Former Council Members: 2019-20
Emily Carll
Emily Carll (’20) is a senior at Stony Brook University double majoring in Political Science and Asian Studies with minors in International Studies and Russian Studies. Originally from Livonia, New York, Emily found her niche at here at SBU and has taken advantage of every opportunity. Since beginning her career at SBU, Emily has studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, and served as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for three different political science classes. She has been involved in the campus community as a Resident Assistant, Student Ambassador through the Office of the Dean of Students, member of the Women’s Leadership Council, intern for the Office of External Scholarships and Fellowships, and both a coordinator and counselor for Camp Kesem at Stony Brook University.
In addition to this involvement in the campus community, Emily works at both the Staller Center for the Arts and the Eleanor Roosevelt Quad Office. Emily spent the past two summers working for the Department of State as a Foreign Service Intern in both Washington D.C. and at the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. As a member of COSA, Emily is looking forward to working with a driven team of students to make tangible change for the betterment of students, staff and faculty at SBU for years to come.
Ruben De Man
Ruben De Man (‘20) is a senior originally from Belgium. He is enrolled in the Honors College, majoring in Biochemistry. Outside of his coursework, Ruben is an undergraduate teaching assistant for Applied Mathematics and Statistics and Biomedical Engineering, and an undergraduate research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David McKinnon and Dr. Barbara Rosati in Neurobiology and Physiology.
He has been awarded the Stony Brook Institute for Molecular Cardiology Fellowship and several travel grants to attend international conferences in the areas of Radiology and Machine Learning.
Ruben is highly motivated to work with the President’s Council of Student Advisors to study the Stony Brook Curriculum and its role in contributing to a broad, liberal education.
Taylor Esposito
Taylor Esposito is a Junior within Stony Brook’s Honor College, and she is pursuing a double major in Political Science and Philosophy and a double minor in United States History and Professional Writing.During her time at Stony Brook University, she has served as an Orientation Leader, Leadership and Service Forever Fellow, Resident Assistant, Women’s Leadership Council Student Member, Student Member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Arts and Science, a JFEW Fellow, and a Student Assistant at the Dean of Students’ Office. Last summer, she was a student researcher for the Summer URECA program and did her research in de facto segregation in New York City public schools with Dr. Braden Hosch.
Taylor is also involved on campus in Model United Nations, Pre-Law Society, I AM THAT GIRL, and Mock Trial. She is currently the President of I AM THAT GIRL and the Captain of the Stony Brook Mock Trial team. Taylor is well known for her love for Disney movies and women’s rights.
Paris Fisher
Paris Fisher (‘20) is a senior from Westchester County, New York. She studies computer science and the role of gender in the tech industry as a student within the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Honors program. Paris spends a lot of time encouraging racial and gender diversity in computer science through her work with Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, and Code2040. As a Code2040 fellow this past summer, she spent time learning about racial equity advocacy work while she interned for a gig-economy app called TaskRabbit in San Francisco. This semester she is interning with the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition service to make an app for the Child and Adult Care Food Program which feeds 4.2 million children daily.
Outside of tech, Paris volunteers for the United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship program which encourages woman run business in third world countries by giving out microloans. In her free time she enjoys travel, yoga, reading, and meditation. Paris hopes to utilize her position on COSA to create change within the university so that it is an even better environment for students to come.
Nic Grima
Nic Grima (’20) is a senior at Stony Brook majoring in Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a concentration in Public Health and minor in Chemistry.
At Stony Brook, Nic is involved on East Campus, working in the Multidisciplinary Lab where they prepare the lab and archival specimens for classes. Nic also works with the Lung Cancer Screening program to coordinate patient care.
On West campus, Nic has held jobs with LGBTQ* Services and AIDS Peer Education, as well as eboard positions on SB Trans* Alliance and Allies and the President’s Council of Student Advisors (COSA), where they function as a liaison between the student team and the President’s office.
After Stony Brook, Nic will continue to pursuing a career in healthcare for queer and/or trans* folks.
Elizabeth Marge
Elizabeth Marge (‘20) is a senior from Medford, NY majoring in Political Science and minoring in Technological Systems Management. On-campus she is a Resident Assistant in Chávez, Social Media Director for Her Campus, member of the American Red Cross Club, Sister of Theta Phi Alpha and Vice President of Leading Women of Tomorrow, a non-profit organization. She has conducted a vast amount of research on the correlation of Russian Interference regarding the 2016 United States Presidential Election, specifically by analyzing the Mueller Investigation.
Outside from extracurriculars and academics, Elizabeth just finished her internship with Presidential Candidate Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) where she served and was promoted as a Lead Intern. For the 2018-2019 Academic Year, she was given the Stony Brook University’s Alumni Association Award. Elizabeth is excited to be a member of the President’s Council of Student Advisors with the goal of providing more information to the president regarding the Stony Brook Curriculum, and wants to improve the Stony Brook experience for her fellow peers.
Ricardo Moncada Peon
Ricardo Moncada Peon (‘20) is a Senior from Weston, FL majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Since his freshman year, he has been involved in the athletics department as a team member of Stony Brook Men’s Soccer, a representative in the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a PACK Mentor for incoming freshmen, a Facilitator for the One Love Foundation, and as a TA for the Intro to Stony Brook course for freshmen and transfer students. Outside of athletics, Ricardo is proud to form part of the Stony Brook Student Ambassadors, the Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and now the President’s Council of Student Advisors (COSA).
In the 2018-2019 academic year, Ricardo was awarded with the Undergraduate Recognition Award for Outstanding Achievement in Leadership, and the Legacy way Award. He is currently continuing his summer internship into the fall semester as a Controls Engineer at Champion Controls, Inc.. Ricardo is excited to be a member of COSA and looks forward to using the team’s research to improve the lives of the Stony Brook students, faculty, and staff.
Marwah Rustemi
Marwah Rustemi (’20) is a senior from Plainview, NY, pursuing a major in biology with a minor in Italian Studies as part of the University Scholars program.
Marwah is an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Anat Biegon in the Department of Neurology, where she studies estrogen pathway markers in breast cancer.
During her academic career, Marwah has served as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for Human Anatomy and Molecular Science Laboratory courses. Marwah volunteers for the on campus organization, The Stony Brook Stitchers, where she creates items of clothing for donation to the community and the hospital.
In addition to her volunteer work on campus, Marwah also serves the off campus community through her work as an Emergency Medical Technician.
Tobi Somorin
Tobi Somorin (‘21) is a junior from Middletown, NY on the pre-med track majoring in Biochemistry. After medical school Tobi plans on becoming a trauma surgeon and later building his own hospitals and clinics. He has spent the last year and a half serving the Stony Brook community through SBVAC, the campus’s volunteer ambulance agency. He enjoys responding to 911 emergency calls and teaching others useful life-saving practices such as CPR and Stop The Bleed techniques.
Tobi is also the newest member of the INDUCER research program. INDUCER focuses on the cancer racial health disparities throughout the U.S., and seeks to put an end to the issues facing minorities in healthcare. He will be working under Dr. Kritzer and Dr. Williams this fall and is very excited to begin the journey. From helping kids in missions trips to the Cayman Islands, to sharing smiles with patients in behavioral health clinics, he’s eager to continue serving others through COSA. The opportunity is one he won’t let go to waste, and is ready to work with the team to improve the University.
Jessica Tom
Jessica Tom (‘20) is a senior from Flushing, NY studying Biology and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies as part of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program.
Jessica serves as a Student Ambassador for the Dean of Students and is a Peer Academic Success Coach (PASC) Tutor for the Academic Success and Tutoring Center. She conducts research on drug resistant mutations specific to chronic myeloid leukemia in the Pharmacology lab of Dr. Markus Seeliger.
In her free time, she performs for Stony Brook’s Cadence Step Team and volunteers in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Stony Brook Hospital.
As a member of COSA, Jessica is looking forward to working with students and faculty to make Stony Brook an even better place to be for future Seawolves.
Elizabeth Varghese
Elizabeth Varghese (‘20) is a senior from Old Bethpage, NY studying biology and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies as a part of the Scholars for Medicine (B.S./M.D.) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) programs.
Elizabeth received the URECA travel award to speak at the 2017 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ for her work on tissue engineered vascular grafts and is currently an undergraduate researcher in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. During the last two summers, she has worked closely with WISE faculty and advisors and has served as a mentor for incoming freshmen majoring in biology/biochemistry.
Elizabeth aspires to be a physician at the interface of reproductive medicine and health policy. As a member of COSA, she is eager to make tangible change in the lives of Stony Brook students and across the university via increased student-faculty dialogue.
Jessica Vilas-Boas
Jessica Vilas-Boas (‘20) is a senior from Central Islip, NY majoring in Biochemistry. Biomedical research being her passion, she is an undergraduate researcher in the pharmacology lab of Dr. Markus Seeliger where she studies a series of novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors that are related to FDA-approved leukemia drugs. She receives travel awards through the National Institutes of Health and the Center for Inclusive Education at Stony Brook to attend national research conferences.
Jessica received a 2018 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) presentation award in chemistry for her work involving drug binding kinetics. Additionally, she is on the CSTEP Advisory Board and the Women’s Leadership Council, both of which encourage mentorship and abolish boundaries for marginalized students.
A Studio Art minor with a concentration in photography, Jessica explores abstract topics in metaphysics as well as environmental sustainability in her pieces.