Graduates: SUNY Brockport

2020 Graduates

Shantise Balkum

Shantise is a senior Women and Gender Studies major. After graduation she plans to move to Florida and to pursue a masters hopefully in the WGS program, as well as work at a women’s clinic or shelter there. Her favorite color is purple and she loves to read and draw and work in the Prevention and Outreach/Women’s Center on campus. Shantise says about her memories of Brockport: “I am glad that I was able to leave my mark within the department and the school with putting together and hosting my very own program which was International Women’s Day(IWD). That event gave me the chance to showcase my love for the work that I do and the knowledge that I learned from WGS and educating the campus about it. I worked hard on it and seeing everyone enjoy it made all the long hours worth it. That will forever be favorite moment at Brockport! Thank you to the WGS department!” Thank you and congratulations, Shantise!

Grace Cunningham

Grace is a Women and Gender Studies major and minors in Theatre and Disability Studies. Grace is interested in equity in education and representation. Her essay for Dissenting Voices focuses on ways in which high school English curricula have replicated sexism, racism, and ableism and suggests alternate texts and contexts for reading that can help teach students more just frameworks for understanding their worlds. Grace interned at House of Mercy in Rochester, NY. She is a devoted activist, subtle critical thinker, and is the recipient of an Honorable Mention for Women and Gender Studies Service to the Discipline Award. Congratulations, Grace!

Courtney Earle

Courtney is a Women and Gender Studies major with a second major in Public Health Education. Courtney is interested in addressing disparities in health access on a broad scale. Her essay for Dissenting Voices looks at representations of menstruation and menstrual needs in for people who are houseless in the United States. She addresses various forms of inequities that arise as well as which avenues of address might be effective in various ways and circumstances, ultimately suggesting that gender ideologies and economic systems need to shift before any charitable or health-care based remedies can be fully effective. Courtney was our departmental intern for Women and Gender Studies in fall 2019 and she interned at The Red Cross in Rochester, NY. After graduation, she plans to serve in the Peace Corps as a health education volunteer. Courtney is our Departmental Scholar Award Winner. Congratulations, Courtney!

Kelsie Kupiac

Kelsie is a Women and Gender Studies and Communication double major. Her Dissenting Voices essay “Missing from Research: Exposing the Deficit in Knowledge and Research of Endometriosis and Women’s Health” was published last year and argues that endometriosis could be either less prevalent, or less excruciating in a society that integrates a feminist approach to health care. Kelsie is deeply committed to women’s health and representations of gender that serve all bodies. Kelsie has served as an RA and did an internship in Enrollment Management and Student Affairs at the University among other leadership positions. Kelsie also presented at the 6th Biennial Seneca Falls Dialogues in October, 2018. Congratulations, Kelsie!!

Isaiah Louis Jean

Isaiah is a Women and Gender Studies major with interests in the intersectional impacts of Western patriarchy globally. His essay in Dissenting Voices looks at impacts of representations in music videos on young women, particularly women from non-Western countries living in the United States. Isaiah has plans to be a professional dancer but would also like to work at a resource center for an oppressed population and continue the activism he has learned during his time with the Women and Gender Studies Department. Isaiah completed his internship at the Out Alliance in Rochester, NY. His feminist manifesto dress hangs in the Women and Gender Studies Department as a reminder of his important and ongoing work. Isaiah is the recipient of this year’s Harriet Whitney Award. Congratulations, Isaiah!!

Selena Robledo

Selena is a double major in Women and Gender Studies and Sociology. She is interested in how representations of gender and sexuality impact the lives of young women. Her Dissenting Voices essay looks at the hypersexualization of young women celebrities in the United States. Selena completed her internship in the Women’s Center and Title IX Office at Brockport. She has made a huge impact on the University through her service and scholarship and plans to continue to work for the equality of marginalized groups wherever her career takes her. Selena is recipient of an Honorable Mention for the Women and Gender Studies Service to the Discipline Award. Congratulations, Selena!

Megan Wright

Megan is a triple major in Women and Gender Studies, Spanish, Sociology with a minor in Art History! She has a broad range of interests but all converge on aesthetics, critical thinking, and social justice. Megan presented at the Sixth Biennial Seneca Falls Dialogues on “Queering the Brown in Hector Silvo’s Art.” She also presented a poster at the 2019 National Women’s Studies Association Conference. Her Dissenting Voices essay addressed representations or lack thereof of transgender characters in Spanish language cinema. She has been recognized by multiple departments with multiple honors. She served as our WGS Department Intern and has held numerous leadership roles on campus including president of both the Foreign Language Club and the Photography Club. Megan is the recipient of our Colleen Donaldson Leadership Award and a wonderful member of our community. Congratulations, Megan!

Congratulatory Message From Kyle Green