Current Scholars
Daven Asafo-Agyei
Daven Asafo-Agyei is the recent recipient of the Caliph & Arlette Mathis Scholarship for Global Security Studies, as well as the 2023 Malcolm/King Leadership Award, and was recently published in John Jay’s Finest Vol. 38. He is currently majoring in Security management with a minor in Sustainability and Environmental Justice, and will soon be enrolled for a CUNY BA with an area of concentration in Human Ecology in the Built Environment. He is an active member of both the Urban Male Initiative program and the Black Student Union. Daven is also the founder of Humane LLC, a non-profit organization that focuses on the research and preservation of humanity which he founded in 2021. In his spare time, he likes to volunteer with various organizations, play legos and even attempt to learn the guitar. Daven works as a Fire Life Safety Director for Winfield Security as well as a part-time Coordinator of Gardens and Operations for a small non-profit situated in the Bronx. He is dedicated to becoming a scholar, humanitarian, ecologist, and environmentalist, hoping to one day obtain the highest of achievements in those fields and leave behind life-changing work.
Brooke Baker
Brooke Baker is a first-generation college student majoring in forensic psychology with a minor in fine arts. She is a first-year McNair Scholar hoping to pursue a doctoral degree in cognitive neuroscience. Brooke is also a Ron Moelis Fellow, Honors Scholars Council Co-Chair, Honors Peer Mentor, and a writing tutor. In addition to these roles, Brooke is a representative for the John Jay Honors Program and a member of the DEI Honors Committee. Brooke would like to work as a professor after graduate school, conducting her own research related to neurodevelopment and childhood trauma.
Shaniece Ellison Young
Shaniece Ellison Young grew up in Brooklyn and she is now studying Sociology with a minor in Counseling. Shaniece wishes to become an attorney and a social worker. In addition, she volunteers for the Alliance Against Sexual Harassment in New York City. As a McNair Scholar, she wishes to raise awareness about subjects that are rarely spoken about, such as sexual assault, suicide, and others. Shaniece is grateful to be a part of McNair as she would like to pursue higher education in social work and receive a law degree, where she plans to support and represent others who are going through/have been through trauma. Currently, she is interested in generational attitudes towards suicide and is under the mentorship of Dr. Yolanda Ortiz-Rodriguez. She has recently joined Pursuing the Esquire's Mentorship Program for aspiring advocates for justice. She looks forward to the future of her academic achievement and wants to make a difference in her neighborhood for both her and other people.
Jheyleinnies Guerrero
Jheyleinnies Guerrero grew up in Brooklyn and is a Criminology major with a minor in Psychology. She is the first person in her family to pursue a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D. Jhey Jhey is a McNair, Excelsior, and Honors program scholar. She is also a Lead Peer in the Student Academic Success Program, where she works with first-year and transfer students. Last year, she was a member of the school's United Nations Student Association, which received Outstanding delegation and a number of other accolades. And she continued to volunteer with this year's squad, which likewise carried on the UNSA legacy. She is also interning at NYU on a research project about the CUNY Justice Academy Program. Jhey Jhey's academic and professional aspirations include pursuing a doctorate in criminology with an emphasis on anti-child labor and sex trafficking. Gaining additional research and publishing experience so she can become an author and join the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces.
Ashli Hamilton
Ashli Hamilton is from Ridgewood, NJ, and majors in Forensic Psychology and minors in Sociology. Ashli is a part of the John Jay Honors Program and the Black Honors Student Union. In terms of leadership, she works with the Black Student Union and holds the role of Event Planning Committee Chair. She is also a research assistant for Dr. Booker in a project that revolves around Restorative Justice. She has recently joined Dr. Haney-Caron's Youth Law and Psychology Lab and is excited about researching in her field of interest. She is excited for the future of her education and hopes to create an impact on herself and others within her community.
Efeh Ibojie
Efeh Ibojie is a senior enrolled in the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her area of concentration is in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies. She is the recipient of the CUNY BA’s Barbara Price Fellowship and Thomas W. Smith Academic Fellowship. As a McNair Scholar, she is interested in pursuing research in digital repatriation and preservation practices. Since 2020, she has completed training at the Greenwood Cemetery as a Masonry Restoration trainee, worked at the NYC Parks Arts and Antiquity Department in the Monuments crew, and has been a paper conservation intern at the Smithsonian Library and Archives and the Hirshhorn Museum. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she will be completing a 6-month conservation internship at the Smithsonian Library and Archives.
Stephanie Medina
Stephanie Medina is a junior majoring in Forensic Psychology and she is also works as a Senior Bridge coach for College and Career Bridge for All to help high school seniors with their post-secondary plans. She is part of the Honors program, McNair, Psy Chi Leadership Team and two faculty members’ labs. Stephanie hopes to go on to graduate school for a PhD in the discipline of cognitive psychology with a focus on memory
Kimberely Mejia
Kimberely Mejia is a first-generation student and her parents come from Mexico. She is a senior who majors in Forensic Psychology and Spanish (Interpretation and Translation) with the intent to work as a case manager before returning to graduate school for a PhD in neuropsychology. Over the course of her time at John Jay, she has discovered that she enjoys working with people. She started off at John Jay as a member of ¡Adelante! and is now part of the McNair Scholars Program.
Anjelika Soriano
Anjelika Soriano is a first-generation Latin, her parents come from the Dominican Republic. She is majoring in Forensic Psychology and intends to become a criminal profiler. Anjelika is striving to complete her Ph.D in Forensic Psychology. Anjelika was in John Jay’s Upward Bound program during high school, now she is in the ACE program, and the McNair program. Anjelika hopes to make a positive impact on people's lives.
Sherley Tejada
Sherley Tejada was born and raised in the Bronx. Sherley is majoring in Forensic Science and on the criminalist track and minoring in Biology. She is a first-year McNair Scholar interested in researching DNA profiling. Sherley is a member of the Forensic Science Society where she is interested in pursuing a career as a forensic lab analyst for the FBI or criminal investigation for local law enforcement.
Imani Thomas
Imani Thomas is a first-generation undergraduate student majoring in Forensic Psychology with a minor in Africana Studies. Currently, Imani is in John Jay’s Honors Program, a member of the Black Student Union, and involved in the Black Honors Student Committee. In addition to this, she is a part of Dr. Booker's internship focused on Restorative Justice in an Africana Context, and recently joined Dr. Camacho’s research lab dealing with Task Perception and Personal Attitudes. As a McNair Scholar, she is immensely enthusiastic about doing her own rigorous research on topics pertaining to racial issues, trauma and depression, and sexual violence. Thus, after receiving her Bachelor's degree, Imani aspires to further her passion for research through a Ph.D. program, and assess underrepresented individuals with psychological disorders and individuals who have experienced sexual violence/abuse.
Gabrielle Andrade
Gabrielle Andrade is a senior majoring in Forensic Psychology and double minoring in Counseling and Sociology. As a McNair scholar, she worked with Dr. Jayne Mooney from the sociology department. Her independent research project focuses on domestic violence rates in NYC before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few accomplishments to note would be she was a peer mentor for 3 years at the SEEK department. Gaby spent the summer at the University of California Irvine in 2022 to conduct a research project under Dr. Tony Cheng from the Law and society department, focusing on the history of the Chicago police department. She was also a research assistant for Dr. Virginia Díaz in the SEEK department reviewing the benefits of higher education programs for low-income / underrepresented students in a college setting and how mentorship programs can benefit college students during their freshmen year. Gaby has presented at multiple conferences on both the east and west coast and was awarded a certificate for Public Health's best poster at GEG23 hosted at Washington University. She is also in both Psi Chi and Chi Alpha Epsilon honor societies. Gaby was accepted to Columbia University's Masters in Social Work Program!
Cynthia Gonzalez
Cynthia Gonzalez graduated John Jay in the Fall of 2022 with Magna Cum Laude and as a Dean’s List recipient majoring in Computer Science. Cynthia is working alongside Dr. Aftab Ahmed in conducting research in AI and Cybersecurity. Her research focuses on Data Anomalies and Influence of Parameters in Data Splitting. A few accomplishments to note would be participating in CodePath's iOS Development program in the Fall of 2021. Cynthia completed the course with honors which lead toward her training to become a Tech Fellow for the course. Cynthia then became an official Tech Fellow for CodePath's iOS Development Course and finished off with a certificate of leadership. This summer she will also be working as a Tech Fellow for CodePath's Technical Interview Course preparing students of other colleges for their Computer Science careers. Cynthia is proud to note that she was a Peer Advisor for the Computer Science department here at John Jay which has been something new for this major. She is proudly the first female Peer Advisor for the Computer Science Department. While being a Peer Advisor, she was assigned to work on a special project that entails networking Computer Science Alumni with current students at John Jay. Her goal is to help students have better job opportunities through this work. Cynthia is the recipient of the Distinguished Service award which recognizes exceptional service contributions to the college community. Last but not least, Cynthia was accepted to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s PhD Program in Computer Science!
Ly Thien Hoang
Ly Thien Hoang is a graduate at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studied in the BA/MA Forensic Psychology Program with a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies. Ly Hoang was under the mentorship of Dr. Rebecca Weiss, Ph.D. conducting a secondary analysis on the interrater reliability on competency to stand trial evaluations in New York. During her studies, she participated in the Vera Fellows Program 2021-2022 where she worked with the Urban Research Institute Pals. In the later months of 2022, she externed at the New York Counseling for Change, LLC (QCC/NYCC) through the MA externship track and participated as a research assistant in Dr. Margaret Bull Kovera Lab. Ly Thien Hoang is now working as a full-time functional family therapist with The New York Foundling and will continue her education in the Fall of 2024 in her pursuit to becoming a forensic evaluator.
Jaleel King
Jaleel King is a senior majoring in Forensic Psychology with a minor in Africana Studies. At the beginning of his undergraduate studies, Jaleel was optimistic about being a special agent in the FBI. To take the necessary steps in achieving this goal, he participated in the first Alumni Mentoring Program where he was mentored by a retired Marshal. During his junior year Jaleel was accepted as a Pinkerton fellow and as a fellow, Jaleel was placed at Exalt where their main purpose is to transform the lives of court-involved youth by gaining knowledgeable skill sets and experience that can allow them to be self-sufficient members of society. Jaleel is currently a second year Ronald E. McNair student where he is mentored by Dr. Margaret Kovera. Jaleel’s research focuses on evidenced-based suspicion and police officers placing suspects in lineups without enough evidence. As a McNair student, Jaleel has presented his research at multiple conferences in states such as Michigan, Washington, and Philadelphia. Jaleel is the recipient of the Bernard Locke award which recognizes academic excellence in forensic psychology. Lastly, Jaleel was recently accepted as Ph.D. student at the CUNY graduate center where he will be joining the Psychology and Law department at John Jay College under the mentorship of Dr. Margaret Kovera.
Osmeily Luna
Osmeily Luna is a senior at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and is majoring in Forensic Psychology with a minor in Criminology. Osmeily Luna is under the mentorship of Dr. Jayne Mooney, Ph.D. conducting research and learning all that she can about graduate school through the McNair Program. Osmeily is researching violence against women with a concentration on sex trafficking from a communal and international perspective. Osmeily is also a part of the Forensic Psychology BA/MA Program, where she will be taking an extra year to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees simultaneously. She is interested in obtaining a Ph.D. in Law and psychology after graduating and soon after joining the FBI Academy. Aside from academia, Osmeily Luna is also a scholar-athlete and has received certificates and awards for her academic and athletic achievements.
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