GWS Majors & Minors Bios

Caroline Foley is a junior Communication Major with an Irish Studies Minor and Gender& Women's Studies Minor.  As a Communication Major, she is interested in the way women are portrayed in the media and film, and as well, she would love to explore the study of the gender spectrum.  At Villanova, her favorite class thus far has been "Race, Class, and Gender."  When Caroline is not in the classroom, she spends her time on climbs with the Indoor Rock Climbing Club, taking photographs for The Villanovan, and creating graphics as the Chief Graphic Designer of The Villanovan. 

Lauren Marasco is a graduate certificate student in the Gender and Women's Studies program. Lauren has been working in the Advancement Department here at Villanova for the past two years. Before that she completed her Master's degree in Public Administration, with distinction, at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Lauren focused her graduate work on nonprofit management; especially helping organizations to raise money to continue their work. She completed fellowships with the United Nations in New York City and at Polaris in Washington, D.C.--one of the foremost anti-human trafficking organizations in the country. Lauren would like to help organizations that focus on stopping human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation and sexual violence against women, and perhaps one day run her own nonprofit committed to the same causes. Lauren is a JET Program alumna, and taught English in Fukushima prefecture, Japan for three years. She and her husband James met in Japan. They started traveling together in 2007 and haven't let up--they have visited over 25 countries together.

Marisol Rosado-Perez is a first generation college student and is, as of the Fall of 2015, a senior with a major in Psychology and a minor in Gender and Women's Studies. Born and raised in the East Village of New York City, this Latina is a force to be reckoned with. Marisol passionately engages in conversations about diversity, gender, and the human mind. In the summer of 2014, Marisol took advantage of seven different employment opportunities on campus. Following the trend, she entered her Junior year with a full course load, and heavy involvement in extra-curricular activities. Despite having her plate full, she began the process of starting her own club. Her persistence and courage have helped her win Villanova's first annual Poetry Slam competition with a moving poem that confronted listeners with real issues such as race, gender, socioeconomic inequality, and the university system as a whole. After completing her fall semester, Marisol left the U.S. for the first time to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she fully embraced the experience and traveled to 11 different countries.

Aimee Lee Russell is am a junior Psychology and French double major. I am from Bryn Mawr, PA. I became interested in Gender and Women's studies as two classes I am currently taking have opened my eyes to new perspectives on issues of social justice. With my majors in Psychology and French I would like to explore how the two subject areas often overlap with the study of gender and conceptions of the self. I also work at the Villanova Theatre Box Office during the school year. In my free time, I like to read, listen to music, watch movies and and hang out with family and friends. 

Christina Sebastiao is a senior Communication major with a minor in both Gender & Women's Studies and Honors. Last fall, Christina spent the semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she explored the role of media, power, and culture in South Africa and delved into gender studies from a global perspective. Especially passionate about international education policy and women's rights, she hopes to do communication work for a global development organization. Outside of the classroom, Christina is involved in her sorority Alpha Chi Omega, serves as the Vice President of the Public Relations Student Society of America, and has served as a RUIBAL leader. This summer, Christina interned at a public relations, marketing, and events firm in New York City. During her free time, she loves reading, traveling, and exploring the city. 

Julia Tich is a junior  Gender and Women's Studies major, Peace and Justice concentration, and Africana studies minor. I am very interested in the study of gender as a social construct and how social standards of masculinity shape gender expectations for all gender identities. In my spare time I like to read, crochet, drink tea, paint my nails and listen to Selena Gomez and Troye Sivan. I have recently started a social justice blog (https://juliatich.wordpress.com/) in which to engage in a variety of current topics. 

Emily Tifft is from Elmira, New York. She is a Senior English and Gender and Women’s Studies double major who is also pursuing the Honors thesis degree. Emily furthered her GWS studies in her research of Contemporary Feminist British Literature at Oxford University in the spring of 2015. An aspiring lawyer, Emily has completed internships at the Supreme Court of the United States and the White House. Outside of the classroom, Emily volunteers at the Women's Resource Center in Wayne, works at the Villanova Writing Center, and loves baking and spending time with friends and family.