16 New Students Named Do Good Ambassadors for the 2021-2022 Academic Year

This October, 16 hardworking students were selected to serve in the second cohort of Do Good Ambassadors. The Do Good Ambassador program is a professional development and community-building program that engages passionate, inspired, and innovative Terps to do good in their communities, careers, and the world. Ambassadors are tasked with inspiring their peers and fellow Terps to get involved with the Do Good Institute, provide student feedback to the Do Good Campus team, and more. 

Since January 2020, Ambassadors have acted as peer-leaders of the Do Good Campus. Ambassadors have written articles for the Do Good Institute’s website, performed social media takeovers and created other social media content, provided support at campus events, conducted focus groups on Do Good programming and offerings, and visited classes to spread the word on how students can make a positive social impact. 

Students from eight colleges and schools, 16 majors and minors, spanning freshmen to seniors, and for the first time, graduate students, were selected to form the second cohort of Ambassadors. These students will have the unique opportunity to expand their knowledge and participation in Do Good campus activities while developing leadership skills and joining a community of changemakers.

This year, Isha Yardi and Hope Kahn will serve as Student Coordinators of the Ambassadors program. Isha and Hope were tasked with recruiting, hiring, and onboarding the second cohort of Do Good Ambassadors. They will continue to execute strategic program plans that equip Ambassadors to act as peer to peer ambassadors and leaders across campus.

The second cohort of Do Good Ambassadors includes:

Christina Armeni

Christina is a senior journalism and public policy double major. She came to college from Columbus, Ohio with a passion for storytelling and community outreach. Her interest in nonprofit work started in high school when she organized a weeklong fundraiser for Make-A-Wish that raised over $5,000. Christina spent this past summer working as a marketing and social media Impact Intern for the Complete Player Charity in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Christina is also a certified scuba diver who enjoys exploring new places with her friends. 

Basilica Arockiaraj

Basilica is a senior public health science major and is on the Master of Public Health in epidemiology track as part of the accelerated BS-MPH program. She was drawn to public health because of its ability to utilize creative thinking to develop policies and ideas that could improve the health of entire populations. In the future, Basilica aspires to pursue a career in epidemiology and focus on issues related to health equity. In her free time, she enjoys baking different kinds of desserts and volunteering with various on- and off-campus organizations.

Minahil Cheema

Minahil is a senior neurobiology & physiology major with a public policy minor in nonprofit leadership & social innovation. Minahil piloted TeleShadowing, a clinical shadowing program open to students across the world. She has been growing the program as a Do Good Accelerator Fellow since summer 2021. She is also involved on campus with the University Honors Student Board, the Student Health Advisory Committee, the Mental Health Coalition with Active Minds, and serves as the founding director of the Rotaract Club of UMD and is an Honors College Ambassador. Minahil aspires to pursue a career in medicine as a physician and address healthcare disparities in rural areas.

Kyle del Villar

Kyle is a senior economics and communications double major. This past summer, Kyle worked as a marketing intern with Joe’s Movement Emporium through the Do Good Institute’s Impact Interns program. Before attending the University of Maryland, he attended Prince George's Community College where he completed his associates degree. Kyle has a strong appreciation for music and art and readily takes recommendations from people who are willing to share some of their favorites.

Lynn-Marie Edwards

Lynn-Marie is a first year master of public management student at the School of Public Policy. She has worked as an attorney-at-law in the Trinidad and Tobago public service for four and a half years. This experience gave her a broad exposure to many public policy failings and shortcomings and prompted her interest in policy implementation and management in the justice system. Ultimately, she’d like to combine her legal experience and graduate degree to improve the administration of justice. Many of her interests relate to her love for people and engaging in meaningful conversation. These include public speaking, event hosting and coordination, current affairs, reading widely, legal research and writing, cooking, and baking, participating in cultural events like Trinidad and Tobago’s annual carnival, networking and travelling. She is committed to contributing to and developing any institution to which she belongs and her wider community. 

Alison Flangel

Alison is a sophomore government and politics major with a minor in public leadership. She is considering a 5th year to earn a masters with the public policy "4+1 program." Alison loves playing tennis and volunteering through various organizations on campus. 

Lily Fleischmann

Lily is a freshman public policy major. After leading many social action-based clubs in high school, Lily knows she loves to organize and manage people, and she wants to do so in a way that will make the world a better place. She intends to minor in nonprofit leadership and hopes to one day work at a nonprofit or in government. Lily is also a student in the Public Leadership Scholars program, where she is learning more about leadership strategies and traits. Lily interned with Wellspring Living this past summer, an organization in Atlanta that helps survivors of human trafficking on their path to recovery. In her free time, Lily loves to draw and paint and enjoys exploring the outdoors by hiking, kayaking, and swimming. 

Ari Geller

Ari is a freshman business management major and a member of the Public Leadership Scholars program. He intends to minor in nonprofit leadership as well in Judaic studies. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Krieger Schechter Day School and Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School. In his free time, Ari enjoys binging shows like Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, playing and watching sports, doing genealogy research, and attending Capital Camps in the summers.

Janice Lee

Janice is a sophomore early childhood education major interested in learning more about the parallels between education and public policy. She is interested in the interconnectedness between traditional schooling and non-governmental organizations in advancing education. In the future, she hopes to continue to be an advocate for education and education policy with the goal of teaching abroad. In her spare time, she loves to cook new foods and watch movies with her family.

Miriam Oke

Miriam is a freshman finance major with a minor in Italian. In addition to being a Do Good Ambassador, she is also a part of the Scholars Advisory Board as the Public Leadership Freshman Representative. Additionally, she works as a Resident Life community assistant, where she greets residents and guests with a smile. She loves going to the gym, creating picture albums, hanging out with friends, and meeting new people. 

Carlos Alberto Orbe, Jr.

Carlos is a master’s candidate for the School of Public Policy. He is pursuing a dual specialization in social policy and leadership/management. He hopes to bring systemic revitalization to criminal justice reform affecting many minority communities across the country. Previously, Carlos worked at the Department of Justice as a paralegal specialist within the criminal division, fraud section. In his role, he gained a dynamic understanding of criminal justice and worked with a myriad of Federal agencies towards the common goal of equity for the afflicted. Carlos graduated from Manhattan College with a BA in communications concentrated in public relations and a minor in philosophy on a Lasallian Leader scholarship in recognition of his service towards the at-risk community at large. Post graduation, Carlos completed his law school pipeline program and served as an Americorps volunteer at De La Salle North Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon. Carlos is excited to bring his expertise and passion to the Do Good Institute and the students of UMD.

Antonio Santoro

Antonio is a dual master's student pursuing degrees in social work and public policy. He is most interested in concepts pertaining to society, culture, and humanitarian progress. Antonio likes to spend his free time writing short stories, creating art, playing music, and being outside. Some books that inspire him include Les Misérables (Victor Hugo), The Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills), and Reinventing Organizations (Frederic Laloux).

Lulit Shewan

Lulit is a junior public policy major with a minor in innovation & entrepreneurship. She currently serves as a staff and executive board member of the Youth Activism Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on fostering civic engagement and social impact among youth. In addition, she is the Activism Chair of the NAACP at the University of Maryland, heading committees that focus on topics such as community organizing, colonized health, and allyship in social justice. She is also a former Media, Self, and Society Scholar. She enjoys both creative and publication writing, and is always striving to improve her critical thinking and articulation skills.

Tesia Shi

Tesia is a junior neurobiology and psychology double major. She got involved with the Do Good Institute her freshman year through Do Good Now: Innovation & Social Change, a Do Good course. Over the summer, she was a Do Good Accelerator Fellow working on Lean On Me (LOM) College Park, a peer-to-peer, non-crisis mental health text line. Outside of ambassadors and LOM, she works as a Step-UP! educator for CARE to Stop Violence hosting bystander intervention workshops. In her free time, she enjoys going on walks and munching on bagels. 

Eveleen Singh

Eveleen is a junior neuroscience major. She intends on becoming involved in qualitative neuroscience research and hopes to eventually run a nonprofit organization. She is extremely passionate about advocating against mental health stigma and working to relieve the effects of poverty.

Gracie Tanner

Gracie is a junior public policy and multi-platform journalism double major with an interest in pre-law. She currently serves as the president and editor-in-chief of Her Campus at Maryland, a women's empowerment publication at UMD, and is a part of the University Honors community. Outside of school, Gracie is passionate about women's rights, working towards a clean environment, and gun violence awareness. Currently, Gracie is enrolled in a Do Good Now course, for which she and her peers created “Trash Talk” — an initiative to examine the pollution generated on campus.