Ahmed Daraalla ’28
My name is Ahmed Dafaalla (you can use Aw Med and Da Fa La), I go by he/him pronouns, and I am a current 3rd year here at Grinnell! I am originally from California (LA County), and you’ll probably see me biking around campus from time to time. I am currently a chemistry major with an intended additional neuroscience concentration down the line, and this is my first year with Vivero. I am interested in public health, health equity, and science communication. I am so excited for the year to come, and building/honing my skills pertaining to digital studies. Some activities I enjoy doing in my spare time (is that a thing anymore?) are the gym, music, baking, cooking, movies (marvel, DCAU, horror, animated), journaling, and video games with friends. I also have an orange cat who’s biblical sloth motivates me to be productive :).
Ahmed’s project is Refreshing the World Musical Instrument Collection with Prof. Roger Vetter.
Alex Nerubay ’28
Alex’s project is Eugenics at Grinnell with Prof. Kent McClelland.
Amy Kan ’27
Amy Kan (they/she) is a fourth-year art history major and Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow at Grinnell College. They are a scholar of 20th century American and European art working on Swiss-American artist-poet Sonja Sekula’s poetry in relation to Gertrude Stein’s continuous present and insistence as repetition as well as camp, mysticism, and silence in American artist Paul Thek’s late paintings.
Amy’s project is HADC: Haitian Art Digital Crossroads with Prof. Petrouchka Moïse.
Becky Santizo-Zapeta ’28
Becky’s project is Black History and Legacy at Grinnell with Valeriya Woodard.
Bruno Sica ’27
Hi, I’m Bruno Sica, a fourth-year Vivero fellow. from Fort Collins, Colorado. I’m somone who like to get out a lot especially during the summer. Back home you can find me either hiking or bird watching with those I know at Colorado State. Inside I enjoy cooking and reading. My favorite book is Project Hail Mary. This semester I hope to get into baking and find some good recipes online. On this page, you will find blog posts about my project from last year and work I’m currently up to.
Bruno’s project is Digital Narrative for RUS 214 Comrades in the Kitchen with Prof. Todd Armstrong.
Carrie Anne Little ’28
Hello! My name is Carrie Anne Little. Out in the wild you can call me Carrie or Carrie Anne, I use both! As of writing this I am a third year Grinnell student, class of `28, a computer science major (if we had minors I would also claim anthro and spanish), and this is my first semester as a Vivero Digital Fellow. As a fellow I am excited to further explore the digital world outside of CS and collaborate with a faculty member in the process. Outside of work and academics I am a leading member of the Relish Food Co-op, a brand new co-op partnered with The Iowa Kitchen.
Carrie Anne’s project is Beyond the Search Bar: A Digital Escape Room About Library Resources with Prof. Sol Cátala-Valentín.
Isaiah Schlimm ’27
My name is Isaiah Schlimm. I am a senior at Grinnell college studying English and Philosophy. My academic interests lie in poetry, games, digital humanities, and philosophy of religion. In the future, I would like to work in the nonprofit sector. In the past I have interned with organizations like The Christian Century and The Tribal Law and Policy Institute, doing editorial and communications work respectively. As a Vivero Fellow I have a passion for making complex topics and ideas accessible through digital mediums. Two years ago I had the pleasure of partnering with Grinnell College’s Center for Careers, Life, and Services to help design a website for Map the System, an international student research project. Since the start of last fall, I partnered with Grinnell College Professor Jen Shook to work on Instead of Redface, a digital resource documenting material for instructors teaching and studying Indigenous performance in the United States. When I’m not typing away and working on a website or paper, I can be found hiking, reading, or wrangling my seven siblings around town.
Isaiah’s project is Instead of Red Face with Prof. Jen Shook.
Jude Zamora Morgan ’27
Jude Zamora Morgan is a fourth year History major at Grinnell College, originally from Morristown, New Jersey. His academic interests lay in Reconstruction American legal history, as well as the post-Soviet world. His most recent project focuses on mapping white supremacist legislation and its impact on the justice system with Dr. Sarah Purcell.
Jude’s project is The Historian as Detective: A Digital Primary-Source Archive with Prof. Weiwei Luo.
Meryem Koksal ’28
I am Meryem, a third-year Computer Science Major at Grinnell College. I am interested in interactive and immersive technologies. I love learning about different cultures, and I have been learning Korean for the last 4 years. I also enjoy acting, playing volleyball, reading webtoons, and playing Minecraft. I love watching Korean dramas (especially with a passion fruit bubble tea) . I’ve also tried just about every craft you can think of—from macramé and beading to cross-stitching, knitting, sewing.
Meryem’s project is Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies Digital Archive with Kate Baumgartner and Erik Sanning. (Fall 2026 only.)
Molly Ryan ’27
Hi! My name is Molly Ryan and I am a Senior at Grinnell College where I study Psychology and Environmental Studies. I am interested in how physical and digital spaces shape our behavior and experience.
This year I will be working with Professor Carolyn Jacobson to digitally showcase important findings and student MAP projects from the first-edition Extra-Illustrated Life of Dickens, currently residing in the Grinnell College Library Special Collections.
Molly’s project is Extra-Illustrated Life of Dickens with Prof. Carolyn Jacobson.
Ngoc Ta ’27
Ngoc Ta is a fourth-year Computer Science and Math major from Oakland, California. Given their passion for learning new concepts and helping people with technology, they enjoy their work as a Vivero fellow. Their hobbies include reading, playing video games, and ensuring that every cat they meet knows it is the most perfect creature in existence.
Working as a digital fellow under Professor Shigeta-Schimmel, Ngoc is mapping out the interactive timelines and coding the digital infrastructure needed to showcase how these early Japanese students shaped global history. They approach building this website with the exact same level of stubborn dedication and perfectionism they usually reserve for their absolute favorite task: worshiping cats.
Ngoc’s project is Early Japanese Students at Grinnell with Prof. Mariko Shigeta Schimmel.
Olyvia L-C ’27
Olyvia’s project is THD-295 Choreography: Djatigui-Ya (Hospitality/Welcome Home) with Prof. Aguibou Sanou.
Reid Singer ’29
Hi there! My name is Reid Singer, and I am currently a sophomore studying philosophy and anthropology. This year, I’ll be working on the EU Policy Tax Analysis Project. I’m also interested in potentially pursuing a career at the intersection of law and education. On campus, you can usually find me studying in Noyce or, sometimes, hanging out at the Disability Cultural Center.
Reid’s project is EU Policy Text Analysis with Prof. Jonathan Larson.
Sarah Qi ’27
Hi! I’m Sarah, a senior at Grinnell College studying Computer Science with a concentration in Statistics. I’m interested in the ways technology, data, and people intersect, especially how digital tools can support learning, creativity, and collaboration.
Sarah’s project is We Are What We Eat (and Serve): Chinese American Restaurants in Small-Town Iowa with Prof. Jin Feng. (Fall 2026 only.)
Serena Tran ’29
Hi! My name is Serena Tran. I’m a sophomore at Grinnell College and intend to major in Economics & Statistics.
Serena’s project is History of Women’s Cross Country at Grinnell with Prof. Sarah Burnell.
Steph Kama-Kama ’28
Hi, hello! I’m Steph, a junior computer science major and varsity athlete here at Grinnell. I’m interested software engineering/development, web development and computer engineering. Outside of coding, i like to read, draw, listen to music and make things.
Steph’s project is the Concert Recording Archive with Erik Jarvis. (Fall 2026 only.)
Tram Tran ’27
Hello. My name is Tram Tran (she/her) majoring in Biochemistry with Statistics Concentration. I am excited to be a Vivero fellow this year and look forward to learning new digital skills and applying it to my project.
Tram’s project is Mapping Racial Trauma with Prof. Stephanie Jones.
Zach Rusli ’28
My name is Zach Rusli, and I’m a third-year Physics major at Grinnell College. This is my second year as a Vivero Fellow. I’m particularly interested in the intersection of science and the humanities, and how we can apply scientific principles and analytical methods in different ways. In my free time I enjoy playing games (video, card, and tabletop roleplaying), reading, lifting weights, and going on walks.
Last academic year, I worked with Minna Mahlab, the director of Grinnell’s Science Learning Center, to annotate and digitize a collection of peer-reviewed references informing the best practices for STEM education. This year, I am working with Dr. Jordan Resnick to digitally catalog student’s final projects for AMS-130 (Introduction to American Studies).
Zach’s project is American Culture Site Map with Prof. Jordan Reznick.
