The Women’s Advancement Initiative is pleased to announce the 2023-24 Dorothy Goodwin Scholarship awardees. Scholarship recipients are undergraduate women students who are conducting innovative research or developing creative projects in collaboration with faculty mentors.
Launched in 2010, the Dorothy Goodwin Scholars Program was established thanks to a generous bequest from Dorothy Goodwin, an educator, political leader, philanthropist, visionary, and longtime trustee of Hartford College for Women, who inspired women and girls to live beyond limitations and realize their full potential. She recognized and modeled that reaching one’s potential requires challenging opportunities, committed mentors, and financial support. In honor of her influence and philanthropic spirit, and with gratitude for the generosity of her friends, The Women’s Advancement Initiative is proud to support these scholarly projects.
Awardees:
Aleena Abraham ’25 will illustrate a children’s storybook written by her faculty mentor Alex Coury that empowers young girls to dream big.
Amara Agosto ’26 plans to determine the effect of plant extract on cancer cells to see if holistic treatments are effective in treating cancer.
Gianna Balsamo ’24 will create a documentary investigating the history and criminalization of abortion.
Jessica Camarillo ’24 plans to analyze the impact extraterrestrial bodies have on our planet by using satellites and a GPS-tracked balloon to examine how the solar eclipse impacts atmospheric phenomena.
Marnielle Charles ‘24 and Akili Farrow ’23 will be traveling to Iceland to study with woman composer Hildigunnur Rúnarsdóttir, who will demonstrate various techniques and harmonies in Icelandic music, contrasting the Western style of classical music.
Paige DiCiccio ’24 will be focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from bridge repairs by researching the long-term effects of Fiber-reinforced-polymer (FRP) under severe weather conditions.
Olivia Dossias ’26 will develop advanced biomaterials for broad applications in regenerative medicine and healthcare, offering an efficient approach for innovative materials in biotechnology.
Elayna Espinal ’26 will be conducting an exposure-test paradigm experiment to see if and how people use context to adapt to a new speaker.
Magdalena Fotopoulos ’25 will collaborate with the Harrison Library team to develop fresh new visual imagery for our new LibGuide to bridge the gap in the missing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities from the Library Information Science (LIS) field.
Crystal Gallagher ’24 will be promoting injury prevention and education in the pickleball community by exploring the perceptions and past sports history of people who currently play pickleball.
Carissa Gonzalez ‘26 plans to create a sustainable Cape Cod-themed Beachfront Information Center located at Rocky Neck State Park in New London County, Connecticut, that will embrace environmentally friendly design principles and green technology.
Caroline Hollingsworth ’24 will design and build a digital stethoscope using microphones to capture and navigate sounds in specific chambers of the heart.
Mariela Interian ’24 will be researching how Generative AI affects students' learning and instructors' teaching in higher education to gain insight into AI and guide organizations to adopt this technology effectively.
Audrey Kawecki ’24 plans to write, perform, direct, edit, and produce a short film examining the private life of an independent, single woman to empower younger women to find value in spending time alone.
Yezmarie King ’26 will be researching the current state of low-income housing to inform and influence governmental and community development organizations to make recommendations for increasing access to affordable and safe housing.
Jenna Kruse ’24 will be creating a mural for the Honors Office in the University of Hartford’s Mortensen Library that will serve as a representation of the support and opportunities given to students of the Honors Program and the University of Hartford as a whole.
Jennifer Martin ’24 will be partnering with the American Red Cross to educate the community about the shortage of donated blood and increase awareness of how vital blood is to reduce maternal death during childbirth.
Rutendo Mupfumira ’24 and Lauren Lesser ’24 will be collaborating with the students from the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program at the University of Hartford to put together an anthological guide on how to thrive at the University.
Abby White’ 24 will train to become a certified and accredited EFT International Practitioner to use emotional freedom technique (EFT) tapping to help others heal from unresolved traumas.
We also applaud all faculty members engaged in research, teaching, and mentorship. A special thank you to this year’s Dorothy Goodwin faculty mentors for providing project oversight. These include Patrick Allen, Takafumi Asaki, Amy Jaffe Barzach, Karen Braccialarghe, Wednesday Bushong, Cindy Thomas-Charles, Alex Coury, Mohammadmehdi Danesh, Mary Gannotti, Brian Jennings, Hyunjung Lee, Solaleh Miar, Jeremiah Patterson, Taylor St. Pierre, Rita Profiris, Paul Slaboch, Rachel Walker, and Song Wang.
Scholarship recipients will showcase their innovative research and creative projects at The Women’s Advancement Initiative’s Annual Symposium on Thursday, March 28, at 5:30 p.m., in the Harry Jack Gray Center.