeting the Class of 2016. 

Alexandra Shapiro alshapir@brandeis.edu

Alex is a senior from Mount Sinai, NY but has loved being able to call New England her home for the past three years! With a major in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology she feels lucky to have built such close relationships with her professors here at Brandeis both inside and outside of the classroom. In true Brandeis spirit, Alex divides her time between academics and a number of extracurricular activities. She volunteers as a research assistant for the Watson and Wright Developmental Psychology research group, is the coordinator of a Waltham Group program, Brandeis Buddies, helping to bridge the gap between members of the Brandeis community and employees on campus who have developmental disabilities, and serves as a member of the psychological counseling center’s student union committee, helping make mental health services better available to the Brandeis student body. Alex is excited to be serving as the president of the Brandeis Chapter of Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honor Society, as well as president of the Brandeis Psychology Club for this coming year.  When she’s not volunteering somewhere in the Waltham area, you may find her catching up on some Grey’s Anatomy, taking a long time to tell a bad story, planning a fantasy vacation with her friends, or swiping IDs at the Brandeis gym. Alex had a great time as an Orientation Leader last year and can’t wait to welcome the incoming class of 2016 as a Roosevelt Fellow!