Fellows

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2008 Merage Foundation for the American Dream Fellows The Merage Foundation for the American Dream is proud to present our 2008 Fellows. Their life stories, goals, and accomplishments have inspired both the Foundation and our Partner Universities. The Foundation is certain that the Fellows’ achievements will continue to have a positive impact upon their colleagues, their communities, and the nation. 2008 Alumni Facebook page Facebook page for all American Dream Alumni 2008 National Leadership Awards Dinner press release 2008 Dinner program May 2008 American Dream newsletter
	Mr. Kristijonas “Kris” Bartkus (Harvard University) In 1991, at the age of 5, Kris and his family emigrated from Lithuania fleeing political upheaval in the USSR. They were on the last flight out of the former USSR. With a BA in Development Economics from Harvard, Kris’s dream is to become an immigration policy expert. Before pursuing his PhD in Immigration Economics and Public Policy, Kris will spend 2 years traveling to immigrant communities where he will research individual experiences by living and working with immigrants as well as partnering with local immigrant NGOs. He will live with populations such as Mexican, Southeast Asian, and Sub-Saharan African immigrants to the U.S.; Arabs in France; and Indians in the Persian Gulf Coast.

	Nataliya Binshteyn (Hunter College) Nataliya emigrated from the Ukraine with her family in 1993, at the age of 7, because of political and economic insecurity and state sanctioned discrimination against Jews in the former USSR. At Hunter, she triple-majored in Political Science, Spanish, and Special Honors. Nataliya’s dream is to pursue a career in Public International Law and Government in Latin America, working with issues of development, economic transition, and human rights. She will use the fellowship towards a concurrent JD and MA in International Affairs. She is currently interning for the State Department at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires helping to assess the region’s political and socioeconomic environment in the wake of a historic election year. There she is responsible for organizing cultural exchanges between US and Argentine representatives.

	Olga Eydlin (New York University) Olga emigrated with her family from Belarus in 1991, at the age of 5, to escape religious persecution of Jews and to seek better education and career opportunities. Olga majored in Art History with minors in Biology and Chemistry. Her dream is to be a surgeon and help reform the healthcare system through clinical research and teaching. As a physician, she wants to organize a free clinic for immigrants and the uninsured that would be run by doctors, not medical students. Olga will start classes at NYU School of Medicine this August.

	Rene Flores (University of California, Berkeley) 2008 Cohort President Originally studying law at the largest university in Mexico City, Rene came to California when his university went on strike in 1999. In California, he found work as a hotel housekeeper, went to a community college, and transferred to Berkeley. His research on ethnic tensions in Pennsylvania was published in the New York Times. He wrote a book chapter on the new Salvadorian economic elite that will be published by Duke University Press this year. Rene will use the fellowship towards a PhD in Sociology at Princeton studying ethnic animosity, political xenophobia, and the growing nativist movement in the US. While getting his doctorate, he plans to take a year to research these issues in Germany. Ultimately he wants to be a Social Scientist developing strategies to reduce tension in areas of high ethnic animosity.

	Edmond Fomunung (University of Georgia) Edmond emigrated from Cameroon in 2002, at the age of 16, to realize his dream of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. While separated from his parents, he lived with his uncle. Edmond is now a certified pharmacy technician with a BS in Cellular Biology. He will begin his studies towards a joint MD/MPH degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine this Fall. There he plans to conduct research to raise the awareness of the correlation between heart diseases and controllable risk factors like smoking, obesity, inactivity, stress, and alcohol. He wants to implement health education to help people avoid addictive lifestyles and to address the disparity between male and female mortality rates. Eventually he wants to take his work to the international level.

	Marsiyana “Marsi” Henricus (Fordham University) Marsi immigrated to the US with her family in 1989, when she was 3 years old, because of economic and political hardships. Before immigrating to the US from Sri Lanka, she lived with her family in Italy for 2 years. Marsi majored in Chemistry with minors in Biology, Philosophy, and American Catholic Studies. Marsi’s dream is to be a physician-scientist that improves the lives of underserved Americans and immigrants. She will begin her studies towards an MSc in Chemical Biology at Oxford University this Fall where she will conduct research on new proteins and hydrophobins. Then she wants to return to the US to get her MD/PhD and help to link research efforts in the US and UK. She plans to research the detection of cancer cells through imaging techniques and drug delivery devices.

	Arman Jahangiri (University of Houston) 2008 Cohort Vice President In 1997 at the age of 11, Arman emigrated from Iran with his family. Since the 1979 revolution, his parents had been committed to immigrating to gain freedom of speech, religion, and political expression. A major in Biology with a minor in Chemistry, Arman’s dream is to become a neurosurgeon that contributes to healthcare as a provider, educator, and policy maker. He wants to lobby congress for healthcare for uninsured and underserved populations, and to advocate for US training programs for healthcare administrators from third world countries. He plans to attend UT Southwestern for his MD. This year he is planning a medical mission trip to Trinidad and Tobago.

	Oisin Kenny (University of Illinois at Chicago) In 1995 at the age of 8, Oisin and his family emigrated from Ireland for better economic opportunities and to reunite with his father. Oisin majored in Economics with a minor in German/Indo- European languages. He studied abroad in Brazil and Germany, worked in construction, and interned for the European Parliament. Oisin’s dream is to create a consulting firm on corporate sustainability that would be able to advise major oil companies. He also dreams of being CEO of an international firm that markets renewable energy technologies. As the world tries to decrease dependence on fossil fuels, his firms may be in high demand. After completing an internship in sustainable development and renewable energies and gaining sufficient work experience, Oisin will continue his graduate education in energy.

	Kristina J. Liu (Harvard University) Kristina emigrated with her family from China in 1996, at the age of 10, when her father received a job offer to continue his research in Louisiana. While getting her BS in Neurobiology at Harvard College, she did research on hedgehog protein transport. She also worked for an obesity and diabetes clinic in Australia. Kristina will be entering Yale School of Medicine this Fall. Her specific area of interest is obesity. After getting her MD, she plans to split her time between clinical research and work in the health policy sector. Kristina’s dream is to study epigenetics as the cause of weight gain, while working for a governmental health policy group to minimize the associated physical and social costs of obesity on the US population.

	Lang Liu (Stanford University) Lang and her parents fled political persecution in China when she was 3. After leaving China, the family lived in Germany and Scotland before finally coming to the US when Lang was 10. She will be starting her joint JD/PhD program at Yale Law School in the Fall. Lang’s dream is to be an activist and a professor (with both a PhD and JD) in a law school legal clinic specializing in elder law. She will expand Generation to Generation (G2G), a community service organization that she founded for students and senior citizens based on adopt-a-grandparent programs. She would like G2G to include a computer literacy program and partnerships with legal aid centers where the senior citizens can serve as translators.

	Felipe Serrano (Rice University) Felipe emigrated with his family from Colombia in 1997, at the age of 11, when his father was offered a position in Texas. While majoring in Computer Science at Rice, he volunteered in a medical mission to Ayacucho, Peru. Felipe’s dream is to become a doctor providing not just medical care, but also heath education and general advocacy for severely underserved communities in the US and abroad. He will begin Baylor College of Medicine this Fall. While in school, he plans to volunteer in clinics and county hospitals, as well as to return to Ayacucho. After graduating, he plans to lead a group of providers in a program offering low-cost health care in underprivileged community clinics and hospitals. Through his volunteer efforts to educate people in low-income neighborhoods about health care, he wants “to be the friendly face that not only cures them, but who also speaks their language.”

	Rany Woo (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) In 1986, just after her birth, Rany and her family immigrated to North Carolina from South Korea. As a Brain and Cognitive Sciences major, Rany worked in India and began implementing her own unique TB drug program adherence solution using cell phone reminders and incentives. Rany’s dream is to be a doctor committed to improving the lives of the underserved and advocating for public health solutions in the developing world. In medical school, she intends to pursue an MPH to gain a better understanding of how population-based social determinants like poverty and education affect the quality of health. She will perform clinical rotations abroad and practice in free clinics during medical school. She wants to provide direct health care services for the needy, pioneer treatment strategies, conduct research for infectious diseases, and be a leader in international health.