Guest Lecturers
Zoe Mitrofanis is from Queens, New York and attended the Bronx High School of Science. She studied Political Science and Hispanic Studies at Columbia College and served as a Teaching Assistant with the Freedom and Citizenship program from 2016-2017. Since graduating from the College in 2017, she has been working as a litigation paralegal at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC, a mid-size law firm in New York serving the entertainment and arts communities.
Zachary Roberts received his BA in English from Bowdoin College and earned a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University with a dissertation on American literary realism and the visual arts. He has taught Literature Humanities in Columbia's Core Curriculum and courses in American literature, culture, and intellectual history in the English Department at Vassar College. He is the director of the Teagle Humanities Fellowship, a summer mentorship program for alumni of programs in the Knowledge for Freedom consortium, and serves on the KFF leadership council. He also works as an advisor in academic development for the Teagle Foundation's Cornerstone initiative which seeks to revitalize and re-imagine the role of the humanities in general education programs at a large variety of higher educational institutions. His teaching and research interests focus on American literature and history, but his intellectual home is in the classroom teaching courses like Freedom and Citizenship.
Yvette Clarke was born and raised in Flatbush. Her parents were Jamaican immigrants and her mother was a New York City Council Member. She attended Oberlin College on a scholarship. She was elected to the New York City Council in 2002 and then to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007. She is the only black congresswoman from New York state. She is running for reelection to New York's 9th Congressional District.
Yanette Rosario was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York to Dominican parents. She attended Columbia University and graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a concentration in Ethnicity and Race. Before applying to graduate school, she took a gap year to be a Teacher Assistant for a Reading Specialist in a charter school within her community, primarily working with students who had reading disabilities and came up with different interventions to address their needs. She is currently in graduate school at Teachers College.
Udonne Eke-Okoro, RTA, Barnard College ‘25
Date Interviewed: July 26, 2023
Introduce yourself!
My name is Udonne, I'm an RTA, and I'm from St. Louis, Missouri. I am a special combined major in Philosophy, Human Rights, and Economics. I'm a rising junior at Barnard College.
What drew you to work at F&C?
For me, I thought for one I would have benefited so much in having a program like F&C that introduced me a little bit closer into the philosophy world. The closest [thing] I’d taken to philosophy before university was a bioethics class that I took in high school, and I knew that I was interested in philosophy, but I didn't really know what it looked like or what it meant. So I think just working so closely with these texts and constantly reading and reviewing and talking about them would have been very, very helpful for me. I also think on the teaching side of things, I appreciated the fact that F&C kind of provides this opportunity and does it in a way that is so carefully curated to guide what you are seeking to get out of it [and it’s] very, very much adaptable. I thought that it was just such a good initiative and that what [the program] does was so compelling to me that it was like, I just wanted to be involved in any capacity in this. It’s also a really good way to get to know you guys, and so that's what's keeping me here too, like it's just so nice to get to know you guys and see how your interests develop and form over time, so I was very intrigued.
What is your favorite part of the program?
I think my favorite part of the program was just honestly getting to know all of you as individuals and students. I think we made a really good effort of making, you know, our suite as close and welcoming as possible, but also just getting to know you guys as philosophers and as writers and as mentees. I think getting to know you guys in different aspects was a very valuable experience and something I cherish a lot—I was journaling about it today—talking about how much I love getting to know you guys and seeing all your little personalities come out and I think why I like it especially is because I can envision such a bright future for all you. I love predicting like oh my gosh, they’re going to go so far, like, I see it… I see it. So it's just nice to be on the side of helping you guys get there. You know what I mean? I think getting to know you guys in that way has been so sweet.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
Actually [it would be] the reading that we did today, Letter from Birmingham Jail. It’s a reading I've done probably about 20 times at this point for various classes, but I think every time there's something new that you kind of think about or can contemplate. I think MLK is a figure we see very prophetically, he's a figure who is hard to criticize, but it's also very easy to understand, to comprehend [his work]. [It’s great] finding this balance with every time you approach it there's always someone who finds something very, very small and takes that and makes it a whole new big, big argument. I love reading this piece because people take out so many different things from it because it's so easy to understand and so easy to digest. It makes it that much more fun to interpret and analyze.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
I think [the advice] I would like to give is to take advantage of all the resources you have now. Think of us as resources too, resources aren't just going to be the documents that you receive and what you read, it's also the experiences and the stories that you have here, so take that in whatever way you see it's helpful. [For example,] I don't think there's any conflicts that have majorly happened, but conflict resolution, how can you approach philosophical concepts in that way? Like the relationship that you have with your TAs, how can you use that as a way to model leadership for other people in the future? I think just taking advantage of literally every single bit of this program, because there's so so much to get out of it and you'll miss it when it's gone, so you don't take it for granted either.
What is one fun fact about you?
One fun fact about me? Lots of very interesting things about me. One basic fun fact about me is that I was named after my dad. So my dad's name is Udonna and my name is Udonne. It’s not something a lot of people know, but when they know I feel like it's funny to them. [My dad] loves to tell people that. A few of the TAs met him today because he lives in the city, so it was like Udonne Udonna (gesturing to herself then to the side) and he loves introducing us in that way. A different fun fact is that I accidentally almost got fully indoctrinated into a cult for about five months. That was crazy.
Tynéa Henry, RTA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: August 3, 2023
Introduce yourself!
My name is Tynéa Henry and I am from Eddystone, Pennsylvania. I am a rising junior at Columbia University majoring in American Studies and concentrating in African-American and African Diaspora studies.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I was drawn to F&C mainly for two reasons. Firstly, I found the overall mission of the program inspiring because it seemed to try to ameliorate some of the inequalities inherent in the higher education system through a combination of mentorship and academic exploration. Secondly, being a low-income student myself, I thought this program was precisely something I would have loved to be involved in when I was in high school.
What is your favorite part of the program?
My favorite part of the program is discussion during reading hours. I love being able to hear how everyone is thinking through the texts and what kinds of connections they make.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
My favorite reading in the program is “A Talk to Teachers” by James Baldwin. For a very long time, James Baldwin has been one of my favorite authors, and in this piece Baldwin is able to very eloquently explain the experience of students of color and the need to approach education with inclusivity and compassion in mind.
What is one piece of advice you would like to give F&C students?
One piece of advice I would give to F&C students is to never allow spaces like Columbia make you doubt your worth or make you feel embarrassed of who you are. It’s really easy to become intimidated by the grandeur and the history of institutions of higher education, and I know when I was a freshman I would change how I spoke and even be guarded about certain aspects of my culture when I was in class. Ultimately what helped me get out of this mindset was finding community within these walls and realizing that I got here because of who I am and the hard work I put in.
What is one fun fact about you?
One fun fact about me is that I practically grew up playing Playstation and Playstation II games, so I frequently go to classic video game stores. Most recently I’ve managed to play Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, 10, and 10-2 thanks to these shops.
Tyeisha Chavis is an educator, youth advocate, executive coach and thought-leader in educational leadership, administration, and curriculum & instruction. As a response to systemic poverty, mass incarceration and monolithic views of success, Chavis chose to dedicate her professional life to addressing disparities in education and public administration. She is personally and professionally committed to working with young women and men of color both inside and outside of the classroom, creating intensive intervention program models that seek to disband and eradicate the school to prison pipeline.
Hailing from Harlem, New York, Ms. Chavis began her career in education as a local youth development leader during her late teens. After graduating from Columbia University as a Gates Millennium Scholar with a B.A. in Political Science, Ms. Chavis continued her journey in education and youth development as a NY Teaching Fellow and worked for the New York City Department of Education (DOE) as a Special Educator and Instructional Specialist for grades 9-12 across core disciplines. Following her tenure as a secondary public school educator, Ms. Chavis went on to become an Assistant Principal at a charter school, where she led the design, implementation, and evaluation processes for the development of research-based curricula, top tier instruction, and quality assessments in core subject areas. Seeing leadership development and coaching as a critical need for teaching professionals and school leaders, Ms. Chavis moved on to prioritize longitudinal professional development of struggling high schools as a Leadership Coach with the Office of School Renewal in the Department of Education. In this role she led engagement for on-going professional learning opportunities and coaching support for teacher teams and school leaders across several public high schools in New York City.
Tyeisha Chavis is currently a Director of Continuous Improvement in the Office of Superintendent Carron Staple for Districts 8, 10, & 11, where she facilitates and oversees the creation and implementation of needs aligned improvement plans for identified persistently low-achieving schools. She is also presently at Columbia University, Teachers College working towards her Doctoral Degree in Education Leadership. She plans to continue her research and professional impact on change leadership in education by further researching and illuminating the experiences of black female leaders and their influence on shaping school improvement policies in K-12 education. Additionally, Ms. Chavis holds three Masters degrees, one from City College of New York City and two from Columbia University, Teachers College. She currently resides in Bronx, NY and she is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a public service sorority.
Tim Vanable, RTA, Columbia College ‘24
Date Interviewed: July 26, 2023
Introduce yourself!
I am Tim. I am a rising senior at Columbia College and I'm majoring in American Studies. I'm from Syracuse, New York.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I would say the opportunity to pass on a love for the books that I discovered in my Contemporary Civilizations class. If you guys leave with just a basic interest in philosophy, I think we will have succeeded, even if many of the intricacies of the arguments you will probably forget. I think the opportunity to be a part of that really excited me and I've found that while I've been here.
What is your favorite part of the program?
Probably the late night sessions—not too late, Dr. Lee!—with the boys in my suite when the day is wrapped up, but we're still talking about philosophy somehow and they still have the energy for it. Everybody's more uninhibited than they are in our day-to-day schedules, and everybody's personalities are on full display. I think it's in those times that I really get to know everybody the best and we all just enjoy each other.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
I'm going to cheat and select two texts, commonly compared to each other, and that is Pericles’ funeral oration in the History of the Peloponnesian War and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Both are addresses made to a people in the midst of a serious war, in one case, war between Athens and Sparta and the other a civil war. I think they both achieve two things. One, they inspire families of the dead and their countrymen to go on fighting for the cause, for which so many thousands died. Second, they outline the political stakes of the battle, or of their respective battles. Both are really works of political theory, defining what it means to be a good citizen and to live in a democracy. Lincoln, for example, ends with the phrase “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” which came to be a touchstone for Americans for centuries to come and became a succinct definition of what our political system is at its best.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
The choice you will be facing with colleges is in a sense everything, but it's also nothing. What I mean by that is that, you know, according to the butterfly effect, you arrive at college and you meet certain people who lead you down certain paths and you make certain professional connections and not others, [and you make] certain friends at one school that you wouldn't get another. On the other hand, I think people's experience of college is often as much a function of their own personality and temperament as it is the specifics of the school they go to. So there are people who bounce from institution to institution transferring, you know, three colleges before they graduate, and they go on and on about how this college was insufficient this way and this college and another way, but really, it's what they bring to the table, I think that makes or breaks their experience. With that in mind, I think it takes some of the pressure off of the decision because much of what will be good about your college life will be your own virtues, and much of what's difficult about college will be your own vices, and those are things that you'll be living with your entire life.
What is one fun fact about you?
Over the last year or so I've taught myself German because I fell in love with the work of Immanuel Kant and wanted to get closer to his ideas. I was studying abroad in England and I did everything I could to connect with German culture. I had no formal training but I was just listening to hours and hours and hours of German TV and podcasts and movies and studying grammar textbooks on my own. I recently passed the advanced German proficiency test downtown at the Goethe Institute and now I'm eligible to apply for post-graduation opportunities in Germany.
Thomas Suozzi is from the Long Island town of Glen Cove, where his father, an Italian immigrant, was mayor. Thomas attended Boston College and Fordham University School of Law. Suozzi first entered politics as mayor of Glen Cove, and was elected to Congress in 2016. He is now running for his third term as Congressman from New York's 3rd Congressional District.
Susan Tsui is a native New Yorker hailing from East Harlem. She is a recent graduate of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health with a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology. Her interests lie in social epidemiology and health equity. She earned a B.A. in biology from Boston University. Prior to her MPH, she also completed a year of service with AmeriCorps, City Year.
Stephanie Almeida Nevin is a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer in the Humanities Program at Yale University, whose research and teaching interests are in political theory, the philosophy of education, and the history of political thought. In 2016, Stephanie co-founded the Citizens Thinkers Writers program for students in the New Haven public schools. She holds a B.A. in politics and English from Pomona College and was previously a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Shaun Abreu was born and raised in Washington Heights, New York and attended George Washington High School. He was a member of the 2009 Freedom & Citizenship class before attending Columbia College where he majored in Political Science and Government. He received his Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School. Now Shaun is an Associate at the law firm of Genova Burns. In addition, Shaun has served as a member of his local community board, a board director for his local park, and a court-appointed special advocate for children in foster care. He has worked on the campaign of Congressman Adriano Espaillat and for city council members and state legislators.
Graphic Design Director
My name is Samara Rahman (she/her), and I am a senior at Thomas A. Edison High School in Queens. I’m passionate about writing and spreading news to others. I wanted to add visual appeal, convey information, and create a brand identity through this newsletter. I plan to major in Marketing in college!
After working with children through the Boys and Girls Club and working for social justice through different nonprofits including NLIRH and Momentum Alliance, Rosario Quiroz Villarreal entered the formal sphere of education as a bilingual educator through Teach for America, where she was initially placed in Texas to teach elementary school, specifically serving beginning and intermediate English learners. She was recognized for her work with immigrant students under the Obama administration, receiving a Champion of Change award. After teaching in Texas, she returned to NY to pursue a degree in International Educational Development from Teachers College while continuing to teach at the elementary level with KIPP Charter Schools. Rosario recently left the classroom to join Next100, a start-up think tank focused on the research and development of progressive issues, where she will be working on developing and promoting research and policy at the intersections of immigration and K-12 education.
Roosevelt Montás is Director of the Freedom and Citizenship Program. He was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to New York as a teenager. He attended public schools in Queens and was admitted to Columbia College in 1991 through its Opportunity Programs. He graduated from Columbia in 1995 with a major in Comparative Literature. In 2003, he completed a Ph.D. in English, also at Columbia, where he began teaching in the faculty of the English Department in 2004. From 2008 to 2018, he served as Director of the Center for the Core Curriculum and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia College. Roosevelt specializes in Antebellum American literature and culture, with a particular interest in American national identity. His dissertation, Rethinking America, won Columbia University’s 2004 Bancroft Award. In 2000, he received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student and in 2008, he received the Dominican Republic’s National Youth Prize. He regularly teaches moral and political philosophy in the Columbia Core Curriculum as well seminars in American Studies. Roosevelt speaks widely on the history, place, and future of the humanities in the higher education and is the author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation (Princeton University Press, 2021).
Ritchie Torres is from the Bronx and grew up in public housing in Throggs Neck. He attended Herbert Lehman High School and attended New York University, but dropped out due to severe depression. He entered politics as New York City Councilman, becoming the first openly gay public official in the Bronx, as well as the youngest elected official in NYC. Torres is now running for a first term as United States Representative from New York's 15th Congressional District.
Co-Editor-in-Chief
Hi everyone! My name is Rabbia (she/her), and I’m a current senior at the Urban Assembly School for Leadership and Empowerment. The opportunity to attend F&C has been extremely valuable to me as it has helped us build life long and memorable connections with the remarkable community at Columbia Freedom and Citizenship! We worked so hard to formulate this newspaper as a way to broadcast our journey and experiences as F&C students. These four challenging but rewarding weeks have contributed to our growth, skills, and bright futures. Thank you and enjoy the Columbia Civic Digest!
Phoebe Wagoner, ATA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: 07/26/2023
Introduce yourself!
Hi, my name is Phoebe. My major is American Studies, and I'm from Kentucky.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I was drawn to F&C because I love teaching and because all of the students are either first generation or low income. At Columbia, it's very rare to be in a classroom with only other low income students, and experiencing that type of classroom at F&C has been pretty incredible.
What is your favorite part of the program?
Definitely the students that I work with (and I'm not just saying that because one of them is interviewing me). I'm saying that because I genuinely love the classroom that we have. Everyone's so engaged in discussions. I feel like we have a very dynamic and unique set of characters who all have interesting takes on the texts, which has been fun.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
That is hard. If I had to choose one, I might choose “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass because it's such a powerful document, and Douglass's writing style is so fiery and impassioned. I like reading things that are emotional because sometimes philosophy is thought of as disengaged, unemotional, and analytical. This reading is a good reminder that what we talk about in class is actually high stakes and you can get personally invested, passionate, and fiery about it. It's not just arbitrary thought experiments that don't mean anything.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
It can be really hard navigating the world as a first generation or low income student, especially if you're planning on going on to college. Sometimes the system isn't going to be set up in your favor, but even if it's difficult and frustrating, know that you have the capabilities of not just navigating systems in academia, but changing them and raising awareness about them. Be sure to advocate for yourselves and seek out resources or help if you need to. And a reminder that I and the F&C staff will always be there to help, even after you finish the program!
What is one fun fact about you?
I enjoy American folk music and I raised goats as a child on my family's farm. They're great pets-- really smart and really funny.
Peter Garcia is from Astoria, Queens. He went to Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics (MCSM) for high school and participated in F&C from 2012 to 2013. He attended NYU for college where he majored in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. After college, he ventured into the startup world and quickly fell in love with entrepreneurship. He recently co-founded a dance company focusing on traditional Mexican dances and community building. During the week, he works as a Data Analyst and spend weekends rehearsing and building new choreography. Follow them @BalletHermosoAmanecer!
Paul Petrylak grew up in Queens, NY and graduated Columbia Engineering with a BS in Industrial Engineering and later received his MBA in Finance & Accounting from Columbia Business School after working two years as a consultant at Accenture. Paul has a 25-year career in financial services and has held several executive positions at JPMorganChase and CIT Group including President & CEO of Chase Insurance Group and President of CIT Insurance Services. Most recently he has been working with start-up companies in the fintech and insurtech space.
Oscar Luckett, ATA, Columbia College ‘25 (Left)
Denizcan Ozdemir, ATA, Columbia College ‘25 (Right)
Date Interviewed: 07/26/2023
Introduce yourself!
Oscar: Hi, my name is Oscar. I'm a junior at Columbia, and I'm one of the ATAs for F&C this summer.
DJ: My name is DJ. I am also a junior at Columbia. I'm studying Political Science and Human Rights, and I am also an ATA at F&C.
What drew you to work at F&C?
Oscar: I wanted to work at F&C to try out teaching, which is something I've always wanted to do, and because I think there's a lot of richness to these ancient texts that can be really valuable if taught in the right way. I wanted to have a small part in making that happen.
DJ: I also wanted the teaching experience and to do the same things that Oscar was talking about. But I think a lot of it is because I wish I had this program when I was in high school. And I wish I was able to benefit from this program, not just in terms of college access, but also in terms of learning about these pivotal ideas to Western civilization, as well as the support and the community.
What is your favorite part of the program?
DJ: I love ATA tutorials because I think the kids come into it expecting to hear about or learn about one thing, but I love when I can make it into something completely out of the box and unexpected that teaches them something new about themselves and about the world.
Oscar: My favorite part is also the ATA tutorial because I think it gives us a more informal way to talk about the texts, to really get into some of the hardest questions that these texts ask.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
Oscar: Definitely “The Trial and Death of Socrates,” specifically “Phaedo.” I think it teaches this interesting methodological practice of asking questions about life, examining your own life, and having the duty to examine be something that everyone can undertake. I also think it tells you a lot about how to live your life in the face of death and being told you have to die.
DJ: I’m going to answer this question in an interesting way. My favorite text is also my least favorite text. I absolutely hated the liberalism text. But I really enjoyed reading the students' responses to the liberalism text, because I think they took some really big difficult ideas and turned them into responses that were enlightening and surprising for me, and changed the way I thought about the text. So that was a really pleasant and lovely surprise for me.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give F&C students?
DJ: Number one, don't lose yourself, you're gonna go through a lot in your life before college, during college, and after college. And I think it's really easy to try to become someone you're not. But above all else, stay true to who you are, stay true to your community, and stay true to your roots. Number two, don't sweat the small stuff. There are going to be a lot of things that come up every day that make you think the world is going to end. But at the end of the day, because you're part of such an amazing program, and because you built this amazing community, everything is going to be okay. And I can't promise that but I can say that this program has helped make that more possible.
Oscar: That's great advice in totality, but just what I would add is, you should always rely on each other as resources. Part of being a part of a group like this is that everyone has something really insightful to add. You are each other's greatest resources.
DJ: Don't lose touch!
Oscar: The second thing I would say is to think about examining your life, not just as something that you do while you're reading great books, but as something you do at all points in your life. There's this great quote where Rilke is writing to his student, and he says, “no matter what you go through in life, you always have to remember to live the question.” So it's not about finding the answers, but it is about making the question and the struggle a part of your life.
DJ: Yeah, and adding on to that, the current moment in your life is that of the college application process and I think one of the many questions you're asking yourself is what is the point of college? What is the purpose of college and why does college exist? Something that was really important for me to remember and some really good advice that I got is that above all else, college is for you to advance as a thinker, to make yourself a better thinker, and to challenge the way you normally think. So going into it with that mindset definitely helps you not lose sight of who you are and why you're in it.
Oscar: Yeah, that's good advice.
What is one fun fact about you?
DJ: There’s a couple facts. One fun fact about me is that I am an enjoyer of many different genres of music, ranging from Indie Pop to Habibi Funk.
Oscar: A fun fact about me is that I write crosswords in my free time.
DJ: I support your crossword endeavors. I feel like we can make this more fun by sharing fun facts about each other, because I have a fun fact about Oscar.
Oscar: Okay, a fun fact about DJ that you would’ve never guessed from having a conversation with him is that he enjoys Turkish culture. He’s from Turkey and enjoys Turkish psychedelic folk rock.
DJ: Correct. A fun fact about Oscar is that he enjoys working out. So whenever you ask him “Oscar, do you want to hang out,” he’ll say “I think I'm gonna head home and maybe work out.”
Oscar: A fun fact about DJ is that he said he wants to be a lawyer after college.
DJ: This is true. A fun fact about Oscar is that he enjoys American Studies and that he has almost exclusively taken American Studies classes so far at Columbia, which he has enjoyed many of.
Oscar: A fun fact about DJ is his amazing laugh.
DJ: A fun fact about Oscar is he's an enjoyer of reading.
DJ + Oscar: HAGS! (Have a Great Summer!)
Olivia Ruble, RTA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: August 3, 2023
Introduce yourself!
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Major: Ancient Studies & Visual Arts
What drew you to work at F&C?
When I came to Columbia, I really struggled with feeling like I had just gotten lucky or slipped in somehow. At the same time as I was applying to F&C, I was also trying to read most of these texts for the first time in class. So when I found it difficult to read and analyze these texts, this only made me feel more unqualified. I think if I had been able to participate in a program like this, I would have felt more confident coming into college. I was really excited to get to do that work with you guys now so that you could hopefully take your next step feeling as qualified and competent as you all really, truly are!
What is your favorite part of the program?
I love hearing you all discuss the readings. During the school year, it’s easy to get sucked into the same discussions over again and over again. But when I spoke with you guys, whether in reading and writing hours or more casually, I always felt like I learned something new about the readings. I am also looking forward to college mentorship!
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
“Pericles’ Funeral Oration,” but mostly for sentimental reasons! It was one of the first readings I did during my freshman year and have had to read it a lot since then (there are only so many ancient funeral orations!). I have loved seeing it be interpreted and reinterpreted since my first reading back in Art Humanities.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
Please make sure to relax! You all work so hard and deserve to take a break when you can.
What is one fun fact about you?
I have three siblings from Ukraine!
After graduating from Columbia College, Nelson worked as a research associate at the Brennan Center for Justice, where he carried out research and assisted in lawsuits and advocacy regarding voting rights issues. In law school, he was involved in the school’s law review and the civil rights clinic. Nelson is a recent graduate of New York University School of Law and a New York City native.
Webmaster
My name is Nada Ibrahim (she/her) and I’m a high school senior at the Manhattan Hunter Science High School. I am one of the webmasters for the F&C newsletter. F&C helped me embrace my love for philosophy and I hope to study it in higher education.
Monique Williams is a consultant at ReD Associates, a strategy consultant company based on human sciences. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she attended Columbia University in NYC where she studied Political Science and was a recipient of the Kluge scholarship and Presidential Global Fellowship, and a member of Sabor, Columbia’s Latin Dance Troupe. She travelled on various programs all throughout college, and was also involved in in starting an NGO in Jamaica aimed at educating and empowering socially impacted groups on cannabis-related matters. She served as a Resident Teaching Assistant for DDC in 2017, during which she also assisted in a research project on Rose Hall Great House in Jamaica. After this, she worked in health and life insurance, joining a financial literacy campaign, before heading back to New York.
Editorial Coordinator & Webmaster
My name is Mim Datta (she/her) and I am from Queens, NY. I am passionate about web development, art and design, and cultures. I am looking forward to the future of the newsletter-- we have a lot more to showcase.
Maya Darville, RTA, Barnard College ‘24
Date Interviewed: July 26, 2023
Introduce yourself!
Hello! My name is Maya Darville. I’m a senior at Barnard College and I’m from Atlanta, Georgia. I’m pursuing a combined major in Africana and American Studies and a minor in Anthropology. I’m a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, and I’m working on a project that focuses on the intersections between race, gender and sexuality within the activism of the Civil Rights Movement. This year, I served as a Residential Teaching Assistant for the Freedom and Citizenship Program. I look forward to gaining more experience in education, research, and policy.
What drew you to work at F&C?
That’s pretty easy. I have a good bit of experience in student mentorship and in education. I'm a predoctoral student and a pre-law student , meaning that I am going to go to grad school to get a PhD in Africana Studies with the intention of becoming a college professor. I also plan to pursue a JD with the intention of becoming a civil rights lawyer. Ultimately, I strive to create equitable educational policy. Growing up, my experiences mirrored a lot of you all’s. I was a low income student at a predominantly white school with very little support for the college application process. I didn't know anybody who wanted to major in Political Science or Africana Studies, so I didn’t even know where to start in my search for college mentorship. I'm the first in my family to even consider law school. So, I figured that the younger version of myself would definitely find a program like this helpful, and I just found that my skill set matched what F&C was looking for. Working with low-income students, students of color, and other underserved student populations makes my heart happy. This is what I want to do with my life.
What is your favorite part of the program?
My favorite part of the program? I would say reading hours, I like reading hours a lot. I enjoy reading and writing hours just because I feel like that's when I get to hear the most about what you guys think about the texts. We have some philosophical conversations about life and school. I feel like that's where you all make real life connections with the things that you're reading. Within these times, I’ve seen you all take your educational journeys by the head. It’s so fulfilling to watch you all draw connections between the text, your experiences, and systems within the world we live in.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
My two favorite readings are predictable because I’m an African American Studies major. Number one would probably be Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's Letter from Birmingham Jail just because it's eleven pages of scalding critique of the Baptist Church. It needed to be said. I also appreciated the well articulated shade in it, because I think a lot of people have this conception that activism and policy is this, like, clean cut thing. That you have to be cordial and civil and all things, and he's still a non-violent leader, but people need to be reminded [about] who they are. The whole point of his speech was to put a mirror up to the religious sector of the country and be like, “Oh, is this what you stand for? You're telling us you want us to do this, but you are condoning hatred on the other hand, why is it that we have to be peaceful while you all can call us racial slurs?” Whilst maintaining his air of non-violence, Dr. King points out the hypocrisy and the complacency of the white moderate. This piece is emblematic of the ethos of the whole movement.
I think my second favorite would have to be The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois just because he's one of my favorite anthropologists. He is one of the first people to even pioneer the idea of double consciousness, which is, in simple terms, the idea that as minority people (or in his example Black people) have their own consciousness that is characterized by our perspectives, experiences, and sociocultural understandings. But in order to survive in a country or a society that hates you, you have to almost absorb the consciousness of the oppressor so you can figure out how to navigate life. It creates turmoil and a unique type of stress. He was one of the first academics to put a name to this feeling, and one could argue that his findings birthed a whole generation of intersectional Black literature. Also, his work, The Souls of Black Folk is one of my favorite books, I would say.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
I would say that if the dreams that you’re having [for your future] are scaring you, you’re on the right path. What you want to do should frighten you because you are just destined for big things. I remember being your guys’ age—I feel like I date myself when I say that, I’m literally only 21—but I remember being 17 and applying to college and being scared to even say that I wanted to go to Barnard just because it was so selective. It was so daunting to think that a student like me would be able to get into a school like Barnard or Columbia. It was even crazier to think that I could get into Barnard and prosper, but I’m here; I’m graduating next year with the highest honors, a national fellowship under my belt, research experience, and teaching experience—I’ve pretty much gotten everything I can out of this university and I’m plan on coming back. If you don’t take the chance and believe in yourself, life will pass you by. You all have to kind of buy into the fear in a way that says, “Okay, I’m having this fear. The fear is real, it’s valid, but the fear can’t control me.” In fact, you should be kind of scared. You shouldn’t look at your dreams and be like, “Oh yeah, I feel like this is 100% totally achievable.” There should be an element of vulnerability and fear to your dreams. If you’re feeling a bit of fear, you’re moving in the right direction.
What is one fun fact about you?
I’m a lifelong Michael Jackson fan. I was such a fan that I convinced my parents to give my younger brother (whose name is Michael) to make the name “Jackson” one of his middle names. There is legitimately not a single song in his catalog that I do not know. My favorite album is Invincible and my favorite song right now is Heaven Can Wait.
Mark is a member of the Capital Planning team at New York City's Department of City Planning. He advises New York City's six largest capital agencies on growth strategy, and specializes in planning for schools. Before his tenure at the Department of City Planning, he focused on improving NYC early education services at the Department of Education as an Urban Fellow, a mayoral leadership development program. His private sector experience includes time as an economic consultant in the Antitrust practice of NERA Economic Consulting. Talk to Mark about working for New York City, education policy, analytics, and the transition from the private to the public sector!
As College Guidance and Transition Program Assistant, Luz counsels Fellows through the college application and matriculation process. Luz previously served as the Residential Teaching Assistant Supervisor for the Freedom and Citizenship Program at Columbia University, and Youth Development and College Advisor at the Double Discovery Center where she managed and facilitated college prep programming. Luz is an OppNet alumna, and before returning, served as a mentor and volunteer in college guidance and college success programming. Luz received her B.A. in English from Barnard College.
As Commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), Lisette Camilo leads the agency that handles New York City government’s real estate, procurement, contracts, personnel, and Civil Service. She was appointed to this post in January of 2016.
Camilo has a long history of public service. She was appointed as the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS) and City Chief Procurement Officer by Mayor Bill de Blasio in April of 2014, where she ensured Mayoral agencies’ compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements related to the City’s procurement of billions of dollars of goods and services. Commissioner Camilo began at MOCS in 2011 in the legal unit, and later served as its Acting General Counsel.
Prior to MOCS, Camilo served as Legislative Counsel to the New York City Council committees of Contracts, Juvenile Justice, and General Welfare where she drafted legislation and coordinated oversight hearings. Previously, Camilo was an attorney practicing Immigration law at a private law firm. She began her legal career as Counsel for UNITE HERE Local 100, which represents hotel, restaurant, and commercial cafeteria food service workers.
Born and raised in Washington Heights, Lisette Camilo is a graduate of Columbia College, Columbia University and George Washington University School of Law. Camilo began her involvement with the Double Discovery Center while a college student and extending past graduation, including managing the Early Intervention program as a full time staff member and becoming a member of the Board of Friends.
Kathy H. Eden is the Chavkin Family Professor of English Literature and Professor of Classics. She received her B.A. from Smith, her Ph.D. from Stanford, and has been teaching at Columbia since 1980. Professor Eden teaches both Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization--Columbia's core curriculum courses upon which Freedom and Citizenship's seminar is based. She specifically studies the history of rhetorical and poetic theory in antiquity, which is why she's a perfect person to speak to our students on Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War.
Her books include Poetic and Legal Fiction in The Aristotelian Tradition and Friends Hold All Things in Common: Tradition, Intellectual Property and the ‘Adages’ of Erasmus. Her most recent book, The Renaissance Rediscovery of Intimacy (2012) examines how writers of the Renaissance were influenced in their own writing by reading the letters Ancient Greeks and Romans (including Aristotle, Cicero, and Plato) wrote to their closest friends.
In 1998 Dr. Eden won the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates and in 2001 the Mark Van Doren Award and the Award for Distinguished Service to the Core Curriculum. In an article about her teaching in Columbia College Today, Professor Eden revealed that in addition to speaking French, Spanish, Italian, German, and some Japanese, she memorized all of Hamlet when she was 15.
Joe grew up in Queens, NY and attended Columbia College, graduating in 1979 with a degree in Chemistry. While at Columbia he purchased 2 Bronx apartment buildings which started his real estate career. After graduation, Joe worked as a commercial broker at Cushman and Wakefield for 6 years before joining The Berkshire Group to help develop a chain of hotels. In 1993, he joined Tishman Real Estate Services as its President, where he remains today.
Joe Biden is running for President of the United States in the 2020 election. He was born in Scranton, PA and moved to Delaware at age 10. He attended the University of Delaware where he double majored in history and political science. At age 29 he was elected to the US Senate--one of the youngest ever senators. Beginning in 2008 he served two terms as Vice President to Barack Obama.
John H McWhorter is an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. He earned his B.A. from Rutgers, his M.A. from New York University, and his Ph.D. in linguistics from Stanford. His linguistic and literature backgrounds come in handy when he lectures F&C students on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and explains why it was so unfortunate for Mr. Rousseau that his last name sounded a lot like "ruisseau," the French word for "stream."
Professor McWhorter is an author of more than a dozen books including The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Losing the Race: Self Sabotage in Black America and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English. In 2016 he published Words on the Move: Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally). He also regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines including The New Republic and The Atlantic. Students might be particularly interested in his article on how immigrants change languages in The Atlantic and an essay on policing the "N-word" in Time.
Joanna Cuatlayo, RTA, Columbia College ‘26
Date Interviewed: August 4, 2023
Introduce yourself!
My name is Joanna Cuatlayo. I was born and raised in The Bronx, New York. I’m a sophomore at Columbia College where I’m pursuing a major in Computer Science with a special concentration in Public Health.
What drew you to work at F&C?
As an alum of F&C I have seen the great things that happen in the program. It was not too long ago that I was doing my summer readings, responses, and making my civic project. Now being at Columbia, I want to give back to all those who helped me get where I’m at. For me, that includes helping the next generation of students. F&C lets me do just that!
What is your favorite part of the program?
Definitely the summer social programming! I know many of you guys were tired but I always loved the special conversations that came up. The small groups let me talk to several of the students on a more one on one level. I also really enjoyed the wind down hours as we wrapped our days up and talked about random things that relate (and don’t relate) to the program.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
This is a hard one for me, but my instinct tells me Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War (Trans-national America is a close second)! Reading this made me fall in love with learning after being in COVID. I remember Kathy Eden’s talk and how much it impacted me. The way these Athenian men were perceived made me think of my own values and what I do to protect them.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
Always reach out when you need help—you all have a lot of people behind your backs to help bring you to the places you want to go. Embrace the unique journey you’re on and trust the process.
What is one fun fact about you?
I play rugby at Columbia and we won Tri-States this past season!
Jessica Lee is the Executive Director of Freedom and Citizenship. Jessica received her Ph.D. from Columbia in 2016 and her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in 2008. Throughout college Jessica worked at a summer camp; developing summer programming for campers and supervising undergraduate cabin counselors. She enjoyed it so much that after graduating college she wasn't sure if she wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in history or become a director of a summer camp. In the end she decided to attend graduate school at Columbia University where she quickly found a way to combine both passions as the graduate coordinator of F&C. There, she could immerse herself in the history and philosophy of citizenship while also growing a tight knit community of motivated high school students each summer, developing meaningful summer and yearlong programming, and teaching and mentoring undergraduate college students. While working for Freedom and Citizenship and teaching in Columbia's Center for the Core Curriculum, Jessica finished her dissertation on the formation of an American ethnic voting bloc during the Great Depression.
As Executive Director of Freedom and Citizenship, Jessica continues to think a lot about how new citizens can make an oversized impact on the country's political trajectory. Rather than writing about it, she now gets to act on it.
Courses Taught:
- UN3030 Migration and Citizenship in American History
- GR6999 Migration and Citizenship in American History
- Immigrant New York
Select Publications:
- "The Italianization of the Italian–American and Fascism’s Entrance into American Ethnic Politics, 1930–1935" in Italianness and Migration from the Risorgimento to the 1960s (2022)
- Digital Media Review: Una Storia Segreta: When Italian Americans Were 'Enemy Aliens.' in Italian American Review 11 (2021), 2
- "What’s in a Race? The Changing Words and Ideas behind America’s Immigrant Classification Systems" in Journal of Urban History 46 (2020), 2
- Review: "Searching for Subversives: The Story of Italian Internment in Wartime America" by Mary Elizabeth Basile Chopas in Journal of Social History 53, (2019), 1, pp. 322-324
Jerrold Nadler was born in Brooklyn and attended Stuyvesant High School and Columbia University, before getting a law degree from Fordham University. He first was elected to the New York State Assembly and now is in his 15th term as a congressman. He is running for reelection in New York's 10th Congressional District.
Jeanine Alvarez is a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to this position, she worked as a litigation associate at WilmerHale, a large law firm in New York City. While earning her undergraduate degree in American Studies and Psychology at Columbia College, she was deeply involved with the DDC and F&C. She served as teaching assistant for Freedom & Citizenship from 2013 - 2014. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in 2014, and Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School in 2017
Janus Yuen, RTA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: September 2, 2023
Introduce yourself!
I’m from Texas! I’m a rising junior at Columbia College majoring in History.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I wanted to work at F&C because helping teach high school students taking political philosophy seminars sounded like a dream summer job (it did not disappoint!).
What is your favorite part of the program?
My favorite part of the program was seeing all of y’all think; processing these difficult, age-old ideas and making them your own.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
My favorite reading might have been Douglass, because I felt like coming out of Rousseau, Locke, and Hobbes, students’ thinking and writing was really starting to blossom. I remember people finding ideas from previous readings in new ones that did not reference [those previous ideas] directly, mixing ideas, and starting conversations.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
My one piece of advice is to keep searching for the answers to the questions we only began to ask in F&C: What is the ideal relationship between a society and its government? What obligations should bind us to one another? What does a just order look like? What does it really mean to be free? Free from what? Free to do what? I don’t advise this because it will not serve to protect you in life or any other immediately practical purpose. In fact thinking critically about how the world around you is run is exactly what’s most likely to get you in trouble. But [it’s still important] because one, an examined, self-conscious, socially-conscious life is a fundamentally richer life. [You] can’t argue about this one: one agrees or one doesn’t—and given that y’all chose to come here I’d assume you do agree. Two, while your searching may not help yourself, your example may help others, your community, your society, to consider—and therefore determine—their own political end goals. The viability of the good life, arguably, depends on the existence of a good society. Yet being a thinking, conscious citizen might not be the end goal of that society, but rather a necessary means for bringing that society about. Oh, also, second piece of advice: remember that words matter. The words you use indicate your principles and build the world we live in, as you saw with your readings. Treasure words, your own and others’ alike, and pay attention to what those words do in the world.
What is one fun fact about you?
A fun fact about me is that I can wiggle my ears.
Humberto Ballesteros is a fiction writer and Dante scholar. After obtaining a Ph.D. in Italian from Columbia in 2015 he remained at the University for an additional three years, teaching Literature Humanities as a Core Faculty Fellow. In 2018 he became an Assistant Professor at Hostos, one of the City University of New York’s community colleges, where he teaches Italian and Spanish and coordinates the Modern Languages Unit. The focus of his research is the philosophical underpinnings of Dante’s poetry. He is the commentator and main academic advisor for a new critical edition of the Commedia, translated by Professors Jerónimo Pizarro (Los Andes University) and Norman Valencia (Claremont McKenna College), the first volume of which won a grant for new independent editorial projects and was published in Bogotá in 2019. The second volume, “Purgatorio”, is currently in development, thanks to a grant from CUNY’s Professional Staff Congress. Parallel to his scholarly efforts, Ballesteros is an award-winning author in his native Spanish. His fiction has been translated into English, Italian and Portuguese. In 2010 he received the "Ciudad de Bogotá" National Award for "Razones para destruir una ciudad", in 2018 "Juego de memoria" was shortlisted for the Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana prize, and more recently his short story “A tree” was included in the London Magazine’s Special Colombian Edition, curated by Ella Windsor.
Grace Meng was born in Elmhurst and graduated from Stuyvesant and the University of Michigan. She received a law degree from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. She worked as a public-interest lawyer before becoming a member of the New York State Assembly. Now she is a Congresswoman--the only Asian American congressperson from all of New York. She is running for reelection to serve her 5th term as representative of New York's 6th Congressional District.
Frieda Adu-Brempong is a senior associate at Bennett Midland LLC, a management consulting firm that helps nonprofits and government agencies improve their operations. She graduated with honors from Dickinson College in 2016 where she studied Policy Management and was as a recipient of the Posse Leadership Scholarship. She also went to Mother Cabrini H.S. where she discovered the Double Discovery Center and the Teagle program. A proud South Bronx native, Frieda enjoys spending time community organizing and attending free art events in the city.
Fernanda Bustillo Aguero, RTA, Columbia College ‘24
Date Interviewed: July 27, 2023
Introduce yourself!
My name is Fernanda. I'm a rising senior at Columbia College majoring in English and comparative literature.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I took a class with Dr. Lee during my sophomore year and as the director of the program she advertised it to our entire class and said that if anybody was interested they should apply. I thought the program was really well structured and that it was an interesting opportunity to develop my own teaching skills and extend my own views on philosophy and education.
What is your favorite part of the program?
My favorite part of the program is getting to know all of the students. I think by the end of F&C, especially it being my second summer doing it, getting to know so many people with such bright futures is really exciting.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
My favorite reading in the program is probably The Allegory of the Cave. I think it's probably the most fun to kind of reenact as a lesson, but I find myself thinking a lot about it going through school and going through the world.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
One piece of advice I would like to give F&C students is to not take everything so seriously. I think a lot of the time the better things in life come when you relax a little bit, but I know that senior year of high school is incredibly intense and everything feels like it's the biggest decision in the world, so just realizing that living day-by-day sometimes is fun and exciting is also a good way to kind of see life.
What is one fun fact about you?
Today was the first day that I learned I could do a pull-up.
Graphic Design Director
Hi! My name is Fabeha Jahra (she/her) and I’m a senior at University Heights High School in the Bronx! I enjoy learning about history and all things STEM. I plan to pursue a major that is engineering-related in college!
Ethan is a law clerk at Jenner & Block, where he is interested in media, entertainment, and First Amendment litigation. Prior to the firm, he was a law clerk on the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2017 and Columbia in 2011, where he majored in American studies and history. He was a Freedom and Citizenship teaching assistant from 2010 to 2011. Before entering the law, he was an ESL teacher with Teach for America.
Professor Foner specializes in the Civil War and Reconstruction, slavery, and 19th-century America. He has written and edited nineteen books about American history, including The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, which won the Pulitzer, Bancroft, and Lincoln prizes in 2011. His latest book is Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad. Professor Foner is also active in public history: he has curated and advised on several museum exhibits from Disneyland to Gettysburg, and he writes often for newspapers and magazines. Freedom and Citizenship students might be interested in his open letter to Bernie Sanders and article defending birthright citizenship in The Nation.
At Columbia, Dr. Foner teaches the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction, which is now available for free as an online course through ColumbiaX. He also teaches a popular class on "The American Radical Tradition" that reads many of the same texts from the summer seminar. Students can find out more about Professor Foner on his website and from the Columbia History Department.
Elise Fuller is an incoming consulting analyst at Accenture, a multinational professional services company that provides services in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. She graduated from Columbia University where she studied Socio-Cultural Anthropology. While in undergrad, she volunteered as both a TA and an RTA for the Freedom and Citizenships Program and worked in the Double Discovery Center. In her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts and dancing bachata.
Founder & Co-Editor-in-Chief
Hi, my name is Elaine Wong (she/her)! I’m one of the Editor-in-Chiefs of the Columbia Civic Digest! I’m also the founder of this newsletter. I’m currently a senior at Stuyvesant High School. In school, I run for the cross-country team, write for The Spectator, and am in my second year as a cabinet member for the school caucus. Outside of school, I write for the Dear Asian Youth newsletter, serve as a board member for the national non-profit organization Justice Education Project, and will be beginning my second year as a student at the High School Law Institute. In my spare time, I love to read and watch terrible television shows!
President Trump was born in Queens New York and attended Fordham University and the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics. He was elected President of the United States in 2016. He was impeached in 2019 by the House of Representatives and acquitted in January of 2020 by the Senate. He is running for reelection in 2020.
Devon Hunter, RTA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: July 27, 2023
Introduce yourself!
I'm Devon Hunter. I am a rising junior at Columbia University, studying Economics and American Studies, and I’m from Maine.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I think what we do at F&C is really great in terms of providing college access. I mean, I think that's such an important thing that I know I wish I had, and that I know a lot of people who work here wish that they had. I think that it's super important and I'm happy to be a part of it.
What is your favorite part of the program?
I’ve really enjoyed getting to plan social programs. I just came from the Escape Room, which, as always, was a huge hit. [There has also been] a trivia night and a PowerPoint party. It's been a blast.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
I really like Trans-national America by Bourne. The way he thinks is very modern, but it's also very American. The way he writes, it's the sort of thing that can only be written in a modern American context, and I think it's a very special piece.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
Don't stress, be calm.
Alright, I've been told to elaborate — you all put a lot of pressure on yourselves with college and other things and I get it. It's understandable, but it's not beneficial. Don’t be afraid to just chill out a bit. All of you are very driven and hardworking students and we all know you're going places.
What is one fun fact about you?
Earlier today the editorial staff of the F&C newsletter said I looked like Abraham Lincoln.
Christopher Itua was born and raised in the Bronx, New York by two parents who emigrated from Edo State, Nigeria. He attended the Manhattan Center of Science and Mathematics (MCSM) where he first became involved with the Double Discovery Center and the inaugural class of the Freedom and Citizenship program. He developed a passion for service and community outreach throughout his undergraduate career at Boston College, where he completed yearly service trips in Jonestown, Mississippi and Kingston, Jamaica. Currently, as a rising second year medical student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he is the Co-President of the Einstein Chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and serves with the student club, Bronx, Obesity, Diabetes and You (BODY), where he teaches elementary students about exercise, developing healthy diets and building positive body-images.
Casey Nelson Blake is a historian of modern American thought and culture and founder of the Freedom and Citizenship program at Columbia. Professor Blake’s scholarly work has appeared in numerous books and journals. He writes regularly for magazines and other publications for a general audience and has also helped design museum exhibitions on American history and art. Among the courses he teaches at Columbia is a lecture course on U.S. intellectual history since 1865, which includes many of the same texts assigned in the Freedom and Citizenship summer seminar.
Professor Blake’s work as a scholar and educator explores the ideas and artistic traditions available to Americans seeking to create a more vibrant and inclusive democratic society. The Freedom and Citizenship program invites high school students the opportunity to join in that exploration. Students study how major thinkers have struggled with the big questions of civic action: “What are the responsibilities of citizenship?” “How does individual freedom contribute to the common good?” “Do civic equality depend on a particular economic system?” “In what ways has the definition of American democracy changed since the Revolution?” “Who has participated in making those changes, and how?” Students not only study a conversation that has gone on for centuries about the meaning of freedom and citizenship. They join it themselves as informed citizens ready to participate in the decisions that will affect their futures, and the future of their country.
Caio Miranda (DDC Class of 2016) is a first generation college student who spent the earlier half of his life in Brazil, and the other half in New York City. Caio enjoys to travel, and has travelled to 3 different countries within the last 12 months and plans to visit 2 more by the end of the year. He is currently a rising senior at Baruch College, studies finance and is currently a summer intern at J.P. Morgan Chase. Asides from work and school, Caio likes to stay involved on campus through mentorship and cultural organizations such as ALPFA (Associate of Latinos Professionals For America)
Beatrice Agbi, ATA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: August 4, 2023
Introduce yourself!
My name is Beatrice but I go by Bea. I’m a rising junior at Columbia College, and I’m from Queens!
What drew you to work at F&C?
I found out about F&C from a flier that had been posted around campus—I originally wasn’t going to apply because I didn’t want to work at Columbia after having spent the entire school year there, but I ultimately did because I believed in its mission. I wanted to help people. More specifically, I wanted to help students feel more confident in themselves, especially as they navigate the college process, which can be very intimidating.
What is your favorite part of the program?
Seeing the students grow! I genuinely think all of the students that I’ve worked with have become much better writers and much more articulate thinkers. On the whole, they all seem more confident in their ideas.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
Definitely the excerpt from “The Souls of Black Folk” by Du Bois. I was never a big fan of any of the Greek stuff, and I think that Du Bois is a fantastic literary writer. His work is just so well done, and it’s really interesting how a lot of the stuff he’s writing about (particularly about the veil and double consciousness) can be applied to the present day.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give F&C students?
Chill out! Yes, the college process is stressful and scary and overwhelming, but don’t let it control your life. When I was in high school, there were so many students who were so focused on getting into the number one school at all costs, so much so that they let that goal stop them from being in the present moment, whether that be having fun with their friends or enjoying their education. You should definitely work hard to get into college, but don’t let it stress you out any more than it needs to. At the end of the day, you all are more than prepared for college; the fact that you're in F&C and reading and writing about all these difficult philosophical texts means that you are more than capable. And you already have a F&C support network that is going to help you get into college.
What is one fun fact about you?
I took Latin for 5 years! I would say my peak Latin reading skills were in senior year of high school, but even today I can read mottos and some other stuff pretty well.
Angie Neslin graduated from Columbia College in 2016 with degrees in Hispanic Studies and American Studies. After having the time of her life as a teaching fellow in the Freedom and Citizenship program '15-'16, she decided to continue working as an educator at Fundación Abriendo Camino in the Dominican Republic. She currently coordinates an urban gardening program/Green Brigade for activist kids, runs a Youth Parliament, facilitates lively conversations for English language learners from around the globe, and is living her dream of playing guitar in a rock-fusión band.
Angela Xia is a doctoral student in religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to graduate school she earned a B.A. in American Studies from Columbia University, where she taught in the Freedom and Citizenship Summer Program.
Andrew Michael Lichtblau, ATA, Columbia College ‘25
Date Interviewed: August 12, 2023
Introduce yourself!
I’m Andrew, one of the ATAs for F&C this summer and a Philosophy major entering my junior year at Columbia College.
What drew you to work at F&C?
I’ve had experience teaching in the past, which is what drew me to do something in that arena, but this was actually the first time I had the opportunity to work directly and closely with students, which was the biggest appeal of F&C. Also, I had taken a class in the American Studies department with Casey Blake which I really enjoyed—he actually ended up coming in and speaking to Professor Roberts’ class during F&C.
What is your favorite part of the program?
Definitely working in tutorial groups after seminar every morning—especially on days when my group was doing an engaging activity or a debate. It was always really fun to watch students get really invested in the ideas they were talking about.
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
The Allegory of the Cave, if orientation readings count. It’s a somewhat nostalgic text for me, because learning about Plato’s Cave was essentially my introduction to philosophy, but also I really enjoy being creative and having students act out how they imagine the cave.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
Don’t leave what you’ve learned from F&C inside the classroom. Take the passion and energy for conversation that you’ve developed with you and start looking for ways to think more critically, more collaboratively, and more creatively in other areas of your everyday life.
What is one fun fact about you?
When I was in high school I was a page for the U.S. Senate, coincidentally during Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, so I actually got to sit in the room for a week while the trial went on, and I got to be in the room during the final vote.
Andrew Delbanco, winner of the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates, is the author of Melville: His World and Work (2005), The Death of Satan (1995), Required Reading: Why Our American Classics Matter Now (1997), The Real American Dream (1999), and The Puritan Ordeal(1989), among other books. Most recently, he wrote College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be (2012)--student can read an essay from it here. His work has been translated into several languages, including German, Spanish, Korean, Russian, and Chinese.
Professor Delbanco's essays appear regularly in The New York Review of Books and other journals, on topics ranging from American literary and religious history to contemporary issues in higher education. In 2001, he was named by Time Magazine as "America's Best Social Critic" and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also an elected member of the American Philosophical Society, a trustee of the Teagle Foundation, the Library of America, and trustee emeritus of the National Humanities Center.
In February 2012, President Barack Obama presented Professor Delbanco with the National Humanities Medal for his writings on higher education and the place classic authors hold in history and contemporary life.
Ms. DeMetropolis is the President of the New Jersey Market Leadership Team and Market Manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s New Jersey Market. Ms. DeMetropolis provides executive leadership across our firm’s lines of business as well as both community and employment engagement. She has been advising families, endowments and foundations on a broad range of wealth matters and managing investment portfolios for over 20 years and joined J.P. Morgan in 1992. Ms. DeMetropolis has also worked for 7 years on foreign assignments in Latin America and Europe.
As part of her interest in local non-profit organizations, Ms. DeMetropolis is on the boards of the
Liberty Science Center, Community Food Bank of New Jersey, New Jersey Performing Arts Center,SciTech Scity, and Nature Conservancy NJ Advisory Council. She recently completed years of board service for Cornell University’s Dean’s Advisory Council and the New Providence Education Foundation. Ms. DeMetropolis was recognized as a Top 100 Financial Adviser by the Financial Times in 2014 and by NJBIZ as one of the Best Fifty Women in Business for 2012.Ms. DeMetropolis holds a B.S. from Cornell University. She is fluent in Spanish and Greek. She is a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Financial Analyst, a member of the CFA Institute and the New York Society of Security Analysts.
DeMetropolis resides in New Providence, New Jersey with her 2 children and was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx and attended Boston University where she majored in international relations and economics. She was elected to the House of Representatives in January of 2019 at the age of 29, making her the youngest congresswoman ever. She is up for re-election in 2020, representing New York's 14th Congressional District.
Akua Fosu was born in Accra, Ghana and moved to the US when she was 4 years old. She grew up in the Bronx and went to Manhattan Center for Science and Math in Harlem. After high school, she attended Villanova University and graduated in 2017 with a bachelors of science in nursing. She currently works at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ as a registered nurse in the surgical intensive care unit.
Aixa Jimena Flores-Dominguez, RTA, Columbia College ‘24
Date Interviewed: July 26, 2023
Introduce yourself!
I’m Aixa, my pronouns are she/her, and I’m a rising senior in Columbia College studying Religion and Political Science. I’m from Omaha, Nebraska. I grew up there, but I was born in Mexico.
What drew you to work at F&C?
Honestly, I think the demographic of kids that were going to be able to do it. If I would have been your guys’ age and lived in the city, I probably would have been doing a program like this. I thought it was a super valuable experience to be able to do. I really, really wanted to work with high school students because I haven't had as much teaching experience so I was really excited to do that.
What is your favorite part of the program?
I think my favorite part of the program honestly—and I don't think I would have said this, but I do now—is living with you guys. I think it helps us all as RTAs, at least for me it does, to build a better relationship with you guys and get to know you away from just simply an academic setting. Also, you guys get a lot more rowdy and are your guys' selves at night so that really helps [to get to know you better].
What is your favorite reading in the program and why?
Douglass’s Fourth of July Speech. I really, really, really enjoy that one because I like the way that he decides to phrase the speech and makes it so that he can convey his points a lot better than if he simply had just stated them directly. He’s similar to Socrates, where he kind of gives a question and then answers it.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to F&C students?
This is kind of corny but to believe in yourself, especially when others tell you that you can't do something. I feel like if I would have not believed in myself when I was your guys’ age, especially when applying to college, I would not be where I am. I think that it’s incredibly impactful, especially for students of color or from low income areas or especially from immigrant backgrounds to know that it's okay for you to be your number one fan and motivator, and to ask for help, definitely, but also just for sure to believe in yourself. You should be your last judge determining whatever your future is going to be because you're the one that's going to have to live with it.
What is one fun fact about you?
When I was seven months old, I fell off a bed and broke my head. So I have two big scars right here (gesturing at sides of her scalp) from when I fell off the bed. It was my brother who was jumping on the bed. I rolled off onto the tile floor from a high bed, but I survived, obviously.
Adriano Espaillat was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States at the age of 10. His family overstayed their tourist visa, making them undocumented, but they were able to obtain green cards shortly after. He is the first formerly undocumented member of Congress. Espaillat attended Bishop Dubois High School and Queens College where he majored in political science. Espaillat first worked in nonprofit organizations before becoming New York State Assemblyman and then New York State Senator. He ran several times for Congress before finally winning in 2016. He is now running for his third term as Congressman of New York's 13th Congressional District.
Ben was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas and is a rising senior in Columbia College. He is a Bachelor of Arts candidate majoring in Neuroscience and Behavior and minoring in Linguistics. Ben wishes to attend a joint M.D./P.h.D program and establish a career in neurodegenerative disease research. Aside from loving science and medicine, Ben loves his dog, a pug named Francie, very much.