Perry World House Announces Student Fellows for 2019-20 Academic Year

Perry World House has selected the students who will be a part of its undergraduate fellows program in the 2019-20 academic year. Fellows were selected from each of Penn’s four schools and the rising sophomore, junior, and senior classes. Although the students represent a range of interests and majors, the class shares a passion for global affairs and a commitment to address current world issues.

“The World House Student Fellows program provides unique enrichment opportunities to Penn undergraduates across the university,” said Michael Horowitz, Professor of Political Science and Perry World House Associate Director. “By giving student fellows the opportunity to learn from each other and from the policy world visitors that Perry World House brings to Penn, the program shapes future leaders and prepares them for careers in global affairs.”

In addition to participating in a weekly seminar, student fellows collaborate in small groups on a year-long policy-based research project. They also travel to Washington, D.C. and New York to learn from leaders working on some of the biggest global policy challenges. At the end of the year, Perry World House hosts a conference for students to present their research findings.

The 2019-20 Perry World House Student Fellows are:

Gavin Alcott is a rising senior in the College of Arts and Science studying Mathematical Economics. He is from Princeton, NJ but grew up abroad in Belgium. Outside of the classroom, Alcott pursues his passion for rock climbing with Penn Climbing Club, music with Penn Records, and volunteers with Penn for Youth Debate.

Frida Aloo is a rising junior in the Huntsman Program for Business and International Studies. She is most passionate about non-profits and once started her own, back in her home in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also interested in environmental sustainability and believes that humans and nature could co-exist peacefully. Aloo’s dream destination is the moon.

Ransford Antwi is a rising senior double majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is also sub matriculating into the Robotics Masters Program at Penn. He is a Ghanaian native, who also spent some time in Zimbabwe prior to Penn, and is very interested in technology infrastructure development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Antwi is an aspiring entrepreneur and a member of the first cohort of Wharton India Entrepreneurship fellows.

Ayina Anyachebelu is a rising sophomore from Nigeria in the Huntsman Program with a target language in Spanish. She is interested in growing trade and business between Africa and China as well as working to improve foreign relations between Africa and Latin America. Anyachebelu is passionate about the growth of cities in emerging markets, and interested in international security, counter-terrorism and aid for internally displaced people.

Anunya Bahanda is a rising senior in the College of Arts and Science studying Mathematics. Her primary academic interests are urban development and sustainable systems. Outside of the classroom, Bahanda is a coordinator for the divestment activism group Fossil Free Penn and a member of The Philomathean Society.

Daniel De Varona Brennan is a rising senior double majoring in History and Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. He is also a United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate, a member of the Varsity Lightweight Men's Rowing Team, and a member of the Philomathean Society.

Camila Celi is a rising senior studying Political Science and French in the College of Arts & Sciences. She is also minoring in Legal Studies and History, and is particularly interested in the international security environment. Celi is from Miami and outside of school, she enjoys traveling and exploring the Philadelphia food scene.

Julia Ciocca is a rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences where she studies Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and Russian language, literature, and culture. She is from a military family and spent her childhood in America, Europe, and Asia. Ciocca’s research interests include civil-mil relations, the evolution of warfare in the 21st century, and the psychology of war.

Ayibatariworio Clement is known for her interest in languages and cultures, global affairs, and business. Correspondingly, upon revisiting her origin country of Nigeria, Clement found another immediate purpose to develop her region and the rest of Sub-Suharan Africa through investments, diplomacy, and fair government. At Penn, Clement is a rising junior in the Wharton School who intends to concentrate in Management and Behavioral Economics.

Archit Dhar is a rising junior studying Systems Science Engineering. He is interested in how the relationship between emerging tech and the public sphere will affect the future of global policy. In addition to serving as a Perry World House Student Fellow, Dhar is involved in the Nominations and Elections Committee, Engineering Deans Advisory Board, and his Fraternity, Sigma Alpha Mu.

George Hollyer is a rising sophomore from Wallingford, Pennsylvania studying Materials Science and Engineering. He is interested in applying a technical perspective to find solutions to climate change and arms proliferation. Additionally, Hollyer is a member of the Philomathean Society.  

Annie Hsu is a rising junior from Toronto, Canada, studying International Relations. She also serves as a Deputy Editor of the Sigma Iota Rho International Relations Journal, manages marketing for the Penn Political Review, and directs her non-profit organization Bridge The Heart. Hsu’s academic interests include development economics, international law, and history of the Qing and Republican periods of China.

Justin Iannacone is a rising senior studying History and Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. Outside of Perry World House, he is involved with the Penn Government and Politics Association, the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, and community service work in Philadelphia. Iannacone is interested in international conflict resolution and economic development.

Arnav Jagasia is a rising senior in the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology at Penn. He is studying Computer Science at the School of Engineering and concentrating in Finance and Business Economic and Public Policy (BEPP) at the Wharton School. In addition, Jagasia mentors a high school debate team in the Philadelphia School District, helps run high school debate tournaments on campus, and directs the Innovation and Tech Policy team of the Penn Public Policy Initiative Student Group.

Kolby Kahler is a rising junior majoring in International Relations and Diplomatic History, with a minor in Journalistic Writing. She spent the summer after her sophomore year working as a scuba dive master in Honduras and the spring of her junior year in Argentina. Kahler is interested in following economic trends throughout Latin America and how these may affect the region's role in international affairs.

Ali Khambati is a rising sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Political Science and Computer Science with a concentration in Spanish. He grew up in Dallas but is originally from India. Khambati’s research interests include Russian revisionism and the stability of the global order, international terrorism flows, and the psychology behind domestic governmental responses to international crises and war.

Sarah Ko is a rising sophomore studying International Relations and Economics with a minor in French. Her primary interest is in human rights, focusing on refugee crises. Ko is also interested in global health: she has served as a hospice volunteer in Mongolia and is now on the board of the Student Hospice Organization of Penn.

Jonathan Lahdo, originally Syrian-Lebanese, born in Melbourne, Australia and raised in Dubai, UAE, is a rising senior in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. His interests include learning languages, Middle Eastern politics and history, and minority rights.

Ruth Lee is a rising senior studying Nursing with Global Health and Religious Studies minors and a Global Human Rights Certificate. She is from Taiwan and is interested in the intersection of global health equity, human rights, and international development. In her free time, Lee enjoys reading novels and listening to jazz.

Akosua (Kos) Mante is a rising senior at Penn. As an International Relations major, she values spending time at the Perry World House to find new and interesting ways to expand on her academic studies. After spending most of this year living abroad in Ghana, she is looking forward to applying her newfound knowledge to discussions and seminars at the Perry World House.

Harry Markham is a rising junior from London enrolled in an uncoordinated dual degree studying Political Science in the College and Finance in Wharton. Having interned at European Parliament, he is very curious in European supranationalism and the subsequent future of Brexit. Markham is looking forward to apply his interests into research in public policy. In this spare time, he enjoys reading, listening to music and running.

Ben May is a rising junior in the School of Arts and Sciences pursuing a double major in International Relations and Economics. He is most interested in environmental sustainability and curbing humanity’s ecological impact through international cooperation. In addition to being a Perry World House Fellow, May is Co-Chair for the Student Sustainability Association at Penn, Sustainability and Community Impact Committee Director on the Undergraduate Assembly, a member of Penn’s travel Model United Nation’s team, a member of Kite and Key, and leads an international activism-orientated nonprofit called ThinkOcean.

Jimena Nestares is a rising junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Physics and Astronomy. She was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, where she first discovered her interest in social policies. Nestares is a founding member of the Venezuelan Outreach for Community Empowerment, and Service (VOCES), where she works with student-led healthcare projects for vulnerable Venezuelan communities.

Andrej Patoski is a rising senior from Macedonia studying Computational Biology and Economics. Growing up in a small country, he realized the importance of global affairs and developed a strong interest. Patoski is very passionate about sustainable development through his activities aims to raise awareness about social and environmental issues. Working at the Tishkoff lab at the Perelman School of Medicine, Patoski does research on population genetics with a focus on African populations. In his free time, Patoski can be found outdoors, or among friends.

Benjamin Perla is a rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and International Relations with a focus in East Asia. He is particularly interested in security strategy and climate change. Outside academics, he is involved with the music scene at Penn.

Alexander Rabin is a rising senior from Baltimore, majoring in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations. Through his academic and extracurricular experiences, he has developed research interests in gray zone conflict, the impact of technological advances on war, and state utilization of private military and intelligence contractors. Among other opportunities, Rabin has enjoyed interning in the Scottish Parliament, writing and editing for The Daily Pennsylvanian and Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and performing research at Penn and the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo is a rising sophomore in the College from Los Angeles potentially studying history and anthropology. She is also a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and Robeson Cooper Scholar. Outside of Perry World House, Okonkwo serves as Vice President of Membership for Penn Government and Politics, Secretary and Historian of UMOJA, a group meant to unite students and student groups of the African diaspora, and research assistant in the Political Science Department. She is interested in the anthropological approaches to education, politics, and culture in Africa and within the African Diaspora and the role of educational institutions as sites of political struggles.

Eliana Salmon is a rising junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, studying PPE with a minor in Modern Middle Eastern Studies. She is originally from New York City and in addition to her involvement with Perry World House, Salmon is a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and an active member of the College Dean’s Advisory Board.

Karina Shah is a rising senior from New York City pursuing a B.S. in Economics at the Wharton School, with concentrations in Finance and Strategic Management, and a minor in Political Science. Beyond Perry World House, Karina is a research assistant in the Department of Political Science, a teaching assistant for Macroeconomics, a member of the executive board for the Wharton China Business Society, and an avid tennis player. Shah is also passionate about merging her interests in both political science and economics, and is excited about pursuing law school in the future.

Tiffany Wang is a rising senior studying communication and international relations. She has been heavily involved with research on campus and spent this summer in New York interning for a cryptocurrency and blockchain focused public relations firm. Wang is also extremely interested in global affairs, particularly topics surrounding migration and the rise of China.

Ji Yoon is a rising senior from South Korea studying history and political science. She is especially interested in African and East Asian affairs, and hopes to work in international development in the future. Yoon is currently working on a policy project on humanitarian intervention at Perry World House.

Maxim Yulis is a rising senior majoring in political science and Russian Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences. His research interests include Russian activity in the Middle East and North Africa, sectarianism in Syria, and the application of Islamic law in the modern world. After graduating, Yulis hopes to continue mastering his Russian and Arabic as well as enter the Foreign Service.