Work with the graduate school diversity and inclusion team
Each year since 2016, two graduate students are selected to serve as Diversity Fellows to support the efforts of the Diversity and Inclusion team. Their primary role is establishing and maintaining strong connections with current and prospective students, student organizations, and other community members, focusing on furthering diversity and inclusion initiatives. Fellows also assist with building inclusive intellectual and social spaces for all Indiana University Graduate School students, with a particular focus on underrepresented communities.
Ciara Thomas is currently a third-year doctoral student in School Psychology with a minor in Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. Originally from Homewood, Illinois, she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include disproportionality in underrepresented communities, disproportionality in neurodevelopmental diagnosis, especially autism, for Black youth, and multicultural assessment. She enjoys reading, watching reality TV, and socializing with others in her free time.
Siya Kulkarni (she/they), Counseling Psychology
Siya is a first-year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology, and earned her M.S.Ed in Mental Health Counseling from the same department at the Wendell Wright School of Education. She received a Bachelors in Strategy, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship from Purdue University. Her research centers dressing-as-communication, multicultural competence for counselors, and psychotherapeutic outcomes for immigrants and international students. She is a yoga and mindfulness trainer who thoroughly enjoys music and long walks at the Eskenazi Museum of Art. Her hometown is Pune, India, and she welcomes contact from prospective and current graduate students at shkulk@iu.edu.
Ciara Thomas (she/her)
Ciara Thomas is currently a second-year doctoral student in School Psychology with a minor in Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. Originally from Homewood, Illinois, she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include disproportionality in underrepresented communities, disproportionality in neurodevelopmental diagnosis, especially autism, for Black youth, and multicultural assessment. She enjoys reading, watching reality TV, and socializing with others in her free time.
Kerry Guest, Counseling, Sport & Performance Psychology
Kerry Guest is a fifth-year PhD Student in Indiana University’s Counseling Psychology program with a minor in Sport & Performance Psychology. A proud native of St. Louis, Missouri, Kerry has worked as an educator, personal trainer, mental skill consultant and behavioral health coordinator since 2014. Prior to arriving at IU, he was a Mental Conditioning Coach at IMG Academy. Kerry received his master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and bachelor’s in psychology at Illinois State University.
As a former collegiate athlete, Kerry remains passionate about the academic and sport platform as a social justice change agent. His research interests include the intersectionality of racial and athletic identity, sport transition for black and brown student-athletes and multicultural mentorship models for early-career professionals. Additionally, he is interested in mental skill applications for the corporate setting. Outside of academia and practicum, Kerry is an avid fitness enthusiast. He plans to pursue a career in private practice and social justice consultation.
Nayely Gonzalez, Counseling Psychology
Nayely Gonzalez is currently a fifth year Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology at Indiana University Bloomington. Her research focuses on human sexuality, Latinx mental health, sexual assault prevention strategies among college students, and clinical practice with LGBTQ+ populations. She is originally from Joliet, Illinois and has bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and English from Ripon College.
Kerry Guest, Counseling, Sport & Performance Psychology
Kerry Guest is a second-year PhD Student in Indiana University’s Counseling Psychology program with a minor in Sport & Performance Psychology. A proud native of St. Louis, Missouri, Kerry has worked as an educator, personal trainer, mental skill consultant and behavioral health coordinator since 2014. Prior to arriving at IU, he was a Mental Conditioning Coach at IMG Academy. Kerry received his master’s degree in Exercise and Sport Psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and bachelor’s in psychology at Illinois State University.
As a former collegiate athlete, Kerry remains passionate about the academic and sport platform as a social justice change agent. His research interests include the intersectionality of racial and athletic identity, sport transition for black and brown student-athletes and multicultural mentorship models for early-career professionals. Additionally, he is interested in mental skill applications for the corporate setting. Outside of academia and practicum, Kerry is an avid fitness enthusiast. He plans to pursue a career in private practice and social justice consultation.
Jacquelyn Grandy
Originally from Georgia, Jacquelyn is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in Inquiry Methodology at Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research focuses on issues related to qualitative participatory media methods, art-based research, representation and performativity of identity, and non-traditional educational environments. Before returning to school to pursue her degree at IU, Jacquelyn worked for non-profits in Portland, Oregon, focused on engaging a wide range of students in non-traditional academic settings and making higher education an achievable goal rather than an inaccessible dream.
DaAsia Johnson
DaAsia is currently pursuing the M.S. in Cybersecurity Risk Management degree housed in The University Graduate School. She is a native of Indianapolis, IN, and has a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Psychology from Indiana University Bloomington.
Jacquelyn Grandy
Originally from Georgia, Jacquelyn is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in Inquiry Methodology at Indiana University-Bloomington. Her research focuses on issues related to qualitative participatory media methods, art-based research, representation and performativity of identity, and non-traditional educational environments. Before returning to school to pursue her degree at IU, Jacquelyn worked for non-profits in Portland, Oregon, focused on engaging a wide range of students in non-traditional academic settings and making higher education an achievable goal rather than an inaccessible dream.
Michael Jefferson
Michael Jefferson is a second-year dual MPA-MSES student pursuing concentrations in energy and policy analysis. Here at IU, he is a Diversity Fellow for the University Graduate School, a research assistant studying coping mechanisms for energy insecurity, and the President of SEPA (Students for Equity in Public Affairs). Prior to coming to SPEA, he was a 2014 Teach For America Corps member, teaching chemistry in Mississippi and Memphis, TN. He earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from Florida A&M University in 2013. He is a native of Indianapolis, the eldest of four, a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and Bethel A.M.E. Church here in Bloomington.
Brandon Grant, MPH-Public Health Administration
School of Public Health ‘18
Kristen Hurns, MPA-Nonprofit Management
School of Public and Environmental Affairs ‘18
Master of Information Science
School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering ‘18
Kristen Hurns, MPA-Nonprofit Management
School of Public and Environmental Affairs ‘18
Master of Information Science
School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering ‘18
Brandon Washington, African American and African Diaspora Studies
