The Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community | Office of Undergraduate Intellectual Life (OUIL)
The Program Coordinators are an integral part of the Office of Undergraduate Intellectual Life. They work closely with the director to coordinate our two main office functions: the RAJU Fellowship and our Student Advisory Board.
Grace Asare is a senior at Rutgers University-Camden majoring in Political Science and double minoring in Legal Studies and Statistics. Grace was previously a part of the Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community (RAJU), where she co-created a documentary focusing on housing and environmental justice in Camden. She now is committed to expanding racial justice efforts and learning across Rutgers campuses as leads the 2024-25 Student Advisory Board.
Jilary Guaman Calle is a senior at Rutgers University-Newark, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Women’s & Gender Studies. Jilary also pursues a double concentration in Social Justice through the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) and the Honors College. As a member of the Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community (RAJU), they worked to illuminate community narratives within decolonization discourse, offering a platform for individuals to reflect on the impact of colonialism on their current lives.
Camila María Belliard is a co-founder of the Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community (RAJU), a feminist, antiracist and decolonial researcher with a background in social anthropology. Her professional experience has centered on marginalized women and black communities in South America and the Caribbean from the perspective of transnational gender and sexuality studies grounded in the social sciences and the humanities.
Jilary Guaman Calle is a senior at Rutgers University-Newark, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Women’s & Gender Studies. Jilary also pursues a double concentration in Social Justice through the Honors Living-Learning Community (HLLC) and the Honors College. As a member of the Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community (RAJU), they worked to illuminate community narratives within decolonization discourse, offering a platform for individuals to reflect on the impact of colonialism on their current lives.
As a first-generation immigrant from Ecuador, Jilary is deeply committed to advocating for the rights and stories of im/migrants, particularly within Queer, racialized communities. Their research focuses on the unjust criminalization and scrutiny faced by Queer bodies through migration. Jilary’s dedication to Queer experiences is closely tied to their own Queer identity. This commitment is further reflected in their role as a committee member of Newark’s LGBTQ Film Festival. Within the RU-Newark community, they emphasize the importance of creating supportive spaces for gender-queer individuals.
Grace Asare is a senior at Rutgers University-Camden majoring in Political Science and double minoring in Legal Studies and Statistics. Grace was previously a part of the Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community (RAJU), where she co-created a documentary focusing on housing and environmental justice in Camden. She now is committed to expanding racial justice efforts and learning across Rutgers campuses as leads the 2024-25 Student Advisory Board.
Grace’s interests in learning about systems of inequality has inspired her to continue her studies in government and politics as an Eagleton Undergraduate Associate. She believes in being an advocate for underserved communities of color to achieve a more equitable world.
Azinwi Numfor is a junior at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, majoring in Public Policy and Political Science with minors in Law & History, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Africana Studies. She was a member of the Fellows in Racial Justice Learning Community (RAJU), where she deepened her understanding of systemic inequalities and worked to develop strategies for educational reform.
Azinwi is committed to uplifting marginalized communities, particularly through her role as chair of the Education Committee for Rutgers NAACP. She also serves as a peer instructor for the First-Year Interest Group Seminars (FIGS), teaching a course on “Exploring Diversity and Social Justice.” Through her involvement on campus, Azinwi seeks to create inclusive spaces and effect positive policy changes that benefit marginalized communities.
Renelyn (Ren) Sevilla is a senior at Rutgers-New Brunswick majoring in Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. They are currently serving as a member of the executive board for Iota Iota Iota (Triota). While a member of the 2023-2024 RAJU Cohort, she completed a zine project that spotlighted the experiences of multiple disempowered communities titled Humanities 4 Humanity.
Ren is deeply committed to providing accessible mental health services to oppressed communities and is preparing to write a senior honors thesis about how contemporary media representations of mental health for Women of Color and Gender Non-conforming people can be sites for decolonial resistance.
Maria Loo is a senior at Rutgers-Newark double majoring in English & Political Science. As part of the 2023-2024 cohort of the RAJU Fellowship, Maria’s Social Action Project (SAP) was featured at the Mosh and Mingle Symposium in Rutgers-New Brunswick. Maria and her SAP group are currently in the process of printing their zine project so it can be distributed at Rutgers libraries and cultural centers. Maria is also an intern at the Historic Courthouse in the Superior Court Essex Vicinage and hopes to go to law school in the future.
Grace is a political science major and statistics minor at Rutgers Camden. She is interested in increasing the representation of racial minorities in political and career-related leadership. As an intern for a legislative campaign, she speaks with constituents about election awareness and candidate policy initiatives. She hopes to represent people at a greater level one day and display my passion of advocating for economic and social change for racial minorities through policy and law.
Jilary is a double major in Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies with a concentration in the Honors College and a minor in Social Justice through the HLLC. A junior at Rutgers-Newark, they are committed to space building for women and gender-queer folks within academia. Jilary’s racial justice work interests include protecting and acknowledging im/migrant rights, especially with Queer, racialized communities
Iman Azeem is an undergraduate student at Rutgers New Brunswick majoring in Cell Biology and Neuroscience. With a strong interest in social impact, public engagement, and interdisciplinary research, she has worked on projects ranging from molecular biology and health communication to community outreach and advocacy. She is passionate about using storytelling, strategy, and collaborative action to advance equity and uplift underrepresented voices.
Nathan Duguid, a Freshman at Rutgers Newark, is a passionate advocate for equity in education and youth civic engagement. He is the founder of the Young Voters Association, a nonprofit organization that empowers young people aged 16-25 to engage in civic life through innovative tools for education and collaboration. He has extensive experience organizing community events, leading workshops, and collaborating with advocacy groups to address critical social issues like voter suppression, educational inequities, and racial justice.
Croix Ellison is a sophomore at Rutgers New Brunswick studying Environmental Policy, Institutions and Behavior. Croix has a deep interest in environmental justice, with an emphasis on solutions for climate crisis impacts and the intersections between environmental issues and culture. She is a part of the Douglass Residential College, a member of Voorhees Choir and sits on the eboard of Black Students for Liberation.
Aaronae is a freshman at Rutgers Newark who intends to major in Psychology and double minor in women’s studies and criminal justice. She plans to become a Forensic Psychologist in the future. Her interest in racial justice lies in the role it plays in healthcare. Being a Black woman, she understands the disparities within the system and strives to be an advocate for other women who share similar experiences.
Raizel Febles is a proud first-generation college student of Dominican descent in her second year at Rutgers-Camden, where she is pursuing a double major in Political Science and Spanish on a pre-law track. Her passion for combating period poverty began at the age of 13 when she co-launched a podcast to raise awareness about the issue in the South Bronx, particularly within Black and Latinx communities. T
Aarushi Gaikwad is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program at Rutgers New Brunswick, where she is pursuing a double major in Psychology and Political Science. Her passion for racial justice and advocacy is deeply rooted in her experiences as an immigrant and growing up in a community of immigrants, where stories of resilience and struggle shaped her perspective. Her main interest lies in advocating and providing representation for other Indian-American and Hindu diasporas.
Laurren Jones is a junior at Rutgers Newark majoring in Africana Studies and minoring in creative writing. She is passionate about healing justice and the effort to amplify Black Women’s voices and experiences in the reparative process of social justice work.
Willa McBride is an Honors College senior at Rutgers Camden, majoring in Political Science with minors in Legal Studies and Criminal Justice. She has been an active leader on campus, serving as President of the Black Student Union and the Political Science Society, and inaugural and incumbent Secretary of the RUC NAACP chapter. Through these roles, Willa works to promote racial justice and organize events that address voter engagement, intersectionality, and criminal justice reform.
Maryam Mendes is a senior at Rutgers New Brunswick, majoring in Psychology and Human Resource Management, with minors in Public Health and Health & Society. As a Black Muslim woman, she is deeply committed to understanding how intersectionality shapes health outcomes, representation, and systemic disparities. Her passion lies in addressing the long-standing neglect and misunderstanding of marginalized communities, particularly within the healthcare system.
Ashley Ramdat is a senior at Rutgers Newark pursuing a degree in Psychology with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. They are also a LGBTQ+ Raider at the RU-N Intercultural Resource Center which uses a Peer-to-Peer Program to support Queer students. As a Queer Indo-Caribbean person, they use their own experiences to inform and advocate for the recognition of intersectionality on campus. In their activism, they focus on the intersections of disability, sexuality, and racial identity.
Tasnim is pursuing a major in Political Science alongside a minor in International and Global Studies, specializing in the Middle East and North Africa region—at Rutgers University - New Brunswick. As a proud Palestinian Muslim, she is deeply committed to advocating for justice and equality for underrepresented and oppressed communities.
Stephanie is an English major with a Foundations of Urban Education minor at Rutgers-Newark. As a first-generation Mexican-American, she recognizes the different hardships students of diverse backgrounds face in the education system. Through her experience working for non-profit organizations, she understands the value of using compassion, collaboration, and community to uplift others.
Omi Walker is a senior majoring in Journalism and Media Studies and minoring in Gender and Media at Rutgers New Brunswick. They are committed to radical self-care along with community building and healing. Through this work, Omi has utilized their multi-medium artistic talents to center marginalized people, voices and stories, especially amidst the multiple oppressions and genocides in the U.S. and across the world.
A'Dreana is an ILE Global Scholar, having studied winter ecology in Maine and New Hampshire learning of the history of Northern New England. She was also in the Black Ecology Summer Institute’s 2024 cohort, studying food sovereignty under the lens of black and indigenous ecology. A’Dreana uses these experiences to frame her work in community care. With a deep love for all living things A’Dreana is discovering avenues of reintegrating society with the natural world.