Brooklyn College proudly announces the recipients of the 2026 Rosen Fellowship, an award that supports outstanding undergraduate students as they pursue ambitious, original projects across disciplines and around the globe.
The Rosen Fellowship reflects Florence Cohen Rosen’s remarkable generosity and vision: a proud Brooklyn College alumna who chose to give back in a way that expands opportunity for future generations.
Since founding the fellowship in 2011, Rosen ’59 has created more than just financial support for students; she has opened doors to bold, unconventional experiences that they might never otherwise pursue. Her delight in nurturing potential and her enduring faith in Brooklyn College students, whose work, she notes, renews her “faith…in the future of America,” shine through every fellowship awarded, embodying a legacy of curiosity, ambition, and imagination.
This year’s fellows represent a diverse range of academic interests—from archaeology and environmental science to music technology, public health, visual arts, and documentary filmmaking—demonstrating the creativity, curiosity, and impact-driven work that define the Brooklyn College community.
2026 Rosen Fellows
- Ellery Canesper will attend the HARP Archaeology Field School in Scotland.
- Julia Lucinda Fernandez will participate in the Gabii Project, an archaeological excavation of the ancient city of Gabii near Rome focused on urban development and cultural interaction in early Italy.
- Noah Hopkins will create to-scale Pokémon figures and photograph them in natural environments to share knowledge about ecology and conservation through a collaborative art project.
- Leon Isaacs will take part in a weeklong tree-climbing expedition with Cornell University.
- Raymond Thomas Jones will create a digital instrument and synthesizer sample catalog using sounds from natural environments and electrical signals of plants in Iceland.
- Dima Muhieddine will study how diet, lifestyle, and access to preventive care shape oral health in Spain and Morocco through immersive observation.
- Chavely Reynoso will produce a chronology of Dominican art history from Indigenous Taíno works through contemporary art, resulting in a digital and print publication and database.
- Iggy Jerell Strickland will design and produce a drag costume, prosthetics, and character portfolio rooted in horror and performance.
- Brent Thomas Whiteside will begin a feature-length documentary on blues musician Bobby Rush.
The 2026 Rosen Fellows exemplify Brooklyn College’s commitment to experiential learning, interdisciplinary exploration, and socially engaged scholarship. Their work reflects the breadth of inquiry and creative practice fostered across the college. We congratulate this year’s Rosen Fellowship recipients and look forward to following their projects in the months ahead.
