The Active Minds Emerging Scholars Fellowship, generously supported by the Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health, provides an opportunity for students to complete funded, independent mental health projects and to be connected with a network of young scholars and national experts in the field of behavioral health. The Emerging Scholars Fellowship program aims to expand the body of literature, creative expression, and discourse devoted to mental health with a particular emphasis on health equity and antiracism related to young adult mental health. From January to June 2023, the fellows will complete their projects, build a peer network, connect professionally with a national mentor and gain experience distributing their content to college audiences.
Dr. Maico Demi Aperocho is presently the Fullbright FLTA Visiting Scholar/Faculty at the Department of Modern Languages and Literature, Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, USA. He studies courses related to Communication and Education Politics. He holds a PH.D degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Mindanao, Philippines. His project will be an applied linguistic study on the role of communication and language in Asians’ fight against discrimination and mental health stigmatization.
Brianna A. Baker
Columbia University – Doctoral Student
Brianna A. Baker is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her interest broadly includes facilitating authenticity, freedom, and emotional expression through innovation and creation pertaining to diverse Black psychological experiences. Her project, “Liberated Legacies” will explore transgenerational hope and healing between mothers and daughters within the Black family unit through a creative video campaign.
Jadon A. Demeritte
Hartwick College – Undergraduate Student
Jadon A. Demeritte is a second-year undergraduate student at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York pursuing a degree in Medical Technology and Public Health. Jadon’s passions include holistic wellness and “bridging the gap” between different marginalized identities and mental health. Jadon’s project will explore the mental health of BIPOC individuals who are first-generation college students. Jadon strives to break the stigma around recognizing and seeking help for one’s mental health by examining repetitive disparities amongst her research.
Sandra Gomez
Columbia University – Doctoral Student
Sandra Gomez (she/her/ella) is a proud Chicana first generation student from Illinois and Durango, Mexico. She is a third-year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Cornell College and her M.Ed in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She currently works at NYC Health + Hospitals, Jacobi providing Spanish bilingual and bicultural mental health services to Latine individuals and their families. Rooted in social justice efforts, collective healing, and her own personal narrative, her project will investigate how culturally specific supports influence academic persistence and mental health among Latine undergraduate students. Her project hopes to re-imagine institutions’ approach to supporting Latinx students by affirming, supporting, being inclusive, and responsive to their strengths, needs, and histories.
Tracy Hill
Mount San Jacinto Community College – Undergraduate Student
Tracy Hill is in her final year at Mount San Jacinto Community College. Her project will focus on providing people of color realistic scenarios and solutions through art and research. Tracy’s hope is showcasing solutions on the stage will stimulate conversations in the African American community.
Dori Hsin-Ju Tung
School of the Art Institute, Chicago – Undergraduate Student
Dori Hsin-Ju Tung is a third–year art therapy and counseling student at the School of the Art Institute Chicago (SAIC). Her project aims to explore how East Asian and East Asian American women navigate their race and gender identities through their choice of garments in the United States. She will be doing an art-making workshop designed to prompt discussion around the interplay of race, gender, and culture from the perspectives of East Asian/ American women, including the underlying origins and impact of racialized femininity of East Asian/ Americans.
Active Minds is the nation's premier nonprofit organization promoting mental health for young adults.
