Sowande’ Mustakeem ’00 was the first Elon University student to craft an independent major in African & African-American Studies. After graduating from Elon in 2000, she received an M.A. in African-American and African Studies at Ohio State University. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in history at Michigan State. Her dissertation, “Ripples of Infinity: Gender, Health, and Violence in the Middle Passage 1721-1808”, conducts a social history of the slave ship experience during the legal slave trading period.

Jennifer Pierson ’06 considers herself a nomad.  She notes, “Home is wherever there are people that I love, friends, family, mentors.”  Jenn graduated with a degree in international studies, and with lots of minors, including African Studies, French, and Women’s/Gender Studies. Jenn writes, “My passions are African studies and the fight against HIV/AIDS.”  She has been involved in two organizations at school that concentrate on fighting AIDS and has been active in supporting the Amani Foundation and New Life. Her interests have taken her to Kenya, Ghana, and Senegal for study abroad.

Scott Adams ’07 graduated with a major in Communications. In addition to presenting his research on race in the media at Elon University’s annual Student Undergraduate Research Forum, Scott;s work was selected for publication in the National Council of Undergraduate Research proceedings published in the summer of 2007. Scott continues to maintain his commitment and interest to the study of Blacks, volunteering in the summer of 2007 at an orphanage in Kenya.

Danielle Beverly ’07 transferred to Elon University to pursue a degree in Sociology. Throughout her academic career, she has studied African & African-American history. literature, film, and sociology. Danielle hails from Massachusetts.

Erin McFee ’07 graduated with degrees in International Studies and Political Science. In addition to her minor in African & African-American Studies, she also minored in Non-Violence Studies. One of the several outstanding students to have graduated from the program, Erin studied abroad in Ghana in spring 2006 and interned at AllAfrica Global Media in summer of the same year, An Elon College Fellow, her senior research project topic compared students’ views on women in politics in Ghana nd the United States. She presented her research findings at the Elon University Student Undergraduate Research Forum in spring 2007. She is a Job Health Specialist with the Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan and plans to attend graduate school in 2009/2010 when she completes her service.

Ann Nastasi ’07 graduated with a degree in History. In addition to taking history courses at Elon focused on African and African-American experiences, her work in the minor also explored literature of the Harlem Renaissance and a geography course entitled “Africa s Peoples and Environments.”