Class of 2025

Mariam Adesiji

Mariam Adesiji is a fourth-year American Studies major with minors in Sociology and Dance. Her primary research interests surround the role of gender and labor relations within systems of U.S. mass incarceration and U.S. immigration. Outside of class, Mariam is the Co-Artistic Director of the NU dance, drum, and rhythm ensemble Boomshaka; a humanities tutor with the Northwestern Prison Education Program; and enjoys watching movies, hammocking on the lakefill, and treating Northwestern like a beach school until the cold becomes truly unbearable. Mariam also serves as one of the Weinberg College Student Advisory Board representatives for American Studies!

Audrey Bannister

Audrey Bannister (she/her) is an American Studies major with hopes to study history and French as well. Originally from Dublin, Ohio, she came to Northwestern to explore her various academic interests. On campus, she is involved in the comedy student group, the Blackout, in addition to being an athlete on the varsity cross country team. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, video games and playing the violin.

 Vivian Bui

Vivian Bui is an American Studies and english literature double major with a minor in legal studies. She is interested in studying U.S. immigration and wants to understand how colonization has contributed to mass migration. On campus, she is involved in Mock Trial as an opening attorney and with Arch Scholars programs. Outside of school, she volunteers in Chicago teaching English as a Second Language and helping immigrants prepare for the Naturalization Interview and Test. In her free time, she loves hiking and going to coffee shops!

Garrison Guzzeau

Garrison is an American Studies major from Massachusetts. His interests include the intersections of American history, politics, and art of the 20th and 21st centuries. At Northwestern, Garrison competes as a member of Northwestern's Sailing Team. In his free time, he also enjoys being outdoors and watching the Red Sox.

 MC Hall

MC Hall is double majoring in American Studies and journalism with a business institutions minor. She is interested in exploring the relationship between the American political system and the media, the interaction between the U.S. and global market economies and the role religion plays in America. Outside of class, MC enjoys hiking, trying new restaurants, consignment shopping, and reading The New Yorker profiles.   

 Liliana Jurado

Liliana Jurado is an American Studies and religious studies double major from Middlesex, New Jersey. Her research interests include American civil religion and counter-cultural movements, feelings of American-ness in culturally distinct US territories, and artistic narratives about American life and the American Dream. Outside of class, Liliana works for AccessibleNU Testing Services and enjoys comedy, movies, playing the Sims, and trying to upcycle her clothes. 

Jessica Ma

Jessica Ma (she/her/hers) is an American Studies and journalism double major with a political science minor from Belmont, California. She is interested in exploring the role of media in social movements, the interactions between communities of color, and the aesthetics of the American Dream from the perspective of marginalized voices. On campus, Jessica competes for the NU Mock Trial team, writes for The Daily Northwestern, and is involved with Supplies For Dreams. She also enjoys making art and playing Pokémon GO.

 Ben Meyer

Ben  Meyer is a sophomore/junior pursuing majoring in political science and American studies. His research interests focus on the emergence of America as a unique political phenomenon and southern ethnolinguistic studies. In addition to his academic pursuits, Ben serves as the recruitment chair for Northwestern Rugby.

 Elliot Oppenheim

Elliot Oppenheim (he/him) is a fourth-year American Studies major with minors in Musicology and History. His research interests include formations of community within social movements, cross-movement organizing, music as a political tool, and anything related to Yiddish in America. Outside of the classroom, Elliot enjoys organizing, hiking, and choral music.

Kara Peeler

Kara Peeler is an American Studies and journalism double major from Maryland. She hopes to study the ways that religion and religious institutions affect marginalized communities. Outside of the classroom, she writes for The Daily Northwestern, works as a copy editor, and is a volunteer for the NU Thrift Store. 

 Camilla Pelliccia

Camilla Pelliccia is an American Studies Major from New York. She is interested in a wide range of topics including African American History, labor history, gender studies, and political & social movements. She hopes to study the systems of economic and racial oppression and inequality in America—the ways in which these systems have come to exist, historical moments of revolutionary defiance against them, and theories and strategies for overhauling them in the future. Outside of class Camilla enjoys community organizing, spending time outside, and reading.

 Gracie Schecter

Gracie Schecter (she/her) is an American Studies and social policy double major with a minor in global health studies. In addition to her academic studies, she is a research assistant for the School of Education and Social Policy where she helps the lead researchers investigate math instruction across elementary grade levels. Originally from Los Angeles, California she is interested in examining educational policy specifically in her hometown. 

Ellie Solomon

Ellie Solomon is an American Studies major with business institutions and legal studies minors. Ellie is interested in American evangelical influence on foreign policy during the latter half of the 20th century. Outside of class, Ellie is the president of the Women's Club Lacrosse team. In her free time, she loves reading and binging TV shows. Ellie is passionate about New York Times crosswords and Boston sports teams.

Mia Xia

Mia Xia is a social policy and American Studies double major with a minor in data science and a certificate in civic engagement. She's interested in studying political participation and civic engagement within BIPOC communities. On campus, Mia is involved with the Institute for Policy Research, Associated Student Government, the Northwestern Undergraduate Law Journal, and Supplies for Dreams.