About the Student Ambassadors

Zara Ali is studying finance and economics and hopes to start a career in banking and later politics. Ali is very involved on campus and has served as her class president for the last three years. She was involved in the Simmons College World Challenge, a two-week intensive course on immigration and migration. Through the program, she created a low-cost marketing plan for immigrant entrepreneurs. Ali also recently started the first student-run business on campus—Aazaadi Collections—through which she sells statement jewelry pieces at college-friendly prices. Next year, Ali will be taking on the role of student body president.

Prarthana Bhattarai is studying mathematics and economics. She is originally from Nepal. Prior to Mount Holyoke College, Bhattarai worked as a documentation intern at a nonprofit organization for human rights in Nepal. She worked on documenting the instances of human rights violations that occurred during the 10-year-long armed insurgency in Nepal. In addition, she has worked as an editorial intern at Himal Southasian, a regional news and analysis magazine that covers trends in politics and economics in South Asian countries. In recognition of her commitment to creating social impact, Bhattarai has been awarded with The Resolution Fellowship and the Davis Peace Fellowship. As an aspiring entrepreneur, she is interested in learning about the role of businesses in driving economic growth and ensuring economic justice, particularly in developing countries.

June Cadenhead is an environmental geoscience major and archaeology minor at Smith. She works as a docent at the Smith College Museum of Art and will be spending the next academic year conducting research and studying geoscience in Nepal, Hawaii and Thailand.

Mallarie Charbonneau is majoring in history and philosophy and participating in the pre-law program. She recently completed the Simmons College World Challenge, for which she and 19 of her colleagues researched and formulated a plan to identify and resolve issues of violence. During the school year, Charbonneau serves as the group entry assistant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and as a student worker in the Simmons admissions office. During the summer months, Charbonneau dons a smile and cooking apron while running an entire restaurant at Six Flags New England. In addition, she won the conducting competition at the Colleges of the Fenway Orchestra, where she plays violin, and was given the challenge of rehearsing and performing Orpheus in the Underworld. In her spare time, Charbonneau returns to the Community Music School of Springfield, Massachusetts, as a mentor in her former orchestra, String City.

Maria Jose Correa is an international student from Argentina majoring in international relations and Latin American studies at Mount Holyoke College. In 2001, the Argentinian recession postponed her dreams of attending college. Without hesitation, she enrolled in the Argentinean Coast Guard and graduated with the highest GPA among her class of 110 male students. She also became the first female lieutenant in the history of the force. After sailing to six countries in six months in the Uruguayan navy, Maria Jose decided to pursue a career in travel and tourism at Bunker Hill Community College in Massachusetts. While there, she also served as a student trustee, representing 14,000 students. Correa is a volunteer in a tutoring program for Somali refugees in Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as serving as a Spanish tutor and Frances Perkins Fellow (adult learner). Her dream is to work in the United Nations and become an ambassador.

Madinatou Diallo is studying international relations with a nexus minor in journalism, media and public discourse. As director of events for MHC’s Model United Nations club, Diallo helped organize and execute the seventh Five College MUN conference this past spring. She is the Mount Holyoke campus editor for Uloop News. Since spring 2013, she has also been a contributing writer to the “Global” section of MHC’s newspaper. In her free time, Diallo enjoys writing nonfiction, reading novels, watching Bollywood movies and American TV shows, and dancing. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, practicing her linguistic skills and exchanging cultures with new and old friends.

Ashli Edwards is majoring in finance and international relations at Simmons. She is a Dix Scholar, a non-traditional student who has returned to school to earn her undergraduate degree. Edwards is currently the liaison for the Dix Scholar Association (DSA) and treasurer for Simmons College Vision 2020. In her spare time, she also works as a volunteer intern with Community Servings, an organization that provides nutritious meals to the critically ill within the greater Boston area. She hopes to pursue a career in international law.

Ellen Garnett is studying communications with a concentration in public relations at Simmons. She is most interested in brand development and corporate social responsibility. She is minoring in Spanish and cinema studies, as she wishes to travel and become a documentarian. This fall, Garnett will serve as the arts and entertainment section editor for The Simmons Voice. As a lover of the written word, she enjoys writing articles and poetry in her free time. She is passionate about women’s empowerment and education. Coming to Simmons has opened her eyes about women’s leadership and her own role within it. Garnett wants other women and girls to have this realization and not be afraid to believe in themselves and their own abilities.

Marie Jones is a recent graduate of Smith, where she majored in Middle Eastern studies. Jones previously interned with the Women in Public Service Project as a researcher working with delegates from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan on a publication about the importance of women’s leadership. In the spring of 2013, Jones served as a facilitator for Insight Dubai, an international women’s leadership and cross-cultural dialogue conference. She grew up in North Carolina and has lived in New Zealand, Costa Rica and Jerusalem. Jones has interned twice with Al Jazeera Media Network and speaks Arabic and Spanish. She is a finalist for a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research in the United Arab Emirates on the impact of the Insight Dubai conference.

Jemimah Kamau is an international student from Kenya and a Frances Perkins Scholar (adult learner) at Mount Holyoke College. She is majoring in politics and French and pursuing the Five College Certificate in Africana Studies as a minor. At Mount Holyoke, Kamau is a member of the Pre-Law Association and the Passport to Leadership Program. She is also a senator of the Frances Perkins Scholars Association and serves as a student assistant in the Office of the Dean of the College. Transferring from Highline Community College in Washington, where she earned her associate’s degree in legal studies, Kamau graduated as an honor’s scholar and a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, representing Highline in the 2013 all-Washington academic team. Kamau also received the Shirley B. Gordon Award for Academic Excellence and was the vice president of the Associated Students of Highline Community College.

Katie Paulson-Smith is a new graduate of Smith, where she studied women’s representation and human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Paulson-Smith is interested in pursuing a career in international development. She was a Global STRIDE Scholar and studied the Swahili language and culture in Tanzania, as well as humanitarianism and French in Switzerland. Over the past year, Paulson-Smith has worked as an assistant at the Lewis Global Studies Center, and she is looking forward to contributing to the Institute for Women in Public Service Project.

Chelsea Villareal is a new graduate of Smith, where she majored in Arabic language and linguistics and minored in Middle East studies. In her free time, Villareal volunteers as a facilitator and program coordinator for local and international nonprofits, such as Critical Connections and Soliya, whose community-building and cross-cultural education programs aim to bridge the gap between Muslim and non-Muslim societies. In the past four years, Villareal has lived and studied in London, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. Beginning in June, she is interning for the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.