The , within the Division of Student Affairs, hosts its 11th annual WellsLink Transitions Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The ceremony honors WellsLink Scholars from the previous year who have successfully transitioned through the WellsLink Leadership Program and into their second year at ϲ.
“WellsLink Scholars have a reputation for positively influencing our campus during their four years at ϲ,” says Huey Hsiao, associate director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and lead for the program. “The Transitions Ceremony is an annual tradition and a joyous occasion for us to celebrate the first-year accomplishments of our WellsLink Scholars. The celebration does not end there though; these students will continue to do great things during their time here and beyond.”
The event is open to the campus community, followed by a reception and book signing with keynote speaker, Helen Zia. Zia is an award-winning journalist and scholar who has covered Asian American communities and social and political movements for decades. She is the author of “Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001), a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize.
The WellsLink Leadership Program Class of 2017
Kristin Abraham ()
Lourdes Aguilar ()
Doyin D. Akintobi-Adeyeye (College of Arts and Sciences)
Taylor J. Anderson ()
Teyra M. Anderson ()
Isaac K. Apea Jr. (Whitman School of Management)
Angelique M. Arroyo ()
Fatima A. Bangura (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
Donovaun Bialose (College of Arts and Sciences)
Tyra N. Booker (College of Arts and Sciences)
Isaiah D. Brown (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)
Kyla N. Brown ()
Javier Cabral (College of Arts and Sciences)
Niakale Camara (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)
Daniel A. Castiel ()
Snigdha Chatterjee (College of Arts and Sciences)
Jianqi Chen (College of Arts and Sciences)
Tsung Han Chuang (College of Arts and Sciences)
Darriea B. Clark (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
Emily Dang (School of Information Studies)
Emma L. del Sol (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)
Ashley K. Dixon (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)
Brianna M. Dutton (Whitman School of Management/S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
Vida D. Ebron (School of Education)
Amanda Gamboa (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Alexa Garcia (College of Arts and Sciences/College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Aaron L. Gibbs ()
Daisia D. Glover (College of Arts and Sciences)
Leslie R. Gomez ()
José A. Gonzalez (College of Arts and Sciences)
Kevin J. Gonzalez (Whitman School of Management)
Bijay Gurung (College of Arts and Sciences)
James W. Hadnot (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication)
Saquandra B. Heath (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
Ciarra L. Henderson (College of Arts and Sciences)
Kayla M. Hill (College of Arts and Sciences)
Lindsay T. Holman (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
Bamidele N. Idowu (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications/School of Information Studies)
Sahan J. Jayawardena (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
Shaquille A. Kessi (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
Kareese J. Kirby (College of Arts and Sciences)
Sandre K. Kirton (College of Arts and Sciences)
Noemi G. Lamy Santos (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
Peter Lok (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Steve Lopez (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)
Sonya N. Mattis (School of Information Studies)
Mylena D. McCoggle (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Lei Mei (School of Information Studies)
Eleazar Mendoza (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
Jose L. Molina Jr (College of Arts and Sciences)
Ashley M. Narvaez (Whitman School of Management)
Tahirah J. Newkirk (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications)
Amanda J. Ortiz (College of Arts and Sciences)
Matilda A. Owuo (David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics)
Dwayna Parker (School of Education)
Pratik Paul (Whitman School of Management)
Paola A. Perez (College of Arts and Sciences)
Edna M. Ramirez (College of Arts and Sciences)
Chase-Anthony Ray (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
Miracle R. Rogers (School of Education)
Samual C. Ruef (College of Engineering and Computer Science)
Zainab A. Sanni (College of Arts and Sciences)
Meagan N. Scott (College of Arts and Sciences)
Halima M. Shehu (College of Arts and Sciences)
Shonnan A. Usman (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication)
Christiane W. Voufo (College of Arts and Sciences)
Aja L. Watkins (Whitman School of Management)
Elizabeth K. Whitfield (School of Information Studies)
Tina Zheng (Whitman School of Management)
Jiyang Zhou (School of Information Studies/Whitman School of Management)
About the WellsLink Leadership Program
A winner of the NASPA Excellence Award, The WellsLink Leadership Program is an academic and leadership excellence program for first-year students not already sponsored by athletics or state and federally funded programs. Through structured academic, social and cultural enrichment activities, WellsLink Scholars develop the leadership capital necessary for exceptional success at ϲ and beyond. The goal of the program is to give students an edge in college, offering them the tools necessary to achieve their academic goals, develop professionalism and expand their awareness of valuable resources and opportunities.
For more information about WellsLink, visit: .
About Helen Zia
Helen Zia
In addition to writing “Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People,” Zia is co-author, with Wen Ho Lee, of “My Country Versus Me” (Hyperion, 2002), which reveals what happened to the Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy for China in the “worst case since the Rosenbergs.”
Zia is former executive editor of Ms. Magazine. Her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, books and anthologies. She was named one of the most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A. Magazine.
Zia has received numerous journalism awards for her ground-breaking stories; her investigation of date rape at the University of Michigan led to campus demonstrations and an overhaul of its policies, while her research on women who join neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations provoked new thinking on the relationship between race and gender violence in hate crimes.
