Class Of 2016

Joel Bervell

Yale University
Joel Bervell attends Yale University. The aspiring doctor is on the Neurobiology track in the Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology program. He is a Coca-Cola Scholar, Jackie Robinson Scholar, Ron Brown Scholar, National Achievement Scholar, and AP Scholar with Distinction, among other awards. The son of Ghanaian immigrants, he created Hugs for Ghana, a nonprofit organization that has delivered more than 6,000 packages of school supplies and $20,000 worth of sports equipment to school children in Ghana. In New Haven, he is coordinator of a local academic mentoring program that boasts a $70,000 budget. His hometown is Snohomish, Washington.

Garrett Fisher

Southern Methodist University
Garrett C. Fisher is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy at Southern Methodist University, where he is a President’s Scholar. He is an Advisory Council member for the University Honors Program and a peer counselor in the Cox School of Business. He also works as a student assistant in the Office of Student Affairs. Off campus, Garrett has volunteered on local political campaigns and has interned for a Dallas County Court judge. His hometown is Irving, Texas.

Justin Lang

Belmont University
Justin A. Lang attends Belmont University in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. He is a recipient of the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship and has earned a near-perfect grade point average while pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Sociology. He advises, assists, and mentors students as a Resident Assistant in a freshman dormitory.

Michael McMillan

Vanderbilt University
Michael A. McMillan II is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, where he is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Public Policy. His minor concentrations are Corporate Strategy and Business Policy. He hopes to pursue a career in management consulting. Michael’s activities at Vanderbilt include service as a Senator in the Student Government Association. He is a native of Clarkston, Georgia.

Joshua Odam

University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Joshua S. Odam attends the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he participates in the multidisciplinary honors curriculum in the Commonwealth Honors College. He learned about the Institute while taking a course, History of the Civil Rights Movement, taught by an Institute alumnus who is completing a PhD at UMass. Josh will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Legal Studies and plans to attend law school after graduation. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York.

Olufemi Olaleye

New York University
Olufemi O. Olaleye aspires to work at the United Nations as a Senior Economist, which led him to major in Economic Theory at New York University. Femi graduated in the top 2% of his class at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, New York and is building a similarly impressive record at NYU. He is a Presidential Honors Scholar and a Maurice Feinberg Scholarship recipient. He spent last fall at NYU London. While in New York, he volunteers as an organizer of the United Nations Youth Assembly.

Michael Richard

Harvard University
Michael P. Richard attends Harvard University. He is preparing for a career in public service by majoring in Economics and Government. He is active in the Leadership Institute at Harvard College and the Institute of Politics. Michael was valedictorian of his high school class in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was named a Coca-Cola Scholar, an AP Scholar with Distinction, an Alexander Hamilton Friends Scholar, a Questbridge Scholar, and a Boys Nation U. S. Senator, among other awards.

Christopher Shell

Howard University
Christopher M. Shell knows the power of understanding ones history, which has inspired him to major in History at Howard University. He aspires to become a History professor. Christopher is active in the Collage of Arts and Sciences Honors Program and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. His hometown is New York, New York.

Dariel Vasquez

Bard College
Dariel Vasquez is pursuing degrees in History and Sociology at Bard College. While in high school in New York City, Dariel participated in The Fellowship Initiative, a project sponsored by the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation and directed by an Institute alumnus. While in high school, he served as a senior peer leader for Brothers on a New Direction (BOND) and during his first year of college, he created Brothers @ Bard, an organization which mentors and enriches the lives of young men of color in the neighborhoods around the campus. Dariel is preparing to work in the field of education reform.

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​Class Of 2016