CAS Student Spotlight

Fallon Jiménez was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, where she did an MS and BS in Animal Production Sciences at the National University of Colombia.

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of May 3rd

Raphael Osarense Iyamu, a computational linguist from Benin City, Nigeria, has recently earned his Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Florida. With a foundational education in Linguistics from the […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of October 10th

Belay Alem is an international student who was born and raised in the Northern part of Ethiopia. He is a Ph. D candidate in the Department of Anthropology. Before starting […]

CAS Shining Student Spotlight: Khumo Nicole Senuku

Khumo Nicole Senuku is a graduating student from UF’s Master of Sustainable Development Practice program. Born and raised in Gaborone, Botswana, Khumo has always been deeply committed to community development, […]

CAS Shining Student Spotlight: Chioma Iyamu

Chioma Iyamu is from Nigeria and pursued her undergraduate degree in Accounting at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. She recently completed a master’s degree in Sustainable Development Practice, […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of April 19th

Macodou Fall is a PhD Candidate and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Religion at the University of Florida. He holds a BA and a Master’s degree in English from Cheikh […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of April 11th

Walter Tapondjou was born in Douala, Cameroon, in Central Africa. He describes himself as a proud Bamiléké from Dschang, a small city in the highland of the west region where […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of March 8th

Kayan Clarke was born and raised in Jamaica. She is a fourth year PhD Public Health student in the Environmental and Global Health Department. She completed her undergraduate studies at […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of March 1st

Grace Tovkach is a fourth-year undergraduate student, majoring in International Studies and Dual Languages (French and Russian). Although born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, her work and studies have taken […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of February 22nd

Lory is a 5th-year Ph.D. candidate in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. She obtained a B.S. and M.S. from Virginia Tech in Biological Systems Engineering. She traveled to Uganda several times […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of February 1st

Matthew is originally from Florida, though he spent significant time outside the state (and the country). He is a graduate student in the geography department, and he is closely connected […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of January 17th

Mosúnmọ́lá O. Adéòjó was born and raised in Nigeria before traveling in 2017 for a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship (FLTA) Program at Yale University. She is currently a Ph.D. […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of November 23rd

Khumo Senuku’s research examines systems thinking in addressing structural poverty among the formerly incarcerated– creating equitable and inclusive prosperity for all. She is conducting her study locally in Gainesville, working […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of November 9th

Amanda Ojeda was born and raised in Miami, Florida, with a heritage from Cuba and Venezuela. She is a microbiologist with five years of lab experience, including working in the […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of November 2nd

Cristovão Nwachukwu is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in English at the University of Florida. He obtained his B.A. in Portuguese and English language and literature in 2017 from the Federal […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of October 26th

Amie Edwards is a second-year Ph.D. Candidate in the College of Design Construction and Planning, School of Architecture. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design from the […]

CAS Student Spotlight: Week of October 19th

Faith Aiya is a second-year master’s student in the food and resource economics department. She hails from Edo, Nigeria, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 2017. Faith’s […]

CAS Community Spotlight: Pazeni Sauti Africa Choir and Eric Murianki (Director)

CAS Community Spotlight Pazeni Sauti Africa Choir and Eric Murianki (Director) Eric Murianki is Director of Pazeni Sauti and a graduate research assistant at the Center for Arts, Migration, and […]

Research Tutorial at Home Student Feature: Lauren Gilbertsen

Research Tutorial At Home with Dr. Rose Lugano Documentation of for a Kitaita (Kidaw’ida)-English Dictionary: Final Review in Preparation for publication The objective of the research was to conduct a […]

Undergraduate Research Tutorial at Home with Dr. Janzen

Glimpses of Haiti in West Africa, 1900-1920 Philip Janzen Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Florida In 2016, I was in Ibadan, Nigeria, reading through the Herbert Macaulay collection […]

Student Feature: Katelyn Flaherty, Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellow

Katelyn Flaherty is a 4th year MD-PhD student in the Department of Environmental and Global Health. Her research focuses on pre-hospital care in low-and-middle income countries, specifically Ghana. Globally, leading […]

MDP Student Ange Asanzi Presents Work on Inequality in Alachua County

Watch the presentation here and read a summary of her work below! Summary In this presentation, Ange presents the results of her MDP field practicum research through which she explored […]

Recap: SASA with Ayobami Edun

On Feb 10th, 2021, Ayobami Edun, a PhD Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UF presented at the SASA (Students in African Studies Association) meeting. His lecture was titled, […]

Doro Wot (ዶሮ ውጥ) with Kyle Fahey

Doro Wot (ዶሮ ውጥ) Graduate Student Kyle Fahey is a talented chef. He knows how to make Ethiopian dishes, like this Doro Wat, with the help and experience of the […]

Returning from the Field: Graduate Student Megan Cogburn on Research and Motherhood

Research Post Written by Megan Cogburn (PhD Candidate, Anthropology) For the past 8 months I have been in Tanzania completing a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research project. My ethnographic research focuses […]

Student Feature: Martina Onyenwe

Martina Onyenwe is a 3rd year Public Health and International Studies dual degree student. She has a minor in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance as well as a certificate in Geospatial […]

Student Feature: Savannah Hall

Savannah Hall is a third year anthropology student, currently focusing her studies on zooarchaeology. She has studied Kiswahili at the University of Florida since her first semester, and continues to […]

Research Feature: Riley Ravary

Our own Programs and Communications Officer, Riley Ravary, will bid a eight-month farewell to the Center as she heads to Uganda for dissertation research on a Fulbright-Hays DDRA grant. Riley’s research […]

Student Feature: Melody Mullally, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Melody Mullally is a senior Undergraduate student in Anthropology, History, and Botany. In spring of 2017, she participated in the University of Florida’s study abroad program in Ethiopia, researching Stone […]

Student Feature: Carli Snyder, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

In her work this semester at the Center for African studies, Carli Snyder hopes gain more knowledge and insight on how she can forward the Center as much as possible in my […]

Student Feature: Morgan Ungrady, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Morgan Ungrady is a 4th year Political Science major. She has a specialty in International Relations as well as a minor in French. Morgan has been involved with the Center for African […]

Student Feature: Melody Mullally, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Melody Mullally is a senior Undergraduate student in Anthropology, History, and Botany. In Spring of 2017, she participated in the University of Florida’s study abroad program in Ethiopia, researching Stone Age […]

Student Feature: Mouhamadou Hoyeck, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Mouhamadou Hoyeck is a 4th year political science major and African Studies minor. Throughout his two years spent at the University of Florida as an undergraduate student, Mouhamadou has participated extensively in […]

Student Feature: Elisabeth Rios-Brooks, CAS Undergraduate Ambassador

Elisabeth Rios-Brooks is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Florida. She is currently double majoring in Anthropology and International Studies with a focus on Africa. Her involvement throughout her […]

Student Feature: Ayobami Simeon Edun

Ayobami Simeon Edun is a first-year master’s student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. He graduated from Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria in […]

Student Feature: Dan Eizenga

Dan Eizenga is a PhD Student in Political Science focused on the Sahel. During his first two years as a PhD Student, Dan benefitted from Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships […]

Student Feature: Kehinde Ojo

Kehinde Ojo is a second-year master’s student in the Department of Food and Resource Economics, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in […]

Student Feature: Laurin Baumgardt

Laurin Baumgardt is a first year PhD student in Anthropology. His prospective PhD research centers on questions of urban innovation, humanitarian design, and urban planning strategies. The research will be based […]

Student Feature: Emmanuel Akande

Emmanuel Akande is a 3rd year Ph.D. student in the Department of Food and Resource Economics (FRE). He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics from University of Lagos, Nigeria, in 2008 […]

Student Feature: Sarah Meyers

Sarah Meyers is a Center for African Studies graduate student in Anthropology. She is a first year student and holds a FLAS Fellowship with the Center. Her research examines the use […]

Student Feature: Fezile Mtsetfwa

Fezile Mtsetfwa is a PhD student at the School of Natural Resources and Environment enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Ecology Program. She also works for the Center for African Studies as the […]

Student Feature: Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim is a PhD candidate in political science and a research associate with the Sahel Research Group. His dissertation, “Political Contestation and Islamic Discourses in the Sahel: Global […]

Student Feature: Sheila Maingi

Sheila Maingi, a 2nd year student in the Masters of Development Practice (MDP) program, conducted research in Gauteng Province, South Africa this past summer. She partnered with Gender Links for Equality and […]

Spotlight on New Programs and Communications Officer

Hello! I’m Riley Ravary, the new Programs and Communications Officer taking over for Jenny Boylan. This is my fourth year at UF researching East African protected areas through the Anthropology doctoral […]

Student Feature: John Hames

John Hames defended his dissertation in April 2017 and will graduate with his PhD in Anthropology this coming August. His doctoral research analyzes the practice of language activism among a […]

Student Feature: Chizoba Ezenwa

Chizoba Ezenwa is a fourth-year International Studies- Africa major at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. She will receive her B.A. with a minor in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance […]

Student Feature: Emmanuel Akande

I am Emmanuel Akande, Ph.D student in Food and Resource Economics (FRE). I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Economics from University of Lagos, Nigeria, in 2008 where I graduated at the […]

Student Feature: Chesney McOmber

Chesney McOmber is a PhD candidate in Political Science. Her dissertation is titled, “The Feminization of Rural Space: Exploring Gender, Power, and Demographic Change in Africa.” Demographic change is an important […]

Student Feature: Jennifer C. Boylan

Dr. Jennifer C. Boylan graduated with a PhD in Political Science from UF in December 2016. A democratization scholar, Boylan’s research analyses development and identity politics in Ghana through an institutional […]

Student Feature: Mustapha Mohammed

Mustapha Mohammed is a 2nd year PhD student in the Department of Anthropology. Mohammed’s research interest focuses on ancient iron-smelting sites in Nasia. Nasia is one of the major traditional towns […]

Student Feature: Ben Burgen

Ben Burgen is a PhD candidate in cultural anthropology. His research focuses on the motivations for and impacts of migration from the rural Senegal River Valley to urban and transnational destinations. […]

Student Feature: Jesse Borden

Jesse Borden is an MSc student in the Interdisciplinary Ecology program through the School of Natural Resources and Environment. He is a FLAS Fellow with the Center for African Studies and […]

Student Feature: Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore is a third year PhD student in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation under the advisement of Dr. Madan Oli. Jennifer has spent the last two years working in collaboration with […]

Student Feature: Mandisa Roeleene Haarhoff

Mandisa Roeleene Haarhoff is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Florida. She comes to UF from South Africa on a Fulbright Scholarship. Her dissertation considers the […]

Student Feature: Ben Lowe

Ben Lowe M.S. Student, Interdisciplinary Ecology Program 2016-17 FLAS Fellow, Center for African Studies There is considerable knowledge today about the unprecedented impacts we are having on the earth, […]

Student Feature: Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim’s (PhD candidate, Political Science) dissertation research focuses on political contestation and Islamic discourse in the Sahel region. It addresses the questions of why and how have political contestations […]

Student Feature: Lina Benabdallah

Lina Benabdallah is an ABD PhD candidate at the department of Political Science and Center for African Studies at UF. She is an avid follower of China-Africa relations broadly defined and focused her dissertation on the aspect […]

Student Feature: Werede Hagos

Werede Hagos is a MA student in African Archaeology and Amharic language instructor at the University of Florida. His studies involve the prehistory of East Africa, with a special focus […]

Student Feature: Emily Pukuma

Emily Pukuma is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science. She is currently writing her dissertation concerning British colonial legacies and democracy. It is a multi-method study of why […]

Student Feature: Oumar Ba

Oumar Ba is a PhD candidate in the department of political science, studying International Relations. His research interests lie at the intersection between the politics of international justice, states’ interests, and […]

Student Feature: Scott Hussey

Scott Hussey is an ABD doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology at UF. His dissertation project investigates a network of captivity and ransom of European Christians during the Early Modern period (1500-1800) in the […]

Student Feature: Mamadou Bodian

Mamadou Bodian (PhD Candidate, Political Science): My dissertation topic is: “The Politics of Electoral Reform in Francophone West Africa: the Birth and Change of Electoral Rules in Mali, Niger, and Senegal”. […]

Student Feature: Cady Gonzalez

Cady Gonzalez is a second year MA student in cultural anthropology and an Amharic Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) fellow. This past summer, she attended Afaan Oromoo language training and […]

Student Feature: Benjamin Smith

Benjamin Smith’s (MA Candidate, Anthropology) research focuses on the archaeology of Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Many scholars believe that modern human behaviors evolved […]

Student Feature: Amanda B. Edgell

From January to August 2016, Amanda B. Edgell (PhD Candidate, Political Science) conducted fieldwork in Uganda and Kenya. Edgell’s dissertation assesses the effectiveness of gender quotas at achieving long-term, sustainable representation for […]

Student Feature: Justin Hoyle

Justin Hoyle is a third year PhD student in Political Science. Over the summer he spent a month in Cairo, Egypt conducting fieldwork for his dissertation project entitled “Determinants of […]

Student Feature: Netty Carey

Netty Carey is a second year MA student in Anthropology. This past summer, she conducted field research in Ghana, dedicating six weeks of her trip to ethnographic research in Ada, a […]