Undergraduate Alumni

Undergraduate Alumni List

2019

Alexandra Johnson

 I graduated in 2019 as a Philosophy major and GSWS minor (with additional minors in History of Art and Law & Society), receiving the Charles W. Burr Book Prize, Phi Beta Kappa Humanities Essay Prize, and the Dick Wolf Best Essay Award. I deferred my enrollment at Yale Law School to spend two years at Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP in New York City, which is a plaintiff-side civil rights firm focusing on combating employment discrimination. I am currently a Senior Legal Assistant at the firm and will start at Yale Law School this fall (August 2021). It is in large part thanks to my GSWS coursework that I chose to pursue a legal career fighting for women's rights and LGBTQIAP+ rights, which I do every day in my current role as well.(Click above to read more.)

2017

Carol Quezada Olivo

I graduated from Penn in 2017 from the College of Arts & Sciences. I received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minored in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. Since graduating from Penn, I have worked in various Penn departments including Residential and Hospitality Services, Undergraduate Admissions, and most recently Alumni Relations in the Penn Alumni Interview Program. I am currently pursuing a Master’s of Science in Education with a focus on Higher Education. My goal is to support underrepresented populations in their pursuit of Educational Attainment and Social Mobility.

2015

Clarissa O'Conor

I graduated in 2015 with a double major in GSWS and Modern Middle Eastern Studies. I am now a first year medical student at Drexel. I hope to practice as a family medicine doctor, and be able to provide abortion care as part of my practice. It was through GSWS that I discovered my interest in becoming a healthcare provider. (Click above to read more.)

Kira Simon

I graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and moved to Washington, D.C., where I worked in the research team at EMILY’s List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics. My time in politics and what I learned through the GSWS program led me to attend law school to use my advocacy skills and passion in a different way. (Click above to read more.)

2014

Arielle Pardes

I am currently a multimedia journalist in San Francisco. While at Penn, I pursued degrees in Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies and Philosophy. I received the Lynda Hart Prize in Sexuality Studies in 2014 for my research on sex education in Sweden, which I completed during a semester abroad in Stockholm. I also co-authored a paper on forced marriage with Fels Institute of Government professor Deirdre Martinez, which would later be published in the anthology Montesinos' Legacy: Defining and Defending Human Rights for Five Hundred Years. (Click above to read more.)

2013

Andrew Jakubowski

I graduated from Penn with a B.A. in GSWS and Biology in May 2013 and joined Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm, in September 2013. In my formal role, I was a consultant. I started as a generalist, with projects spanning multiple industries, and later aligned to the firm’s Health and Life Sciences Practice Group. I differentiated myself as a consultant through my communication and qualitative research skills, many of which I gained through studying the humanities and authoring large research papers like my senior thesis. (Click above to read more.)

2012

George Hardy

As a Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies major, I explored the intersections of Black masculinity, sexuality, and education. My research focused on understanding how masculinity and sexuality influenced or motivated Black men to achieve in academic setting. I found this area of study particularly interesting given my background as a gay Black man from the city of Detroit, and a student at Penn. The GSWS major helped me find my passion for diversity and inclusion work, and understand how identities drive experiences, interactions, and decision making. (Click above to read more.)

2009

Blair Borish

I am a Philadelphia native and a 2009 GSWS Major. After Penn, I went on to earn my M.Ed in 2014 from Temple University. I have spent the past four years teaching Reading and English Language Arts to middle schoolers. My first three years of teaching were at an all-girls school in Delaware called Serviam Girls Academy, and in this fourth year, I am currently pleased to be back in Philadelphia at Girard College. Teaching is my absolute JOY! I love sharing my passion for reading, writing, and the English language with young people. For now, I am happy with my position as a classroom teacher, but in the future, I may return to school for my Ed.D in Educational Leadership. (Click above to read more.)

Barrie Nussbaum

I graduated from the College in 2009 and Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice in 2011. I loved the idea of taking what I learned in Gender, Culture and Society and parlaying that into providing therapy for women. However, through my coursework and clinical placements in social work school, I discovered that I was most interested in the “macro” social work track – how nonprofits could provide the most good for the most people. (Click above to read more.)

2008

Sonia Steinway

Sonia Steinway is a fintech entrepreneur, strategic advisor, angel investor, and “recovering attorney.” Sonia is fascinated by the intersection among the for-profit, non-profit, and government sectors, and has focused her career on understanding and helping organizations (and the individuals they serve) to navigate those boundaries. (Click above to read more).

2006

Megan GoldMarche

Rabbi Megan GoldMarche is the rabbi of Silverstein Base Hillel: Lincoln Park and a rabbi of Metro Chicago Hillel. Base serves as a hub for young adults craving meaningful, welcoming, vibrant Jewish life and is committed to pluralism and founded on three core values: hospitality, learning, and justice. (Click above to read more.)

2001

Josephine Hyeyun Shin

I am a Portfolio Manager at Delphi Capital, specifically focusing on corporate fixed income securities - looking at various companies across multiple sectors and industries.  I've started my career as a high yield analyst at an asset management firm in Philadelphia, looking at "junk bonds" and eventually ended up moving to New York City to continue my passion of bond investing. (Click above to read more.)

Lisa Niver

Lisa Ellen Niver (C'89) is an award-winning travel expert who has explored 101 countries and six continents. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she worked on cruise ships for seven years and backpacked for three years in Asia. She is the founder of the website WeSaidGoTravel which is read in 235 countries and was named #3 on Rise Global’s top 1,000 Travel Blogs. 

With more than 150,000 followers across social media, she has hosted Facebook Live for USA Today 10best, is verified on Twitter and listed on IMDb, and is the Social Media Manager for the Los Angeles Press Club.