In 2019, the college launched the Presidential Discovery Initiative, an alumni interview program designed to gather graduates’ hopes for Dickinson's future and better understand how the Dickinson experience has shaped graduates' lives. To carry out the alumni interviews, the college hired a select group of students to serve as Presidential Fellows, giving these students an opportunity to help inform Dickinson's strategic planning while gaining marketable skills in the social sciences, communications and nonprofit development.
2020 Presidential Fellows
 |
Alice Agyekum ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: mathematics Hometown: Orange, N.J. Fun fact: Back in middle school, I was part of a robotics team that competed in Brazil. |
 |
Noor Alhamadani '24 (she/her/hers) Major: undeclared; considering neuroscience Hometown: Houston, Texas Fun fact: I have traveled to more than 15 countries. |
 |
Venus Bhatt ’24 (she/her/hers or they/them) Major: undeclared; considering biology and theatre Hometown: Kathmandu, Nepal Fun fact: I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan. |
 |
Carmen Maria Canino ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: biochemistry & molecular biology, with a health studies certificate Hometown: Mashpee, Mass. Fun fact: I lived in Puerto Rico until I was 11 years old. |
 |
Jacob “Jake” DeCarli ’22 (he/him/his) Majors: international studies and Italian studies Hometown: Greencastle, Pa. Fun fact: I interviewed Steve Smith ’92, CEO of L.L.Bean, for the 2020 Presidential Fellowship. |
 |
Cassandra DiPierro ’23 (she/her/hers) Major: psychology, with a religion minor and health studies certificate Hometown: Fairfield, Conn. Fun fact: I’ve traveled to 28 U.S. states (pre-pandemic, of course). I also love rock music, and my favorite band is Tool. |
 |
Rachel Flame ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: biochemistry & molecular biology Hometown: Wilmington, Del. Fun fact: While I was born and raised in the Northeast, I am a country girl at heart. I love country music, and I even have a pair of authentic cowboy boots. |
 |
Anne-Charlotte Frotté ’23 (she/her/hers) Majors: international business & management and Spanish Hometown: Princeton, N.J. Fun fact: I met iCarly when I was younger. |
 |
Peter Guma ’24 (he/him/his) Majors: mathematics and Russian Hometown: Vienna, Va. Fun fact: I memorized the periodic table in sixth grade. I was always interested in chemistry, and knew from an early age that I wanted to pursue a career in STEM. |
 |
Sam Halpern ’22 (he/him/his) '22 Major: law & policy and political science Hometown: Atlanta, Ga. Fun fact: I’m somewhat obsessed with current events and politics. |
 |
Christian Knight ’23 (he/him/his) Major: earth sciences Hometown: Colonial Heights, Va. Fun fact: I love to draw, and I’m a huge movie fan. I have 200+ movies in my collection; my favorite is Pink Floyd’s The Wall. |
 |
Chinemerem Nwanze ’23 (she/her/hers) Major: psychology, with a health studies certificate Hometown: Cerritos, Calif. Fun fact: When I was 16 I started my first blog, Just African. I wrote about a variety of topics, but my posts were mainly about African culture, music and literature. |
 |
Kalaria Obasi ’23 (she/her/hers) Major: sociology Hometown: Gardena, Calif. Fun fact: When I was in the fifth grade, I was in a Disney Channel “This Is Me” commercial. |
 |
Charlese Reynolds ’22 (she/her/hers) Majors: psychology and educational studies, with a health studies certificate Hometown: Newark, N.J. Fun fact: I moved for the first time at age 20. |
 |
Jiberly Sandoval ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: educational studies Hometown: Lawrence, Mass. Fun fact: I love creative writing, and I host writing workshops from time to time. |
 |
Hannah Shea ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: international studies Hometown: Alexandria, Va. Fun fact: When I was four years old, I got kicked out of the Oval Office for climbing on the furniture. |
 |
Amanda Sowah ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: English Hometown: Bronx, N.Y. Fun fact: I cannot remember the lyrics to any song unless I see a video of it. |
 |
Brian Ta ’22 (he/him/his) Majors: English and French & Francophone studies Hometown: Thai Nguyen, Vietnam Fun fact: I don’t know how to drive. |
 |
Sam Walters ’22 (she/her/hers) Majors: political science and educational studies, with a creative writing minor Hometown: Lakeville, Mass. Fun fact: I have two incredibly spoiled guinea pigs at home. |
 |
Vlada Watkins ’22 (she/her/hers) Major: philosophy Hometown: originally Almaty, Kazakhstan, but now Atlanta, Georgia Fun fact: I grew up speaking Kazakh, Russian and English. |
 |
Dylan Yang ’23 (he/him/his) Major: philosophy Hometown: Needham, Mass. Fun fact: I have been playing saxophone for 12 years now, and I am a self-taught beatboxer. |