MCAA Avenue

Spotlight on Success

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS: KRISTEN GRAVES (XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement, ’18)

Kristen Graves at the 2018 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge

In the very first year of her master’s program in XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement, Kristen Graves decided to apply for the 2018 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge.

Her research was centered on songwriting as a tool for empowerment. “Songwriting is such a vulnerable and sometimes scary process, and yet it also supports creativity, honesty, and confidence. I wanted to see how youth, in my project’s case–indigenous youth of color ages 12-19, would respond to an unfamiliar process and curriculum specifically designed to help them share their personal stories.” 

To do this, Kristin developed songwriting lessons designed around the elements of music and the idea of affirmative listening, “making sure that every idea or lyric line was affirmed as valid,” she explains, and implemented it with Lakota youth in South Dakota and Zapotec and Mixtec youth in Oaxaca, Mexico. “The songs that resulted were incredible and informative,” Kristen reminisces, “which I had suspected and hoped would be the case. And then on the other hand, I was surprised to observe how supportive and sacred the actual shared songwriting experience became for the youth, and how much I learned about these two communities by participating and observing their songwriting processes.”

Participating in Threesis was a similar experience for Kristen, describing it as simultaneously challenging and affirming. “It can feel intimidating to hear about what people are working on, and the temptation to compare my research against my peers’ was definitely a hurdle I needed to get over. The great thing was that as soon as I got over this desire to compare, I was so inspired… The projects that my fellow GSAS colleagues were working on were so powerful, and creative; it really made me feel like we were (and are) all doing our part to make a difference in the world.” 

Kristen Graves at the 2018 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge

Thinking back on the program, Kristen appreciates how Threesis influenced her academics. “Overall, the process was a wonderful way to hone the language that I could use to clearly explain my research, and it was incredibly validating to realize that my research could resonate in a room full of diverse interests.”

Kristen’s advice for future participants of the Threesis challenge? “Ask questions, listen to everyone’s answers, and adopt the advice that resonates with you. Not everyone works the same way, and that’s okay. Whatever information you can glean from the process – use it! And whatever information doesn’t serve you – store it away, because you might be able to use it on another project, or offer it to a peer somewhere down the line. Writing a thesis is hard. This process helps you clarify your research and write a better thesis. The contest itself is a wonderful added bonus.”

This fall, Kristen is starting a doctoral program in Ethnomusicology at the University of Toronto. There, she will be studying how a community of people who live and work in the Oaxaca city garbage dump in Oaxaca, Mexico, and how they use sound as a way to survive and make a living in their surroundings. “Their listening skills are virtuosic, and allow them to make a living that not only supports and sustains their families and community, but also positions them as powerful environmental citizens,” Kristen explains. Her master’s research at XE: Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement encouraged her to take an intersectional approach to this research, looking at it from a human rights angle as well as digital humanities. “With my training in these fields, I will be able to employ a diverse skill set [in my PhD] to better understand this community and Oaxaca, and hopefully shine a light on the important and life-saving work they are doing for their city and for our planet.”

Congratulations, Kristen! We are thrilled to see your GSAS research evolve and wish you continued success along the way. 

You can learn more about Kristen and her music at www.kristengraves.com.

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS: SARAH STODDER (JOURNALISM, ’17)

In her second year of her master’s degree program in Journalism, Sarah Stodder applied to the 2017 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge and advanced on to the Final Round of the competition as one of twelve finalists. Her presentation, “Lazy Lawn: 300 Years in the Life of Rhode Island’s Oldest Summer Home,” highlighted the work of her master’s thesis, which primarily focused on a narrative nonfiction retelling of the 200-year love story between six generations of a family and the oldest summer house in Rhode Island. She won first place.

“I lived alone in the house at age 23,” Sarah explains. “While uncovering the secrets of the house, I examined the way memory shapes how humans view themselves and worked to forge an acceptance of my own memories.” To deal with post-traumatic stress, Sarah moved to the house to find a refuge and begin to heal. “As the summer progressed, I reached a feeling of communication with [the house]–it became a place I could spill my secrets to–and that motivated me to keep digging in its drawers for letters that brought its story to light.”

Threesis provided the opportunity for Sarah to be welcomed into a community where she could share her work, but also presented its own set of challenges on how to do so. “When I first walked into the Threesis mentoring session, I had no idea how to condense my project into a three-minute speech–and that inability was indicative of a greater lack of understanding of exactly what the point of my project was.” Through the mentoring component of the Threesis program, Sarah spent several weeks preparing her speech and said she forced herself to “articulate a vision of what my project was, and the process of doing that helped me not only in the Threesis competition, but in my work animating a vision I could later follow.”

Sarah’s advice to future master’s students applying to the GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge? “Put yourself out there, even if you’re scared of public speaking or you think no one will be interested in what you have to say… The thing about Threesis is that it is a competition focused on bringing out everything accessible and exciting in your project….[and] having to go through the steps of the competition will make you fall in love with your thesis again, and we all need that from time to time as we wok on a long-term project.”

Currently, Sarah is working with a literary agent to finish the first part of her book. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without my degree from GSAS, where I was fortunate enough to have professors who were enthusiastic about my project… Threesis was a great launch for this next step in my project, not only in terms of the monetary winnings but also in terms of my confidence in my project and my ability to pitch it to people, including the agent I’m currently working with.”

As a freelance journalist, Sarah has worked with various publications, including San Francisco Weekly, Washingtonian, and New York’s Bedford + Bowery. Her work has been awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists and the SF Peninsula Press Club, as well as featured by The Wall Street Journal and The San Francisco Chronicle.

Sarah, congratulations on your success with your book. We look forward to hearing all about your future achievements!

Spotlight on Success: Joshua Kruchten (English, ‘17)

Joshua Kruchten at the 2017 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge

As Joshua Kruchten reached the final semester of his master’s degree program in English at NYU, he applied to the 2017 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge and competed as one of twelve participants in the Final Round of the competition to earn third place. Titled, “How to Read a Booke of Bees,” Joshua’s Threesis presentation focused on the work of his thesis — an investigation into the 17th-century book The Feminine Monarchie, an English book about beekeeping and the first book to claim that a beehive was led by a Queen Bee and not by a King. This research challenged him to consider the attitude towards women and power in early modern Europe, which provoked questions in his current research that concerns “scientific” and “literary” experimentation in books during the Renaissance.

“When I had a copy of the book [The Feminine Monarchie] in my hands at the New York Public Library,” Joshua explains, “I realized that this strange hybrid book was not a simple treatise, but a proto-scientific lab notebook, a religious treatise, a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, and a cookbook.” His interest in beekeeping manuals stemmed from his background in molecular biology and has expanded into 16th-century French and Italian texts, including “forgotten epic poems about bees, gardening manuals, [and] poems or devotional materials meant to accompany experiments at home.”  


Joshua Kruchten at the 2017 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge

Joshua is currently earning a double Master’s from the University of Strasbourg and the University of Bologna. During the spring of 2017, Joshua accepted a scholarship from the European Union to participate in a European Master’s program and now takes classes in French and Italian where he relishes the ability to “reach out and touch the past.” He has published an article in French in the Revue de la Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire and aims to pursue a doctoral program in order to continue his research and teaching in what he hopes will be meaningful and politically engaged. He recently reviewed The Casebook Project which highlights the interdisciplinary, qualitative and quantitative potential digital technologies can offer scholars.

These goals stem from the education he received from GSAS, which Joshua says helped him develop “the intellectual tools [he] had been taught to use — and the confidence that [his] professors and experiences like Threesis helped me to develop.” Specifically, “Threesis forced me to more precisely articulate the questions that drove my research,” he describes, “and more than that, to explain why they mattered to an unfamiliar audience… Threesis was one of the more powerful moments of my time at NYU where I felt myself surrounded by people who, despite the many challenges facing us, were deeply moved and motivated by their own research and wanted to explain why it mattered.”

As we enter our ninth year of the GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge, we reflect on Joshua’s fascinating graduate work at GSAS and look forward to hearing all about his future successes! Watch Joshua’s winning presentation from Threesis 2017.

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS: CAROLINE HEAFEY (IRISH & IRISH-AMERICAN STUDIES, ’17)

In her second year of her master’s degree program in Irish and Irish-American Studies, Caroline Heafey applied to the 2017 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge and advanced on to the Final Round of the competition as one of the twelve finalists. Her Threesis presentation, entitled “Penning Punishment: Uncovering Trauma and Narrative Nuance in the Prison Writings of Dorothy Macardle,” highlighted the work of her master’s thesis, which primarily focused on the works of Irish writer Dorothy Macardle and her prison writings from the Irish Civil War. 

“Joyce and Yeats are great,” Caroline explains, “but there are plenty of women writers who are just as good in my opinion. My interest in Macardle and other women writers came from a passion to bring women’s voices the attention they deserve.” Caroline’s research aims to shift the general perception that the best Irish literature was written solely by men. “The reality is that Ireland has a rich literary tradition comprised of both men and women, and it is important that we encounter all of these voices in the classroom and in general reading.” 

At first, Caroline reflected that Threesis helped her crystallize exactly what her research was about. Along the way, participating in Threesis actually taught her how to make her subject engaging and interesting for everyone. “It can be so easy to become wrapped up in specific research, and Threesis is a brilliant way of asking scholars to step outside of their own bubbles, to make their work accessible to scholars in other disciplines.” 

Caroline was recently featured in an event by Tramp Press, an award-winning Dublin independent publisher, at the Irish Arts Center earlier this summer (May 20, 2018). The event, entitled, “Between the Lines: Recovered Voices,” provided a plat form for Ireland’s indie publishers and the important voices they are bringing to the world. Caroline joined Sarah Davis-Goff (pictured above), Maeve Higgins–author, comedian, and columnist, and Sam Underwood–author of Fear the Walking Dead, Fundamental Theatre Company, to discuss why many voices like Macardle’s belong back in the canon. “Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis-Goff at Tramp Press have been instrumental in bringing Macardle’s writings back into the public eye. It was an honor and a privilege to work with them, and to champion women writers who have fallen out of popularity… I am delighted that readers are discovering Dorothy Macardle again, and coming to love her writing as much as I do.” 

As of Fall 2018, Caroline will be pursuing her PhD in English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she will also be teaching college writing. “I am grateful to Threesis for helping me to work on my presentation and public speaking skills. Threesis is such a great exercise for master’s students to learn how to present information in an accessible way… I feel strongly that it helped prepare me for this next step in my graduate work.” Her one piece of advice for future master’s students applying to the GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge? “Stay natural. Do not worry that your research is too specific; rather, ask yourself why you care so much and then write with clarity and comprehension. People respond to passion and enthusiasm. Keep your momentum and be your brilliant self!” 

Congratulations Caroline on your acceptance to UMass Amherst, we look forward to hearing all about your future successes!

Many thanks to Caroline for joining us on MCAA Avenue and for serving as a valued Threesis Mentor for the 2018 competition.

Spotlight On Success: Anastasios A. Mirisis (Biology)

In his first semester of graduate school, Anastasios A. Mirisis entered the 2016 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge and won the Audience Choice award. “I had data I could present,” he explained, when asked about his decision to enter the competition. “I thought, this is a good opportunity to share my research with a wider audience.” His research into the formation of long-term memory in the brain and a genetic mechanism possibly involved in Alzheimer’s disease clearly struck a chord with the audience.

As an undergraduate student at NYU, Anastasios studied neuroscience, where he came to appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of the studies, with research stemming from biology, physics, and psychology. Anastasios took a three-year break after completing his undergraduate degree, in which he ran his family’s construction business and supported his brother through college. But his fondness for the academic environment led him back to Arts & Science at NYU, where he reconnected with former professors. He accepted a job offer to manage Dean Carew’s lab, where he witnessed the collaborative relationship among the student researchers, who contributed their expertise to each other’s work. He soon was pursuing a graduate degree of his own with the Department of Biology, enjoying the collaboration of the lab, and continuing his research into the brain to understand the biological basis for memory.

Collaboration is an important pursuit for Anastasios, and a large reason why he came to GSAS, along with the prestige of his department. While participating in the Threesis he came to appreciate anew the importance of this collaboration. Presenting his research for a general audience, Anastasios was confronted by the limitations of their knowledge in his field. When attempting to explain the specifics of his studies in molecular biology, he was challenged to step back from the technical details of his research and see the larger thrust of his work—utilizing biological knowledge to better defend against a heartbreaking disease.

He advises future competitors to make a presentation the audience will enjoy. “And practice, both for specialists and for people outside your field.” Winning the Audience Choice award was particularly exciting for him, as it proved he had succeeded in his goal of reaching a larger audience. “It was very rewarding to convey my subject to the audience and see that they understood and valued my work.” Anastasios has a bright future ahead of him in academia, and he remains committed to his ethos of interdisciplinary collaboration. “The only way for science to move forward as a whole is by integrating all fields of knowledge.”

Watch Anastasios’ Threesis presentation here.

Spotlight On Success: Shafeka Hashash (Politics, ’16)

Shafeka Hashash stands out among many alumni. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees through a joint five-year program, graduating in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies and a Master of Arts in Politics (specifically political economics). Prior to graduating, Shafeka was also a finalist in the annual GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge. She made it to the final rounds and took the stage to present her master’s thesis on the fight for civil rights for the physically disabled, her own blindness being a source of inspiration for her work.

Looking back on her master’s program at the Graduate School, Shafeka remembers it being a welcome change from her undergraduate program. Especially with smaller class sizes, she was able to really form personal relationships with each of her professors. She recalls the supportive administration and staff of the department as well, with whom she also built relationships. “I felt that way about a lot of my graduate professors…because the classes were so much smaller, I grew much closer with them.” Shafeka particularly values the way her professors and staff gave her advice about life, next steps to take in her career, and where to go from NYU onward.

Threesis was an important experience during Shafeka’s master’s program. “It was unique and different…win or lose, it was just a good opportunity. It was also very accessible because [Threesis] isn’t just about the visual.” The academic tournament focuses on distilling a master’s thesis, capstone project, and/or other graduate-level coursework and conveying it in language appropriate for a nonspecialized audience. Competitors are allowed one single, static slide to accompany their threeminute presentations. Shafeka recollects how helpful the Threesis staff were as well, making adjustments from visual cues to audible ones. “[Threesis] is really about the person,” she said of the competition’s focus on an individual’s ability to create a comprehensive pitch about their research. “I think just by design, Threesis is very accessible.”

Upon graduating, Shafeka has continued her work around civil rights. She was awarded a fellowship by the International Council on Disability, which allowed her to work with the Women’s Refugee Commission in Washington, D.C. Following the three-month fellowship, Shafeka worked at Cornell Tech on disability equality, with a focus on technology. Most recently, she moved to Atlanta where she hopes to continue working in the field.

See Shafeka’s 2016 Threesis presentation here.

Spotlight On Success: Alex Kane (Journalism/Near Eastern Studies, ’16)

Alex Kane is an alumnus of the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, frequently hailed as one of the greatest journalism programs in the country. Of the Institute’s many dynamic graduate programs, Alex pursued Global and Joint Program Studies, in which a select group of master’s students each year have the opportunity to earn a joint degree in Journalism as well as one with a Global Studies focus. For Alex, that was Near Eastern studies. “It was a unique way to gain expertise in a part of the world I’m interested in and learn how to best write about the region journalistically,” he explained. The program, informally known as “GLOJO,” crosses with various other disciplines, such as Africana Studies, French Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Russian and Slavic Studies, and more.

The best part of being a master’s student for Alex was working on his thesis, which earned him a spot as a finalist in the 2016 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge. Alex had heard about Threesis through a departmental email and liked the idea of having hard deadlines to adhere to, which would help move along his research and even complete his thesis prior to his program’s deadline. “I had a great time during Threesis. I gained the ability to condense a complicated topic into a three-minute presentation—a skill that all journalists should develop,” Alex said. Working on his project on Israeli surveillance and the “war on Facebook” was one of the highlights of his time at the Graduate School. “Embarking on an intensive, months-long project that involved travel to Israel/Palestine that [then] resulted in a long-form feature that was published in The Intercept, was the best experience I had.”

Since graduating in May of 2016, Kane has been working full-time as a freelance journalist, earning bylines with Vice News, The Intercept, Al Jazeera and The Nation, among others. Alex was also awarded a grant from In These Times, an independent, nonprofit magazine dedicated to advancing democracy and economic justice, informing movements for a more humane world, and providing an accessible forum for debate.

Spotlight on Success: Alexsandra Mitchell (Africana Studies, ’13)

Alexsandra Mitchell is a rising star librarian for Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, one of the leading research institutions focused on African-American experiences, African Diaspora experiences, and African experiences. “To say I enjoy working at the Schomburg Center would be an understatement,” says Alexsandra. “It’s my dream job!”

With master’s degrees in Africana Studies and Library Science, Alexsandra is well-suited for the position. She joined GSAS because of the unique opportunity to pursue her dual master’s degrees, and also because she had fallen in love with New York during her time as a Schomburg Mellon Summer Humanities Institute Scholar in 2009. She knew GSAS would be a perfect fit for her academically and creatively–it proved to be just that. “I grew tremendously as a scholar by studying with GSAS professors such as Deb Willis and Juan Flores. Their courses introduced me to new bodies of work that have heavily influenced my ways of thinking and view of the world.”

In the spring of 2013, Alexsandra flourished, as she connected with fellow artists and scholars at the Black Portraiture Conference in Paris, a thesis research trip to Havana, and the 2013 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge. Alexsandra won the academic championship with her presentation on the musical ties between the Afro-Cuban, Afro-Puerto Rican, and African American communities of New York City and Cuba between 1940 and 1960. “It was such a special time in my life.”

Now at the Schomberg Center, Alexsandra is able to utilize her research and support the continued growth of their archives. She has also created a podcast called Live from the Reading Room: Correspondence, which shares fascinating correspondence from or to important historical figures from the African Diaspora. “I wake up every day excited to get to work. I am in love with my position.” Alexsandra is currently completing her first book project, co-authored with fellow GSAS alumna Megan Goins-Diouf, as well as a children’s book.

Spotlight On Success: Shashank Gandhi (Biology, ’15)

“Choosing GSAS for my graduate studies was a no-brainer,” recalls Shashank Gandhi. An alumnus of the Department of Biology, Shashank currently lives in Pasadena, California, and attends Caltech as a doctoral candidate in Biology. He looks back fondly on his time as a master’s student at GSAS. “I definitely enjoyed my experience. I was trained in the lab by some of the smartest people I have ever known.”

In Dr. Lionel Christiaen’s lab, Shashank researched the embryonic development and gene expression of sea squirts; specifically, Ciona intestinalis. “It is a close relative of vertebrates and a model organism for developmental biology of chordates,” he explains. He presented on his work as a finalist in the 2014 GSAS Threesis Academic Challenge, where he was challenged to explain the complexity of his scientific research for a general audience. “Not only was I able to improve my presentation skills, participating in the Threesis also gave me a platform to interact with the finest scholars representing a wide array of fields, like data science, mathematics, museum studies, and more.” His research on Ciona intestinalis was later published in the science journal Development.

Beyond his academic work, the two-time Threesis competitor played an integral role in the GSAS community as a member and officer of the Master’s College Program Board. “Being a part of the Masters College Program Board allowed me to build a wonderful community and lasting personal connections. My social circle was extremely diverse, which broadened my perspective on the world and even helped me to discover things I hadn’t known about myself.”

Since graduating from GSAS, Shashank has advanced in his research from  invertebrates, now studying “the development and evolution of the neural crest, a population of cells unique to vertebrates. These cells give rise to facial cartilage and bone, as well as parts of the nervous system, endocrine system, heart, and more.” Shashank has a bright future ahead of him in the sciences, including more research publications to come soon.

To see Shashank’s 2014 article in Development, click here.

Spotlight on Success: Hannah Leffingwell (French Studies, ’16)

2016 Threesis Champion Hannah Leffingwell easily engages others in conversation, demonstrating a clear passion for her research into French feminism as a social movement in the 1960s. This research led her to her thesis: trying to understand the actions and motivations of the Red Dykes, a group of radical French feminists who sought to carve out a space for lesbian identity within the second-wave feminist movement. Her interest was piqued when she noticed that leaders in the French feminist movement disagreed in their memories of that time.

Hannah’s program allowed her to meld history with French studies, which was one of the reasons why she chose GSAS and the Institute of French Studies to pursue her master’s degree–there were no other French Studies programs that gave her the interdisciplinary approach offered by the Graduate School. She reminisced on her first visit to the Washington Square campus: “I saw the kind of classes that I would be taking and felt that people in the program were very welcoming. I immediately knew this was the place for me.” Hannah enjoyed the diverse opportunities provided by New York City and its many avenues to interact with French language and culture. As an American studying French history, she reckons this affords her an objective distance while allowing her to grapple with issues in the western world.

When Hannah heard about the Threesis, she was excited at the prospect of sharing her project with an audience outside of her field. Coming from a background as a competitive ballet dancer, she was comfortable with the stage but found the experience of presenting her thesis to the audience of the Threesis Finals unique. “It felt much more personal.” As an undergraduate student, she was also a public speaking mentor and commented that pretending to play a role helps with nerves. Her one tip for others? Be comfortable in your environment. “For me, it is very important to wear high heels,” she says. “I am also very excited about my outfit. My body language is very important and I imagine that I am sitting around the dinner table and making eye contact.” Since her Threesis victory, Hannah has begun a doctoral program in the Institute of French Studies and the Department of History. She continues to be an excellent scholar within GSAS and we all look forward to her future successes.

Watch Hannah’ Threesis presentation here.