This fall, Imani Chung and Athena Wilkinson are serving as our undergrad program ambassadors. In addition to building community among current WST majors and minors, Imani and Athena are also working to increase the visibility of WGSS on our campus and beyond. Through this experiential learning internship, our ambassadors are developing their leadership skills and exercising their professional creative capacities – all while growing the SBU feminist community and earning credits toward their WST degrees!

Imani Chung (she/her) is double majoring in Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies while also pursuing the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Fast Track program. When Imani first arrived at Stony Brook, she never imagined majoring in a non-STEM field, let alone something like WGSS. But she soon discovered the unique way WST classes help us understand the diverse ways human beings move through the world. As it turns out, WGSS is a life-changing major! Now, she wants to spread the word to other students. As our program ambassador, Imani is promoting the department through our social media networks and creating faculty and student profiles for the WGSS blog.

Athena Wilkinson (she/her) is double majoring in Music and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and minoring in Art History. She was initially going to double in History instead of WGSS, but then she discovered WGSS’s interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to examining the world. Through her WST classes, she didn’t have to settle for a “white washed” version of history and could focus on scholarship written by and for women of color. As a seasoned program ambassador – she was one of our Spring 2023 ambassadors! – Athena is excited to continue expanding our department. She’s also begun the process of establishing an SBU chapter of the National Women’s Studies Honor Society. More information coming soon!