Dobrich New Americans Scholars, 2008-2009

Miyuki Kijima
Born and raised in Japan, Miyuki came to New York after September 11, 2001. Upon completing several English courses, she enrolled at Hunter College, where she majored in urban studies. Through her public-policy courses and real-life experiences, her awareness of social and political injustices grew, and she came to appreciate the legal system as a valuable and a powerful tool for making change. Consequently, she transferred to The City College to pursue a pre-law undergraduate major. As a CCNY student, Miyuki established a club that provides support to pre-law students. She also began volunteering for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a non-profit group that advocates for children in the foster-care system. Through her work with CASA, Miyuki has learned that one person can make a major difference in another individual’s life. As a lawyer, she plans on advocating within the legal system for minorities, immigrants, and children.

Anthony Pang
Anthony Pang was raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn and attended Stuyvesant High School. Although his main focus was mathematics and physics, studying politics and history at Stuyvesant enthralled him, and he became a columnist for the school’s political paper, the Political Fire. There he wrote editorials focusing on politics and public policy. Anthony is enrolled at the Grove School of Engineering, pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. He has a Summer 2008 internship with CCNY’s Mid-InfraRed Technologies for Health and the Environment (MIRTHE) Center and he writes for the CCNY paper, The Campus. One of Anthony’s aspirations is to gain a leadership position at NASA, and he understands that technical aptitude is insufficient for such a position. Both scientific skill and an understanding of public policy are required to make true advancements for society.

Yarisbel Rodriguez
Yarisbel Rodriguez is a sophomore in the City College Honors Program, majoring in history, with a minor in women’s studies. Her areas of interests are Latin American social movements, women’s activism internationally, and U.S. immigration policy. Yarisbel sees great potential for implementing an effective immigration policy that includes multiple pathways to legalization, the establishment of social protections for undocumented workers, and the addressing of economic inequality in the United States. Yarisbel is founding a women’s studies club at CCNY, which aims to provide a political context in which to discuss issues such as immigration and its effect on women. Yarisbel plans to continue her education in history and women’s studies in graduate school and her goal is an academic career that incorporates both subjects. A graduate of Brooklyn Tech High School, Yarisbel has been a committed volunteer with nonprofit organizations throughout the Borough of Brooklyn. 

Sebastian Rubino                                 
Sebastian Rubino, a pre-med major at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, attended Susan E. Wagner High School on Staten Island. There he graduated first in his class as a member of his school's selective academic program, the Scholars’ Academy. In high school, Anthony  volunteered at Staten Island University Hospital and attended a law program at Georgetown University. Currently he is the co-president of his class at Sophie Davis. Sebastian also volunteers at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and conducts scientific research in an immunology lab that focuses on the host’s response to pathogens. He combines his science studies with an interest in U.S. policy, specifically health-care policy. In particular, he hopes to effect change in health-care policy while also seeking to eradicate other indicators of poor health, such as low socio-economic status.

Dobrich New Americans Scholars, 2007-2009

Roy Levy
Levy is a junior, majoring in political science and economics. His area of special interest is China’s political economy, particularly the interface between the country’s public and business sectors. Roy has been actively engaged in community service with the New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), which recently led him to lobby for Int. 245, a NICE-sponsored bill. If it had passed the New York City Council, it would have allowed non-citizen legal immigrants to participate in New York City municipal elections. Roy has also helped reestablish the Government Law Society and is its current vice president. He was also elected to the CUNY BA University Committee as a voting member.

Angela Perez
Angela Perez, a dual major in History and Asian Studies, has done extensive work on public policy and immigration issues.  As an intern for the Center for Community Change (CCC), Angela saw the importance of grassroots mobilization of previously disengaged and overlooked immigrant communities to enhance democratic participation and representation.  Her overall experience at CCC confirmed her desire to pursue advanced research and a career specializing in race and immigration in the United States. Angela is currently working on a research project about the dynamics of minority relations, particularly the tensions between African Americans and Latinos in the South, and hopes to travel to New Orleans to do field work on this issue.

Zita Szatmary
Zita Szatmary, a former teacher, arrived in New York City from her native Hungary in 2000. She had previously worked in a white-collar capacity in a marketing department in Budapest. However, her experience in this diverse city led her to a greater social and political awareness. Photography projects became a great outlet for this newfound sensitivity. Zita is currently studying electronic design/multimedia and photography at CCNY and intends to use her skills as a graphic designer at non-profit organizations. Her goal is to work with disadvantaged communities, first on a local and later an international level, in the spirit of projects such as Bridges to Understanding. Zita spent this past summer interning for WITNESS, a non-profit organization that specializes in video advocacy and the documentation of human-rights violations.

Dobrich New Americans Scholars, Alumni 2007-2008

Marina Chernyak
Born in the former Soviet Union and raised in Israel, Marina Chernyak came to New York to continue her education.  Her academic studies in political science and math come together in her part-time job at Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), a non-governmental organization that provides data to help scientists, policy-makers and the public better understand the changing relationship between human beings and the environment.  One of her particular interests is the broad effects of indoor pollution. Already the recipient of several awards and fellowships, Marina intends to pursue graduate work in the social sciences before embarking on a career in government service or the academy.

Mario Patino
Mario Patino, a 2007-2008 Dobrich New Americans Scholar, earned his B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in development, Summa Cum Laude, in May 2008. Mario's focus is human rights, particularly with regard to Africa and the Middle East. In the spring of 2008, he interned in Sierra Leone with Fambul Tok, a grassroots peacebuilding initiative that promotes local practices of conflict resolution. At CCNY, Mario was also head delegate with CCNY's model UN team. He joined the Social Science Research Council in July 2008, where he is working for the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum. Mario is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Krio.