PhD students Dominique Branson and Sean Nonnenmacher were two of only fifteen graduate students chosen as Humanities Engage Summer 2020 Immersive Fellows. These fellowships provide PhD students with the opportunity to gain experiences with host organizations in collaborative, mission-focused project work drawing on their high-level skills as researchers and writers.
At the juvenile justice-Involved Youth project in UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Dominique Branson is analyzing and synthesizing data related to Black girls’ experiences and involvement with the juvenile justice system in Allegheny Country to develop an equity report that informs Pittsburgh stakeholders about ways to better serve at-risk Black girls in the city.
Sean Nonnenmacher is creating a Story Bank, a database of recorded personal narratives from Phenix lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth, among others, for GLSEN Phoenix, which will pilot “data” in the form of approximately 25-30 personal narratives.