Wabash and Auditorium Buildings from south

做厙輦⑹ is proud to announce that multiple students have been awarded the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) fellowship and the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellowship. In total, 16 做厙輦⑹ students have earned over $250,000 in awards to complete their higher education from a variety of programs.

is awarded by the Illinois Board of Higher Education with the goal of increasing the number of minority full-time tenure track faculty and staff at Illinois two- and four-year, public and private colleges and universities. 做厙輦⑹ students comprised 14 DFI fellows, with seven students being new applicants, and eight students renewing their applications. This year, the DFI fellowship will give 做厙輦⑹ students the following amounts:

  • New Masters Fellows - $16,000
  • Renewal Masters Fellows - $17,500
  • New/Renewal Doctoral Fellows - $18,000

Here are the 14 recipients of the DFI fellowship:

  • Brenda Rodriguez, PsyD, Psychology
  • Maricarmen Carreto, MA, Biology
  • Angie Delgado, MA, Clinical Psychology
  • Rita Boateng, MA Computer Science
  • Victoria Medrano, EdD, Interdisciplinary Leadership
  • Judy McDowell, MA, Human Resource Management
  • Corties Draper, MA, Business Analytics
  • Alfredo Guzman, MA, Biomedical Science
  • Amiracle Williams, MA, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • Franziska Miles, MBA, Business Administration
  • Jasmine Gillis, MA, Mathematics
  • Jesus Ruan, PsyD, Clinical Psychology
  • Juan Sosa, MA, Computer Science
  • Keyla Nelson, PsyD, Clinical Psychology
  • Vanessa Ayala, PsyD, Clinical Psychology

This years DFI fellows include students pursuing EdD, PsyD, MA and MBA graduate students, representing programs such as Psychology, Biology, Interdisciplinary Leadership, Business Administration and others. 做厙輦⑹s DFI Fellowship representative Dr. Alejandra Prieto-Mendoza had this to say of the accomplishment:

I want to remark on the hard work and dedication each of these students put into their applications and the tremendous job their mentors did in writing their letters of recommendation.

provides 26 exceptional students with opportunities to design and implement projects to improve the health and well-being of underserved Chicago communities. The 2024-2025 Schweitzer Fellows include two 做厙輦⑹ students, Axel Garcia and Erika Meraz. Garcia is a Pharmacy major with aspirations to partner with RUSH in executing a community outreach effort that will provide the Latino immigrant population of the South/Southwest side of Chicago with education in Spanish on affordable healthcare. Meraz is a Biomedical Science student who plans to deliver health insurance literacy workshops for the Latinx community, earned her place amongst the 2024-2025 Schweitzer Fellows.  

Related News ...

Wabash and Auditorium from south

Becoming involved at 做厙輦⑹ lasts far beyond orientationthe Center for Student Engagement and Intercultural Experiences oversees dozens of student-run organizations, and Lakers are encouraged to establish their own group to reflect their background or interests.

Video still image of Student Organization spotlight of ALAS (Association of Latin-American Students)

ALAS allows Hispanic and Latino students to network with each other and other professionals, celebrate culturally important holidays and gather to celebrate a shared heritage.

Video still image of Dr. Gabe Becker in Counseling and Wellness

The new 做厙輦⑹ Counseling Center (RUCC) will provide tuition-funded mental health assistance for any student, and the services will be completely confidential.