Three BSOS Students Named NSF Graduate Research Fellows

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is a competitive program that supports master’s and doctoral students in NSF-supported disciplines. Fellows are given access to many academic and professional opportunities, in addition to annual stipends for tuition, fees and other costs. Fellows may conduct their research at any accredited U.S. institution. 

Taiwo Mustafa (GVPT):

Taiwo Mustafa is a graduating senior government and politics major at the University of Maryland. An Honors student, Mustafa has worked on a thesis focused on ethnic discrimination and violence against refugees, which he was invited to present at an Emerging Scholars Conference at the University of Michigan this past fall. He interned with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, and worked with both the Do Good Institute and the Center for International Security Studies. Mustafa was also awarded an American Political Science Association Minority Fellowship. Moving forward, Mustafa will begin a doctorate program at Stanford University in the fall of 2020. He hopes to one day be an academic, researching and teaching about migration, African politics, refugees and political mobilization.

"Winning the NSF is a huge honor. It furthers my confidence that my research agenda and interests are deemed important by scholars in political science. My proposed research agenda centers on patterns of migration and violence within Africa. I am deeply grateful to several faculty members for supporting me in applying for this fellowship, especially GVPT Professor David Cunningham. As a result of this fellowship, I will have robust financial support as I attend graduate school this fall. Winning this fellowship also puts me into connection with previous winners in the political science section.  Furthermore, it confers early prestige on me as a future academic.”

Erica Ryan (ECON):

Erica Ryan graduated with a B.S. in economics and a B.A. in studio art from the University of Maryland in 2018. Ryan interned with risk management groups at both NASA and the FDIC, worked as a research assistant for Dr. Peter Murrell of the Economics Department, and now works as a quantitative analyst at Fannie Mae. Ryan says it is the qualitative skills she learned through her research experience and economics courses coupled with the subject expertise her real-world experience gave her that allowed her to really dive into her research passion. Moving forward, Ryan is excited to pursue her Ph.D. in economics, and plans to focus on research that adds value to the world on whatever path comes next.

“Receiving the NSF is honestly one of the most exciting things to happen to me. It is opening doors that I never imagined possible and giving me the opportunity to go through my Ph.D. with nearly no work requirements so I can focus on my research. I want to take a moment to thank some of the people that have been instrumental in this journey: Dr. Jessica Goldberg, Dr. Judith Hellerstein, Dr. Peter Murrell, Yongping, and Joe Mattey. I would never have received the NSF without my fantastic support network.”

Jessica Shotwell (SOCY):

Jessica Marie Shotwell is a second-year doctoral student in the Sociology Department at the University of Maryland. Previously, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. in sociology in 2017. Shotwell has conducted international research in Uganda as an intern for the National Institutes of Health, served on Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.’s National Executive Board, worked as a Research Assistant in the African American Studies Department, and  was the lead organizer for the “Two Years Later” town hall commemorating the life of 1st Lt. Richard Collins III. She is an abolitionist organizer and currently serves as a Policy Co-Chair for Black Youth Project 100’s DC Chapter. No longer required to work as a Graduate Assistant to receive funding, Shotwell is excited to use her National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to spend more time reading, writing and crafting her dissertation research. Her research proposal draws from Black studies and critical ethnic studies to look at Black girls and femmes’ experiences with stress and coping in the U.S. public educational system. Her work is guided by Black feminism and a Critical Race Theory lens. Moving forward, Shotwell plans to become a tenure-track professor and continue her work as a community organizer.

Published on Tue, Apr 28, 2020 - 3:16PM