Â鶹´å

M. Shernell Smith

Monica Colbert

Monica, joining the Center team in 2024, is co-director for the Summer Academy of Math and Science (SAMS) program, advises first-generation initiatives, including the student organization FirstTogether, and much more. Monica’s passion comes from witnessing students grow, succeed, and realize their full potential. She finds joy in supporting students in any way she can and in helping build meaningful and transformative experiences. She encourages to “trust the people who know you well enough to push you toward experiences you might not choose for yourself” because you never know what new experiences can come your way. As a Pittsburgh native and someone who loves to celebrate holidays (specifically Halloween), she keeps a Pittsburgh Christmas tree up all year round and enjoys stretching out Halloween as much as she can! In her free time, she loves to cook and enjoys a good mystery or thriller movie. 

Rowshan Lang

A lifelong Pittsburgher with deep roots in higher education, Rowshan rejoined Â鶹´å in 2019 as Special Projects Manager at the Center.  Throughout her career, her work has centered on creating welcoming spaces where everyone can bring their authentic selves, feel like they belong, and find joy along the way. In addition to supporting graduate student programming and collaborating on interdepartmental campus initiatives, Rowshan serves as co-director for the Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS).  Her love of Â鶹´å traditions is contagious-you should ask her about Buggy!  Outside of work, Rowshan enjoys reading, is a true crime armchair detective, loves to bake and cook, and looks forward to time spent with her family and friends. 

Shadeia Sheridan

Shadeia co-supervises our Center Student Ambassadors and works on a variety of projects, one being leading the ORIGINS experience. Shadeia is drawn to the way that people live and socialize to create community, and aims to foster it within existing settings. As an Afro-Caribbean, Black, queer woman, she is passionate about recognizing the intersectionality and holistic view of those she engages with. Her favorite part of the work is being able to connect with and learn from various students. As she puts it, quoting Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender, “It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.” In her free time, you will find her thrifting for her next great find or dancing whenever the music starts. 

Milana Macklin

Milana joined the Center as Administrative Coordinator in January 2025. In her role, she co-supervises our Center Student Ambassadors and supports a variety of administrative and operational areas, as well as event coordination. Her favorite part of the job is connecting with students and hearing their stories. She believes “you are never too old to learn,” and says she learns something new from the ambassadors every day. Between them and a team that is supportive, collaborative, and fun to work with, she has found a great place to keep learning and growing. Outside of work, you’ll find her spending time with family and her dogs, or out in nature, where being outdoors helps her feel grounded and clear-headed. One of her favorite outlets is designing floral arrangements, a passion that actually blossomed (pun intended) at the Center, which gave her the space to explore it. Fall is her favorite season, and she happily decorates for every holiday that comes around throughout the year.

Giulia Martorana

Giulia, originally from Los Angeles, California, graduated from Â鶹´å with a degree in Physics from the Mellon College of Science in May 2026. She found her way to the Center as a first-year undergraduate and quickly began working as a SAMS Peer Educator for the Summer Academy of Math and Science (SAMS) and a Center Ambassador in 2022. She has since joined the Center’s staff as a Project Coordinator. As a first-generation Latina in STEM, she values the Center as a warm and supportive space that offers a true sense of belonging: “It was the first place where I felt I could show up as myself, my whole genuine self”. She hopes to travel the world and keep exploring the mysteries of the universe through particle physics. You will typically find her in a coffee shop due to her love of coffee, but if not, she also enjoys spending time boxing, running, listening to music, reading, or baking. 

Jocelyn Cordero

Jocelyn Cordero, from Lancaster, California, is a 4th-year student studying Psychology, with a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience within the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences, hoping to continue this work of study in graduate school. She is currently serving as lead Student Ambassador and has been working for the Center for 2 years in total. Jocelyn found herself drawn to the Center through its “good atmosphere” and stayed because “the Center align[ed] with [her] values of community and kindness”. It was taught to her from a young age to “treat others the way you want to be treated,” and she believes “it's a good foundation to be kind and be the person you want to see out there”. As a queer Latina woman rooted in family, identity, and learning, “being able to talk and connect with different people and organizations” is what she loves most about being a Center Ambassador. In her free time, she loves to draw, paint, go on hikes with her friends, and watch movies with her partner. 

Sam Duque

Sam Duque, from Elizabeth, New Jersey, is a 3rd-year student studying Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering. He “originally came to the Center through the Summer Academy of Math and Science (SAMS) program (shout out [SAMS] class of '22) and [has] been in the space ever since”. In Summer 2026, he worked as a SAMS Peer Educator and began working as a Student Ambassador in the Fall of 2026. As a first-generation Latino, he “love[s] how welcoming the Center is! It is a place on campus where [he]... can be authentically [him]self and be supported in so many ways”. When not working, he loves baking, playing guitar, soccer, music, dancing, and watching a good sunset. 

Isabella Formoso

Isabella Formoso, from River Edge, New Jersey, is a 2nd-year student studying within the Tepper School of Business. She found her way to the Center through an admitted student's Zoom session and “knew [she] had to check it out in person when [she] got to campus”. This is her 2nd year working as a Center Student Ambassador. As a daughter of a veteran, she was raised with discipline and care for others. This was a reason she decided to stay with the Center "because of the welcoming environment and wanted to stay involved with the initiatives held at the Center”. She loves being a part of a community where she has simply “made new friends…from working at the front desk and learn[ing] about people’s backgrounds and experiences”. When she is not working, she is a student-athlete for Â鶹´å’s track and field team, enjoys trying new cafes, spending time with friends, and volunteering. 

Marco Jih-Vieira

Marco Jih-Vieira, from Middletown, Maryland, is a 3rd-year student studying Statistics and Machine Learning, with a secondary major in Mathematics, in the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences and the Mellon College of Science. He is looking to work towards a Statistics PhD 5 years from now. Originally, Marco used the Center as a study space but “kept coming back because it was a very enjoyable environment with cool people that aren't afraid to have important discussions,” and he found the “space resonated with [him]” deeply. He has now served as a Student Ambassador for a year and a half. When he is not working, he enjoys gaming, guitar, programming, reading, writing, and math.

Jose Lima

Jose Lima, from New York City, New York, is a 4th-year student studying Information Systems within the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences and Heinz College of Information Systems & Public Policy. He has worked as a Student Ambassador for 2 years and enjoys helping student organizations with their events at the Center. As a Peruvian American, he is grateful to have gotten to live and experience both cultures and is happy to call both places home. Jose is passionate about “building creative experiences… [within] the video game industry to create games that have an emotional impact on people” and hopes to work as a Technical Director or Sr. Game Systems Engineer at a AAA game studio to make this happen. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, video games, and cooking. 

Emmanuela Osagie

Emmanuela (Emma) Osagie, from Massachusetts, is a 3rd-year student studying Statistics and Machine Learning, with an additional major in Human-Computer Interaction within the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences. Emmanuela was introduced to the Center through participating in student organizations. She “started going outside of club events when [she] realized how great of a community it fostered”. She saw “the opportunity to have greater involvement in the Center community” as a Student Ambassador a year and a half ago and “has been here ever since!” As a Black, Nigerian, first-generation student, “the community and opportunity to meet people with similar interests and goals across majors that you may not have interacted with otherwise” is very meaningful to her. When she is not working, she enjoys reading, watching TV shows, crocheting, rowing, and currently learning American Sign Language (ASL) and Spanish. 

Isaac Osei

Isaac Osei, from Aurora, Colorado, is a 4th-year student studying Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering. Isaac found his way to the Center and felt “creating community was important”. He has now worked as a Student Ambassador for a year and a half and stayed due to the people and constant support from Center staff; “It feels like having 5 extra aunties, and that’s a pretty nice feeling”. A recently graduated Center Student Ambassador once told him, “Don't ever tell yourself no; let other people reject you, but don't be the one to do it to yourself”. As a first-generation African immigrant, this advice and background have shaped a lot of his perspective on life and some goals he holds, especially in creating systems that benefit and motivate large groups of people towards a common goal. 

Devyn Ponnuvelu

Devyn Ponnuvelu, from Fremont, California, is a 2nd-year student studying Mechanical Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy within the College of Engineering, looking to be in grad school or pursuing a PhD 5 years from now. “The ORIGINS experience originally brought [them] to the Center” their freshman year and shortly after began working for the Center as a SOHO Resource Specialist. Being Tamil, queer, non-binary, someone with ADHD, and having struggled with mental health, they are “passionate about making meaningful connections with people” and  “love the work the Center does, and the community the Center has built and continues to grow”. They love “connecting with nature”; so, in their free time, they enjoy hiking, camping, snowboarding, and “anything where [they] get to connect with the outdoors”. 

Amanda Puentes

Amanda Puentes, from Frederick, Maryland, is a 4th-year student studying Psychology within the Dietrich College of Humanities & Social Sciences. She originally found the Center through ORIGINS, quickly calling it “a second home… shortly after school started,” and soon after began working as a Student Ambassador. As a first-generation, queer, Latina, rooted in family as an older sister, finding a place where people are not only given personal and professional opportunity, but also a safe space where students can “mingle, study, nap”, and more is what she loves the most and keeps her at the Center. She says it has always been “lovely to engage with Center staff” as they are so welcoming and care for who you are as an individual, not just as a student. When not working, she enjoys crocheting, thrifting, nature walks, and traveling. 

Beth Vázquez Smith

Beth Vázquez Smith, from St.Thomas, US Virgin Islands, is a Rales Fellow pursuing her master's degree in Computational Biology within the Mellon College of Science and Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science. She began working for the Center in June of 2026 as a SAMS Peer Educator for the Summer Academy of Math and Science (SAMS), and currently serves as a Graduate Student Fellow. In her own words, as a Black, Puerto Rican, and St. Thomian woman, her culture is deeply central to who she is. Because of this, it is deeply meaningful to find, and help create, spaces where she can show up as her authentic self without feeling isolated, especially while navigating environments far from home. The culture, “authentic care[,] and family-like atmosphere are what continue to draw [her] deeper into the Center's community”. In her free time, she enjoys exploring local coffee shops to find the best matchas, walking in nature and saying hello to people’s pets along the way, baking, and rediscovering her love for salsa dancing from her time as an undergrad in UPenn's Onda Latina dance troupe.

Aundre Watley

Aundre Watley, from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, is a 5th-year student studying Human Computer Interaction with a minor in Product Management within the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science. He began working for the Center in the Spring of 2026 and loves to help support a variety of events hosted by and within the Center. As a first-generation college student, he is grateful for the openness and opportunity to gain exposure in attending these events. He looks forward to a future of peace and tranquility in following his passion for app development. When not working, Aundre enjoys to travel, concerts, watching TV, playing video games, cooking, and astrology.