Student Spotlight

Zaynab Quadri
Zaynab Quadri is a PhD student in the American Studies Department. She received her B.A. in History with honors from Northwestern University in 2015, where she was also a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow.
Colleen Shalby
Colleen Shalby is a graduate of GW's American Studies department. She now works at the Los Angeles Times as a reporter.

Mackenzie Roberts
Mackenzie Roberts is a graduate of GW's American Studies department. She now works an Assistant Public Defender at the Alexandria Public Defender's Office.

Brydie O'Connor
Brydie O'Connor is a graduate of GW's American Studies Department.
Brooke Schlesinger
Brooke Schlesinger is a graduate of GW's American Studies Department. She has gone on to work at TEDx and currently is employed at Ad Council.
Vyta Baselice
Vyta Baselice entered the PhD program in Fall 2016. She is interested in the intersecting histories of architecture, materials, historic preservation, capitalism and labor.

Jesslyn Zakes
American Studies major Jesslyn Zakes (BA ’20) traveled to the Phil Ochs archive at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma in March 2020, with support from Columbian College and the Department of American Studies.
Becky Beaulieu
Becky Beaulieu is a graduate of GW's American Studies department. She is currently the Director of the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut.Kyle Riismandel
Kyle Riismandel is a 2010 graduate of GW's American Studies PhD program and is a cultural historian of cities, suburbs, media, and technology in recent American history.