2023-2024 Holstein Scholars

Congratulations to our ten Holstein Scholars for the 2023-2024 academic year! Get to know each scholar! We are eager to see how each recipient will continue to commit to scholarship, public service, and public policy-making programs for the common good.

Forrest Cameron

Forrest Cameron is a rising senior at USF, studying Politics and Philosophy. Most recently, he was a McCarthy Fellow in Sacramento supporting the Western Center on Law and Poverty and will soon support the SF Office of the Public Defender this fall as an McCarthy Fellow. Previously, he was a policy intern for District 3 SF Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Among Forrest’s many interests, he currently sits on the University’s ASUSF Senate as the Vice President of Advocacy where he oversees the resolution processes from proposal to implementation. He is deeply committed to public service and community engagement and in this dedication, Forrest is currently USFVotes’ Andrew Goodman Foundation Campus Ambassador where he supports voter registration, education, and turnout efforts across the university. Forrest has previously held leadership positions for Model United Nations and the College Democrats of America.

Daniela Uribe

Daniela Uribe is an environmental studies major at USFCA. She is a Sustainability Specialist at the Office of Sustainability at USF and member of BIPOC Students for the Environment. This summer she was an intern with the California Natural Resources Agency in collaboration with the Environmental Science Institute. Her work included immersion in the current initiative to establish a Climate-Biodiversity Sentinel Site network on CDFW-owned properties throughout California through monitoring field installations of weather stations and biodiversity sensors, including trigger cameras, acoustic sensors, and soil sampling. She has a podcast focused on creating a space for contemporary environmental conversations in her community and network. She is passionate about conservation of natural resources, community based science, and environmental justice.

Jaeda Johnson

Jaeda Johnson is a psychology major with a minor in criminal justice studies at USFCA. She is a member of USF Votes and will take part in the McCarthy Fellows in SF program during the Fall of 2024. She is also an active member of USF Kasamahan and has a passion for connecting with her community. She is an affordable housing and community development intern at the Filipino Community Development Corporation. She is also an intern at UCSF de Leon Lab in the neurology department. She strives to educate herself and provide her aid back to the community around her in any way she can.

Justine Balon

Justine Balon is a sophomore student majoring in architecture. She is originally from Oahu, Hawai’i and has always wanted to attend a university with a vat and endless culture. Her motivation to pursue her goalscomes from her lived experiences coming from Hawai’i and from experiences in the foster system which taught her about the value of an education. Justine is part of the Engage SF Literacy program, a highlight of her college experience and furthers her motivation of public service and creating an equitable environment for others. She hopes to pursue her architectural career plans while also balancing her commitment to serve others. Justine hopes that her experiences and accomplishments can inspire other foster youth and Pacific Islander women and to continue her work in community engagement.

Richard Dzreke

Richard Dzreke is an incoming Junior studying Computer Science a minor in mathematics at USF. He is a SII (Saint Ignatius Institute) member and an active tutor for McCarthy Center’s Literacy Tutor program. Richard hails from his home country of Ghana and his home state of Virginia, lived experiences that he brings to his time in San Francisco as a student. This past summer, he interned at Lanver Summer Camp as an IT Intern. His work as a Literacy Tutor has been fulfilling and has made a significant positive impact on his life and he strives to help communities in his area of study and to further his education. With the help of the Holstein Scholarship, he can better pursue both goals in the upcoming semester of his third year at USF.

Phoebe Perkins

Phoebe Perkins is a rising junior Politics major at USF. She is involved in the McCarthy center through a minor in Public Service and Community Engagement and USF Votes. She is also currently participating in USF in Sacramento as an intern in the office of Assemblymember Muratsuchi, and is going to participate in USF in DC in the spring of 2024. She is passionate about public service and is extremely grateful to USF and the McCarthy center for all of the opportunities it provides to be an active part of the political community.

Violet Biggs

Violet Biggs is a junior majoring in politics. She was born and raised in the northern part of Nigeria, a region with a Muslim majority where it can be unsafe for Christians to reside. Due to the terrorist insurgency in the North, she relocated to the West with her family. Her passion for public service developed as she observed her grandmother, a farmer, and her father, a public servant, living a life rooted in Ubuntu, an African concept emphasizing community and service. Violet first became involved in public service after completing her secondary education, providing educational resources to girls in her home country. As a student at USF, she is currently engaged with the USF Votes Initiative and is a member of the CEA cohort 5. Presently, Violet is a research assistant for Professor Hing at USF Law, focusing on social issues in the global south.

Shennel Henries

Shennel Henries is an international student, originally from Liberia. Shennel is an International Studies major with a concentration in Global Politics and Society and Legal Studies (Pre-Law) minor. She is actively involved in the Magis Emerging Leadership Program, BAIS Peer Advising, and Student Housing and Residential Life on campus. During her time as a USF in DC Spring 2023 student, she interned at both the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center and the African American Redress Network (AARN). Shennel served as the Administrative Assistant across three institutions, including the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent at the center. At AARN, she conducted research on historical Redress data for local African descendant individuals and groups, utilizing Mapping and ArcGIS efforts.

Olivia Brown

Olivia Brown is a third year studying Critical Diversity Studies and Public Relations at the University of San Francisco. She hails from Ojai in Southern California where she attended Ojai Valley School, an outdoor education school. Olivia is passionate about making the world a better place socially and environmentally, centering her values in the importance of community and equity. Currently, Olivia works with the Engage Literacy Program where she tutors first through third grade students at the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center. This experience opened her eyes and perspective that she will bring to her my professional career where she hopes to work in Diversity and Inclusion spaces.

Jana Olano

Jana Olano is an incoming third-year Nursing major, with minors in Public Service & Community Engagement and Child & Youth Studies. As an aspiring healthcare provider, she is an advocate of holistic health and recognizes the impact that different social determinants often have on the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of an individual and/or a community. She served as the Community and Political Affairs Co-Director of Kasamahan working to increase community awareness and collective action. Health Education Council’s cohort of COVID-19 Youth Ambassadors, where she completed a project to donate hygienic materials and create informational pamphlets about COVID-19 symptoms and treatment/prevention, as well as accessible testing and vaccination resources, for the homeless population at Abode Services’ South Napa Shelter.