Alyshia Silva '12, Admission Fellow
Raised in Los Angeles, Alyshia’s interests in both social and environmental justice brought her to Pitzer College where she has majored in Environmental Analysis and minored in Anthropology. While at Pitzer, Alyshia has been a part of many activities, including performing and competing for the Claremont College’s Ballroom Dance Company, teaching 6th graders Environmental Science as a Leadership in Environmental Education (LEEP) Mentor and interning for several social justice groups, such as the Los Angeles’ Bus Riders Union. Alyshia has also helped organize Pitzer's bi-annual Diversity Program, a 3-day event designed for traditionally underrepresented ethnic groups to visit and experience campus life. In her junior year Alyshia studied abroad in Costa Rica where she studied human and tropical ecology and created an independent study focused on the country’s abundance and distribution of local and organic food. This interest in food sustainability has inspired Alyshia to continue her education and obtain a Master of Arts in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition.

Jose Barriga '12, Admission Fellow
Jose was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and graduated from Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary High School. At Pitzer he is currently pursuing a double major in Spanish and Gender/Feminist Studies and an English and World Literature minor. During the summer of his freshman year, Jose spent two months in rural Costa Rica with the Global/Local program where he assisted Professor Milton Machuca with anthropological fieldwork. Jose was able to go abroad again during the spring of his junior year to Sevilla, Spain where he enjoyed great food and fine wine. Jose has been working at the Admission Office since his freshman year, first as a tour guide, then as a Diversity Intern and now as an Admission Fellow. During his time at Pitzer he has been heavily involved with the Latino Student Union and the Queer Resource Center. He has also served in Student Senate on various committees such as the Diversity Committee and the Mead Hall Counsel. Jose also volunteers at Prototypes, a women’s rehabilitation center in the neighboring city of Pomona. In his spare time, he enjoys watching True Blood and reading novels not assigned for a class.  

Madison Noble '12, Admission Fellow
Madison was born in Santa Barbara, California and moved to Oregon when she was three years old. After graduating from Lake Oswego High School in Oregon, she and her family moved back to Southern California, where she currently lives. Madison is a double major in Psychology and Spanish and studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain during the fall semester of her junior year. This past summer, Madison worked as a psychology research assistant for the Claremont Behavioral Health Lab, where she studied women whose husbands had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Outside of academics, Madison is captain of the Pomona-Pitzer Women’s Lacrosse Team. After graduation, Madison plans to attend graduate school to earn a degree in Clinical/Health Psychology. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, volunteering and eating a good-sized bowl of frozen yogurt -- with lots of toppings!

Danielle Antone '12, Admission Fellow
Dannielle was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts and moved to Northern California at age three. She currently lives in Marin County, CA where she attended both Tam and Redwood High Schools. Dannielle is majoring in Economics and working towards a minor in Italian. She is an active member of the Pitzer community and has worked at the Office of Student Affairs and the Shakedown Café, an organic student run eatery. She has also served as a first year mentor and enjoys helping first year, transfer and international students transition into college life at Pitzer. The spring of her junior year Dannielle spent a semester in Parma, Italy and had the opportunity to volunteer at an Italian vocational school. After graduation, Dannielle plans on attending law school. In her free time she enjoys playing basketball, baseball, spending time with family and friends and cooking.

Leah Kahn '12, Admission Fellow
Leah grew up in a tiny town northwest of Santa Rosa, California, in the wine country where she attended El Molino High School. While in high school she enjoyed dancing and was very involved in a peer sexual health education program. Continuing her passions on Pitzer’s campus, she has participated in dozens of activities including co-founding at not-for-profit organization which educates youth about sexual health. Leah has also managed the Coop Fountain Restaurant, danced with two companies, served on the Student Senate Executive Board, coordinated the Orientation Adventure program and is currently a First Year Student Lead Mentor. With a major in Critical Engagement of Climate Toxicology, Leah is passionate to consider the correlations between science, sociology, policy and language. To improve her Spanish, she studied in Costa Rica in the spring of 2011 and hopes to both continue her experiences abroad and earn a Ph.D. in Climate Change Management.

Vincent Giannotti '12, Admission Fellow
Vincent was born in Santa Cruz, California and attended Scotts Valley High School. He is majoring in Anthropology and has had the opportunity to study abroad twice during his time at Pitzer. In his sophomore year he was able travel to Beijing where he studied Mandarin and practiced traditional Chinese medicine. In the fall of his junior year he studied in Botswana where he worked with the wildlife department and was also able to learn Setswana. On campus he is a captain of the swim team, president of the Pitzer Outdoor Adventures Club and a manager of the Green Bike program. Vincent is also a member of a long-form improv group, an aspiring photographer, and is in the process of self-domestication as he teaches himself how to cook.

Michael Landsman '12, Admission Fellow
Michael Landsman is from Nashville, Tennessee where he graduated from University School of Nashville. At Pitzer, Michael is pursuing a major in history. Outside of class, he serves on Student Senate as a member of the Faculty Executive Committee, has worked in the Admission office for three years, served on the Grove House Committee and has interned with the Community Engagement Center. The summer before his junior year, Michael received the Stern Internship from Pitzer at Facing History and Ourselves, an educational non-profit in Boston, Massachusetts. Michael’s post-college goals include finding a job, boosting historical literacy in American schools and figuring out a way to grow avocados in middle Tennessee. In his spare time, Michael enjoys fixing and riding his road bike, yoga and reading. His favorite restaurant in the area is Lilly's Tacos.
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Marisol Moran '12, Admission Fellow
Marisol is from Hacienda Heights, California and attended Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra. Her love for reading and curiosity to learn about other points of view has led her to pursue a major in English and World Literature with a Creative Writing track and a minor in Anthropology. During the fall of her junior year, Marisol studied abroad in Morocco where she studied both Arabic and French. While at Pitzer, she has further fostered her interest in other languages by studying Italian for three semesters. On campus she has been the Secretary of the Latino/a Student Union, Co-President of the Pitzer Student Health Club and an active member of the Feminist Coalition. In her down-time, Marisol likes to read and write poetry and short fiction. She has also recently developed a strong interest in mixed martial arts.

Melissa Armstrong '12 Admission Fellow
Melissa was born in Chicago, Illinois but spent the majority of her youth in the San Francisco Bay Area where she graduated from Cambrian Academy in San Jose, California. She is an Organizational Studies major with an emphasis in group dynamics and communication. In addition to her job as a Fellow in the Office of Admission, Melissa has served as President of Hall Council, is an active member of the 5-C Circle K group and has been a new student mentor the past 2 years for both transfer and international students. During her sophomore year, Melissa designed and led an Orientation Adventure Trip for the incoming first years and served on the review committee for Career Services. In her free time, Melissa enjoys hiking, listening to music and cooking with her friends.

Roxanne Degens '12, Admission Fellow
Roxanne is a Portland native who graduated from Cleveland High School with a full IB diploma. Inspired by a family sabbatical to Oaxaca, Mexico during 7th grade, she is a self-designed double-major in Latin American Economic Development and Hydrology and Politics. In her first 3 years at Pitzer, Roxanne has coordinated overnight visits for prospective students at the Office of Admission, worked as a Resident Assistant and cooked in the Grove House kitchen. She served as a Pomona College Geology Department Student Liaison, was Research Assistant to Geology department faculty on their Geochemical projects and spent her post-sophomore summer working on a Paleomagnetic anomaly from New Zealand. She also traveled to Costa Rica on a summer Pitzer-based research team to conduct anthropological fieldwork. After spending the semester abroad in China last spring, Roxanne received a grant from the Mellon Foundation to conduct her own research in Oaxaca City, where she investigated equity in the provision of city water services. When not working on her thesis (or classwork) this coming year, Roxanne will be treadmilling, cooking international cuisine, watching Blazers games and napping.

Miriam Stiefel '12, Admission Fellow
Miriam was born and raised in Kirkland, Washington but went to high school at University Prep in Seattle. She is currently pursuing a double major in Political Studies and Sociology. Since her time at Pitzer began, Miriam has co-founded the Tea Time Club, served as the PAS Hall Council President, been active on the Hillel executive board and the First Year Students of Hillel committee. She has also worked as a Resident Assistant, a First-Year Student Mentor, an Event Staff member and as a student worker and tour guide in the Office of Admission, all while teaching Hebrew school. Miriam studied abroad for two semesters her junior year on a Pitzer exchange in Turkey and on a Pitzer Program in Nepal. During her summers she has worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC as an intern for her Congressman and helped Pitzer Professor VanSickle-Ward research the role of gender in the 2008 Democratic presidential debates. In her remaining free time, Miriam loves to go on Pitzer Outdoor Adventure (POA) trips and play intramural soccer and football.

Murphy Miller '12, Admission Fellow
Murphy was born and raised in the nation’s capitol where he attended the Field School, an alternative education institution. At Pitzer he is double majoring in Psychology and a self-designed major entitled Education in the Community. Taking advantage of Pitzer’s emphasis on practical learning, Murphy has interned at the local Montessori school, taught environmental studies to middle school students at the Bernard Biological Field Station and worked at a local women’s facility devoted to the rehabilitation of mothers and their children. Last fall Murphy studied abroad through Pitzer’s program in Botswana where he lived with three different local families, became proficient in Setswana and interned at various non-profit and governmental organizations. Murphy has held several positions at the Office of Admission throughout the last three years, including student worker and overnight coordinator. Murphy has been an active member of the 5-College Acappella group, The Claremont Shades and currently serves as Social Chair. In his free time, Murphy enjoys taking advantage of the outdoors, training for long distance running events and dabbling in photography.