2024 Cohort

Julien Carreño

Julien Carreño is a junior at Hunter College majoring in philosophy, with a minor in English with a concentration in poetry. In addition to being a Mellon Mays fellow, Julien is also a member of the National Honors Society for Philosophy, Phi Sigma Tau.

On campus, Julien is the Philosophy Department writing tutor and co-president of the Philosophy Club, as well as a member of Hunter’s Mexican Student Union.

As a philosopher, Julien is primarily interested in ethics with a specific focus on Kant and political philosophy. Currently, he is researching the ethics of freedom with an emphasis on the right to revolution.

Alif Kazi

Alif Kazi is a junior at Hunter College double majoring in English literature and criticism and in sociology. He is also minoring in Asian American studies and psychology. Along with being a Mellon Mays fellow, Alif is also a Thomas Hunter Honors scholar and Athena Honors scholar. He serves on the Advisory Council for the Athena Honors program and manages their social media page. He also works as a tutor to students of various ages ranging from third grade to high school students. Moreover, he has conducted research as an undergraduate research assistant through Hunter College’s AANAPISI Project.

His research interests include identity formation, migration studies, and multicultural literature. Currently, Alif’s research focuses on South Asians and their presence in the U.S. during the twentieth century and how they fit into U.S. racial dynamics. To supplement his research, he is analyzing both films and literature concerning South Asians in the U.S. and their relations with other racial groups.

Ariana Rivera

Ariana A. Rivera is a junior at Hunter College majoring in Classical archaeology and minoring in psychology with a concentration in classical studies. In addition to being a Mellon Mays fellow, she is a Thomas Hunter Honors scholar and a Bluhm scholar. Rivera is an Earle Lecture award recipient and a student ambassador for Hunter USG.

Rivera has conducted research exploring how the Dying Warrior Pediments from the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina reflect a turning point in the self-representation of Greek statuary following the beginning of the Classical period. She hopes to further understand how narrative has been used as a tool in Classic statuary to emphasize the profound impact that the Persian War had on the ancient Greeks.

She is currently conducting research on the Sleeping Eros statue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. More specially, she is investigating its place in the intellectual currents of the time due to how it reflects Pausanias’ school of thought as described in Plato’s Symposium.