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Wislande Guillaume
Douglass College Class of 2012
Amelia T. C. Watkins Scholarship
Scholarship support from the Amelia T. C. Watkins Scholarship gives Wislande Guillaume peace of mind from financial concerns while studying at Douglass.  She is a women’s and gender studies and political science major, with a minor in psychology and will receive a certificate in women’s leadership. Wislande is goal oriented and passionate about human rights and strives to understand the experiences of others.
Last year, as a resident of the Human Rights House in the Global Village, she traveled to Romania to learn about children’s rights. She witnessed poverty in a developing country through a summer internship at a refugee camp in Ghana with the Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment.
She shares her strength as a leader as a Red Pine Ambassador and as a member of Scarlet Listeners, a student-run peer counseling center.
“Douglass shows me that I have something to offer the world,” says Wislande, who aspires to join the Peace Corps and pursue a graduate degree in gender and economic development.
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Taylor Melde
Douglass College Class of 2013
Recipient of the Edward L. and Ruth S. Hennessy Scholarship
"When I came to campus," says Taylor Melde '13, "I simply knew Douglass was home and that there would be so many opportunities available to help me become a successful leader."  She came to Douglass from DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, NJ, because she felt a strong sense community. Receiving the Edward L. and Ruth S. Hennessy Scholarship administered by the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College made Taylor realize the importance of alumnae support. "Other women believe in me," she says. The scholarship was established by Ruth Schilling Hennessy, Class of 1950, and her husband, Edward. Taylor is studying business and expects to major in marketing with a minor in international relations or finance.
A missionary trip last year to the Dominican Republic inspired Taylor to study international relations. Being immersed in the culture was a life-changing experience. Closer to home, Taylor volunteered during high school with the Interact Club, distributing food, clothing and toy to charitable organizations. As part of the National Honor Society and head cheerleader, she also raised funds for community organizations at bake sales.
Her parents instilled the importance of hard work, determination, respect and character. Taylor was selected to be a Douglass Orientation Leader this summer, and eventually hopes to make her mark as a successful international business woman.
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Raven McKenzie
Douglass College Class of 2012
Recipient of the Carol Bernadyn Hediger Fund
Scholarship support from the Carol Bernadyn Hediger Fund enabled Raven McKenzie '12 to live on campus in the Global Village.  "The experiences and knowledge I have gained living in the Women and Entrepreneurial Business House," she says "are invaluable." Each year the residents write and execute a business plan. Raven says she has become a "go-getter" because of the experience. She was drawn to Douglass because she saw what a positive experience her sister, Aija McKenzie '08, had as part of the Douglass community.
An East Asian Studies major with an emphasis in Japanese, Raven is also pursuing a minor in human resource management together with a certificate in international studies. Her interest in Japanese culture blossomed out of a fondness for Japanese animation and comics in high school. "If I can major in something I love, and work in a field related my passion, then I could not be any happier," says Raven who aspires to study abroad in Japan.
She would like to use the French and Japanese language skills she continues to develop in a future career in the government or hospitality industry.
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Brittany Durgin
Douglass College Class of 2010
Cell biology and neuroscience major Brittany Durgin '10 came to Douglass College with a clear passion for the sciences.  She has a minor is Women and Gender Studies and aspires to become a physician-scientist. She is the recipient of the Herman Caldwell Scholarship and the Ernst Albers-Schonberg Scholarship from the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College.
"Scholarship funding allows me to be more involved in campus organizations and focus on my studies," says Brittany. As a Project SUPER student, she considers mentoring other students one of her most important leadership roles at Douglass. She is also very active with the Douglass Project as a volunteer who teaches science to fourth graders.
"Douglass has given me so many opportunities," says Brittany. "As a first-year student, Douglass provided me with funding to work in a research lab, learning laboratory basics." From there, Brittany "jumped at the chance" to take a position as a research assistant in the lab. With the help of a Summer Research Stipend from the Douglass Project for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), she spent the last two summers under the guidance of mentors undertaking research in the lab.
Brittany's research, Defining the Functional Network of Epigenetic Regulators in Arabidopsis thaliana, was recently accepted for publication in the journal Molecular Plant, a tremendous honor for an undergraduate.
"In learning about the regulation of gene expression in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana," says Brittany, "we hope to gain a greater understanding of how a gene is expressed and what factors are involved in the expression of genes at different locations along a chromosome."
She is the co-first author on the paper and the only undergraduate. The paper was completed with a graduate student, a post-doctorate, and the principal investigator, Dr. Eric Lam, a faculty member in the Biotech Center for Agriculture and the Environment who heads the lab.
In addition, last year Brittany presented her research, Chromatin Charting Project: A Global Perspective on Epigenetic Modifications in Arabidopsis, at the Aresty University-Wide Undergraduate Research Symposium. She also presented her work to biotechnology industry representatives, government officials and students during an event at New Jersey's Biotechnology High School in Freehold.
"I want to be able to not just prescribe a remedy when I become a doctor, but to explore the cause of problems and create treatments to alleviate problems patients face," says Brittany.
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