Lennex Cowan
In Summer 2020, Lennex Cowan was awarded a DePaul University Community-and Project-Based Internship Scholarship to work as Spotlight Curator for the Virtual Asian American Art Museum (VAAAM); a collective of digital humanities projects led by several institutions across the country. The Spotlight series is a look at more contemporary visual and performance artists who center their art in addressing global issues by connecting their perspectives to activist movements from different people of color. Through interviews, web design, and video production, Lennex had the opportunity to spotlight the work of Aram Han Sifuentes, Larry Lee, and Anida Yoeu Ali. In addition to working with VAAAM, Lennex is also a graduate assistant with the Department of Teacher Education in the College of Education and an education manager. After graduating, he plans to start a Ph.D. program in African American Studies in Fall 2021.
Whitney Spencer
Whitney Spencer was awarded the 2019
Roger Ebert Fellowship at the Sundance Institute, a workshop that brings together emerging film writers, critics, and filmmakers for mentorship jointly by the Sundance Film Festival and RogerEbert.com. Whitney was a 2018
TEDxDePaulUniversity featured speaker with her talk,
Reimagining the Intellectual. Most recently, she served as an intern at Kartemquin Films under the accomplished documentary filmmaker, artistic director and founding member of Kartemquin, Gordon Quinn. Whitney is a visual storyteller, focused on mastering the tools of filmmaking in order to reshape the understanding of the visual, cultural and intellectual aesthetics of self-defined Blackness.
Alexis Beamon
In Winter 2019, Alexis Beamon was chosen as one of eight fellows for the Chicago Gun Violence Research Collaborative (CGVRC) Fellowship Program. The fellowship, sponsored by the Sinai Urban Health Institute, engages an interdisciplinary team of graduate and professional students across Chicago universities in research focused on producing epidemiologic profiles and mapping youth violence prevention assets for Chicago neighborhoods highly impacted by gun violence. The CGVRC Research Fellowship Program supports future professionals who have the passion and ability to positively affect change that reduces gun violence in Chicago neighborhoods and promotes youth opportunities. Beginning Fall 2019, she will attend DePaul University College of Law.