Abigale Embry – Berea College (Kentucky)

Christian – Catholic

Abigale Embry is a senior at Berea College in Kentucky. She is majoring in Religion, concentrating in Religious Thoughts and Ethics. She is a Teacher's Assistant for a general studies course called Understandings of Christianity, which will focus next year on Christianity's relationship with other religions. She is also an assistant in the Interfaith Department in her school's Campus Christian Center, where she works on organizing interfaith service events each year, a weekly lunch and discussion called Spiritual Seekers and many other events throughout the year to promote interfaith dialogue with residence life, and religious student organizations. Abigale has lived in Kentucky most of her life, and did not experience much cultural or religious diversity until attending college. Since attending Berea College, she has changed her mindset drastically while still holding on to her beliefs. She is focused on community service, and spreading interreligious understanding on her campus. Abigale is ready to make interfaith dialogue the new hot topic at Berea as an IFYC fellow this year..

Aliya Bagewadi – University of Chicago (Illinois)

Muslim

Aliya Bagewadi is a sophomore at the University of Chicago studying Public Policy with a focus on environmental policy and human rights. She is particularly passionate about America's public education system, specifically, how schools are funded. In terms of involvement on campus, Aliya is currently the Community Service Chair for the University of Chicago Muslim Student Association. She recently organized an inter-MSA Service Day in collaboration with Northwestern University's NU-IMAN chapter. As the sole member to spearhead this project, Aliya learned the value of collaboration in trying to organize such events. Also involved in a campus activist group called Southside Solidarity Network, she learned that any member of an organization at any moment can step into a leadership role. Regardless of title, she believes fully that there is a direct correlation between effort and output. With that in mind, she is very excited to work hard with the IFYC as a '09-'10 Fellow!

Anand Venkatkrishnan – Stanford University (California)

Hindu

Anand Venkatkrishnan is a senior at Stanford University, majoring in the Classics (Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit) and minoring in Religious Studies. He was a member of the Fellowship for Religious Encounter at Stanford, which brought together sixteen students of different faith backgrounds for weekly interreligious dialogue. The experience led him to forge relationships with leaders across faith communities on campus, and to lead efforts to establish a student-run Interfaith Council on campus next year. This summer, Anand will be an intern at the United Religions Initiative in San Francisco, through the Spirituality, Service, and Social Change Fellowship from the Haas Center for Public Service. He will be involved in outreach efforts to numerous faith communities in the Bay Area, expanding and strengthening the network of allies in the interfaith youth movement. Anand considers the religious fellowship to be far more than a political compromise. It forces us to search deeply for ourselves in one another; to see our own mortality, our desires and fears, reflected in the other. The most unique and arresting characteristic of interfaith activism is the intrinsic bond of love and compassion it forms.

Ansaf Kareem – Stanford University (California)

Muslim

Ansaf Kareem was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and is currently majoring in Political Science and Economics at Stanford University. Along with two other Stanford students, Ansaf founded an international non-profit called IDEAS aimed at building a global network of interdisciplinary college students to tackle environmental and sustainability issues in developing nations. He also serves as Senior Class President for the class of 2010 at Stanford. Ansaf has been involved in a leadership role with the Muslim Student Awareness Network at Stanford since his sophomore year, working to create awareness for issues that involve the Muslim world and foster dialogue between the Muslim community and the rest of campus. During his time as an undergraduate thus far, Ansaf has also studied abroad at Oxford and Cambridge University where he was involved with the respective Muslim student associations. He will write his senior honors thesis with the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law Honors Program, focusing on Pakistan and the role civil society can play in strengthening institutions and consolidating democracy. He is excited and impassioned to use interfaith organizing as a tool by which to reframe the way we approach social issues--transforming seemingly diverse problems such as the climate crisis, health care, and ethnic conflict, into platforms by which we realize our common humanity and fate.

Chelsea Guenther – Agnes Scott College (Georgia)

Christian – Presbyterian

Chelsea Guenther, originally from Memphis, TN, is a senior at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. Her major is religious studies with a concentration in social justice and her minor is Spanish. In the summer of 2008, she had a transformational experience while working at Interfaith Youth Core in the public advocacy program area as a media intern. While there she developed a love for interfaith work, and that fall she organized an interfaith service day on her campus while she was an intern for the Office of Religious Life. She is one of the co-founders of the Progressive Christian Fellowship at Agnes Scott and has also been involved with Best Buddies, the religious studies department, Orientation Council, the student calling program, and the President's Committee on Faith and Learning. Chelsea volunteers with a local Girl Scout troop and attends Oakhurst Presbyterian Church. In the spring of 2009, she participated in SIT's Grassroots Development and Social Change program in Oaxaca.

Daniel Resnick – Tufts University (Massachusetts)

Jewish

Dan is a sophomore at Tufts University, where he plans to major in International Relations with a special focus on the Middle East. Dan was born and raised in Israel, before moving to Sharon, MA in 2002. In eighth grade, Dan was first exposed to interfaith work with Interfaith Action Inc., and he later became a participant in the program as a high school student. During his junior year, Dan initiated IFA's annual T.I.D.E. (Teenage Interfaith Diversity Education) Conference, and as a senior Dan served as a Senior Facilitator and sat on IFA's Board of Directors. At Tufts, Dan continues to promote pluralism, first with the Pathways Program and then with Cafe (Conversations, Action, Faith, and Education). He sits on the executive board of two student groups, Cafe and NIMEP (the New Initiative for Middle East Peace). Dan is extremely proud that Tufts boasts such a diverse student body, and he aims to help Tufts students enjoy the benefits of having such a diverse student body.

Elizabeth McCreless – University of Chicago (Illinois)

Unitarian Universalist

Elizabeth is a sophomore at the University of Chicago who will major in either Religious Studies or History. She is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts, where she was very involved in her local Unitarian church and its youth group. She had an amazing first experience with interfaith work through the Anti-Defamation League's Interfaith Youth Leadership Program. On campus, she has been very involved in the Interfaith Dialogue group, helping plan events like the annual Interfaith Shabbat and an Interfaith Day of Service. She has also been a part of the Unitarian community on campus and at First Unitarian Chicago. She has been involved with several community service initiatives on campus, but her favorite is the Jewish Action group, because there she finds likeminded people for whom religion is an important aspect of their call to serve.

Gwen Stembridge – Converse College (South Carolina)

Unitarian Universalist

Gwen Stembridge, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a senior at Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance with a minor in Religion. Her interest in interfaith work grows from thoughtful guidance from mentors, an open-minded Christian background, and engaging religious experiences. In 2005, she participated in the Youth Theological Initiative at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. While at Converse, she organized a forum on Music and Social Justice featuring local Spartanburg musicians and the Indigo Girls. Through her work as a Bonner Leader, she created a recycling program at the Charles Lea Center, an organization that supports individuals with disabilities. In January of 2009, she traveled to India to study Hinduism, yoga, and local culture. She finds joy in celebrating the universal truths that can surpass the boundaries we often create.

Ilana Alazzeh – Smith College (Massachusetts)

Muslim

Ilana Alazzeh is a junior at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Ilana is studying Government and Middle Eastern Studies. She currently serves as the Five College Representative for her local Muslim Students Association [MSA] at Smith and is the Western Massachusetts Representative for MSA National. She was elected twice as Religious Liaison to the Student Government Association for her house. Ilana served on joint ventures with Hillel and political groups on campus and is currently the Regional Director for MIST Boston (Muslim Inter Scholastic Tournament) held at Harvard each year. Ilana, who is a political activist at heart, co-founded a Campus Anti-War chapter at Smith. During the summer of 2009 Ilana will be working at Islamic Relief, a faith-founded charity that operates around the world, and will be particularly involved with the "Bite The Bug" project that strives to eradicate malaria. Coming from a multi-faith family Ilana strongly believes that "... questioning, sincerely trying to understand others and putting yourself out of perceived constructs is one of the highest forms of devotion and states that humans-beings can achieve."

Jake Scott – Elmhurst College (Illinois)

Christian/Seeker

Jake Scott, a transfer student from Kalamazoo, MI, is a junior at Elmhurst College studying English Writing and Journalism, Religious Studies and Social Justice. While at Elmhurst College Jake has served as News Editor for the award winning student newspaper, The Leader. Jake is also a member of Amnesty International and the school's interfaith group, The Spiritual Life Council. Jake first experienced the power and importance of interfaith work through his high school youth group. Prior to arriving at Elmhurst College, Jake interned at Portage United Church of Christ as a youth group leader to facilitate service learning and faith based discussion. Interfaith work has called Jake to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota as well as throughout parts of South Africa and Turkey. Jake feels that through experiencing and understanding the faith traditions of others, we are encouraged to revise, establish and reflect upon our own beliefs.

Joseph Carlsmith – Yale University (Connecticut)

Unitarian Universalist

Joe is a sophomore studying the humanities at Yale University. He is originally from Madison, WI. He currently serves as the President of the Yale Unitarian Universalist Student fellowship, a member of the Multifaith Council, and a member of the Interreligious Leadership Council. During the summer of 2007, he traveled in Tibet for six weeks, and has since done research on the western practice of Buddhism. During the summer of 2009, he is working as an intern at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.

Mustafa Abdullah – Wake Forest University (North Carolina)

Muslim

Mustafa Abdullah is a senior double majoring in Philosophy and Religion and minoring in Middle/Eastern South Asian studies at Wake Forest University (WFU). He was born in Cairo, Egypt to an Egyptian father and American mother. He has lived in various places mostly on the East Coast of the U.S. and in Egypt. Currently, he is the President and Founder of the Muslim Students Association at WFU. He has also done considerable work as the Muslim representative to the Interfaith Council. In addition, he is the founder and lead organizer of Winston-Salem for World Faith, a local chapter of the World Faith network. The multi-faith and multi-racial organization is made up of individuals around the city who use community service as a vehicle for demonstrating how religion can promote the common good. This past year, Winston-Salem for World Faith completed 75 hours of community service. For the summer, he is the Muslim representative and a full-time community organizer for CHANGE (Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment). CHANGE is based in Winston-Salem and is an affiliate of the oldest and largest community organizing network in the US: Industrial Americas Foundation. CHANGE is a non-profit bi-partisan organization that promotes pluralism through its commitment to building stronger community by developing relationships across lines of religion, ideology, class, and race. CHANGE recently passed a bill through the state senate that makes the Forsyth County Board of Education elections non-partisan and staggers their terms. He hopes to continue to promote pluralism in CHANGE by researching and tackling issues concerning segregation in the public education system.

Mustafa Saadi – Williams College (Massachusetts)

Muslim

Mustafa Saadi is a sophomore Economics and History double major at Williams College. In his spare time Mustafa likes to watch sports. Mustafa is looking forward to using religion as a pretext to bring people together. He hopes that as an IFYC fellow, he will be able to learn from other like-minded peers about successful inter-faith collaborative events. Part of which includes learning about other people's faith stories, which he hopes to gain from his interactions with others in the Fellows Alliance, and part of which involves bouncing ideas off other leaders who have similar passions for creating conversations across different groups.

Nipun Gupta – Saint Louis University (Missouri)

Hindu

Nipun Gupta is a sophomore at Saint Louis University. She is a pre-med student majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Biology and Theology. Originally from OFallon, IL, she co-founded an interfaith organization at her high school called Religions United Interfaith Mosaic. At SLU, she helped create the Interfaith Alliance, a student organization centered around dialogue, service, and social justice. She also serves as an officer for the Hindu Students Community and as a representative to the Diversity Leadership Cabinet. Nipun is dedicated to advancing the movement for religious pluralism and believes that interfaith work is a key way for our generation to bring about peace and stability in the world.

Rachel Cohn – Brown University (Rhode Island)

Jewish

Rachel Cohn is a senior at Brown University studying human biology and international relations. As one of a few Jewish students who went on a Christian service trip to New Orleans, she was inspired to become more involved with interfaith work on campus. She has been a part of Brown's "interfaith house" dorm and helped organize an interfaith service trip to New Orleans. She has also enjoyed getting to know different aspects of the larger Providence community by teaching ESL classes and working with Providence Summerbridge, a teaching and mentoring program over the summer for 7th and 8th grade students. Rachel spent the second semester of her junior year in South Africa, where she had wonderful experiences with four different homestay families from very unique faith backgrounds. Most importantly, she feels that interfaith work is an important step in achieving a vision of the world that South Africans describe as 'ubuntu' – a concept of humanity rooted in the understanding that "I am because you are."

Rahul Subramaniam – Princeton University (New Jersey)

Hindu

Rahul Subramaniam is a junior at Princeton University, majoring in Political Science. He is a member of the university's Religious Life Council, which strives to understand and connect diverse faiths and apply values to international issues. He also leads weekly discussions for the Hindu Satsangam. In addition, Rahul regularly attends Shabbat dinner at the Center for Jewish Life. In May 2009, he had the opportunity to attend a discourse by the Dalai Lama in New York City. The following month, Rahul traveled with the RLC to New Delhi to meet with political and religious leaders to promote interfaith development. Rahul was inspired by Dr. Karan Singh, the head of the Temple of Understanding, which encourages the embracing of cultural diversity as a path toward peace. The historic sites Rahul visited helped him appreciate the architectural and spiritual fusion of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and other religions. Using his experience in India, Rahul intends to seek new ways to implement reforms in other developing nations. He recognizes "the need for broad thinking – involving politics, sociology, religion, psychology, etc. – in instigating harmony among various groups."

Saleha Mallick – Northwestern University (Illinois)

Muslim

Saleha Mallick is a senior at Northwestern University majoring in Sociology and minoring in Religion, with a pre-med intention. She is originally from Naperville, IL, a western suburb of Chicago. She has spent the last two years as an engaged member of Interfaith Hall, serving on hall government as secretary for the past year. She is also an active member of NU Council of Religions and Muslim-Cultural Students Association. In addition to interfaith work, Saleha is passionate about universal health care. Off campus she regularly volunteers at Community Health Clinic, a free clinic serving uninsured adults in and around Chicago. She has met some of her closest friends through Interfaith Hall and greatly values the community formed through the interfaith work she does.

Susanne Monteiro – Dartmouth College (New Hampshire)

Christian – Congregationalist

Susanne Monteiro is a senior with a major in Astronomy and a minor in Physics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Originally from Norwell, Massachusetts, she has always been dedicated to working with children. Before college, Susanne spent a month volunteering at an orphanage in Costa Rica and working at Boston University's Children Center. At Dartmouth, Susanne is the student coordinator for the Haven Homework Club, an after school program for children who have lived at the local homeless shelter. She also mentors a ten-year-old girl with the Little Kids LEAD program and is involved with Habitat for Humanity and COVER Home Repair. While at Dartmouth Susanne has also participated in a Faith and Service Alternative Spring Break trip to Biloxi, Mississippi and the Interfaith Living and Learning Community on campus. Susanne follows a life philosophy of living a life of service.

Tamara Slater – University of Rochester (New York)

Jewish

Tamara Slater studies Religion and Political Science at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. She joined the Religious Roundtable – an interfaith discussion-based student club – in her first weeks at college, and has led the Roundtable since last year. In fall of her junior year she was founder and president of an interfaith social-action club called Students for Interfaith Action. This summer she is participating in the University's Urban Fellows program, where students explore urban issues and have the opportunity to focus on the challenges faced by the city of Rochester in particular. As a part of the program she will be coordinating a day of service for 1,100 incoming freshmen during their orientation week in the end of August. For Tamara, "Interfaith work is about exploring different types of diversity while working together to bring about positive change in our communities."

Tucker Plumlee – University of Denver (Colorado)

Christian

Tucker Plumlee is a senior at the University of Denver majoring in Religious Studies and Philosophy with a minor in Sociology. Having just completed a year abroad studying theology and philosophy at the Dominican-run Blackfriars Hall in Oxford, England, Tucker will resume his presidency of the University of Denver Interfaith Student Alliance, having co-founded the student group during his freshman year. Deeply involved in his high school youth group, he was able to cultivate a strong passion and participation in service work-taking part in missions work across the country and in Cluj, Romania-an ethos that has guided his community involvement work and studies since; he eagerly anticipates a service-learning trip to Dharamsala, India this winter in order to work with Tibetan refugees and political prisoners teaching English. Tucker has also been involved with the University of Denver Programming Board-working to create co-programming initiatives among student organizations-as well as with environmental and sustainability issues on campus.