WMSURE expands reach through scholarship, community
Weaving through the vibrant displays of the Ruth E. Carter exhibit on Afrofuturist costume design at Jamestown Settlement museum Nov. 13, students in the W&M Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience (WMSURE) marveled at the harmonious combination of scholarship and storytelling told through fabrics and colors.
The visit is the first of a series of upcoming excursions this academic year intended to connect scholars to a range of real-world applications of research, according to WMSURE Program Coordinator Anthony “AJ” Joseph.
Ahead of the tour, museum curators Felicia Abrams and Lara Templin addressed the students, presenting a series of interdisciplinary experiments to show the dynamism of history and their role as scholars in contributing to living histories.
Key to their mission, Abrams and Templin shared, is investigating the stories that have been recorded, seeking the stories that went untold, and questioning who the stewards of history are.
Centering Indigenous and marginalized histories and “reaching through the darkness to the past to try to put faces to the unknown people, to name the unnamed in history,” Templin said, is their primary endeavor.
Much of their museum work is driven by the question, “Who’s left out?”
As the scholars toured the exhibit, making special note of Ruth E. Carter’s use of historical, anthropological, and decorative arts research to tell stories in her clothing design, Abrams and Templin encouraged the students to find ways of telling their own stories through research.
As part of its robust academic-year programming, WMSURE takes students off campus to connect their academics with innovative research happening beyond the classroom. (Photo by Tess Willett)
Scholars marveled at the pieces – with the costumes from the Black Panther movie being a special favorite – and the innovative forms scholarship and research can take.
Inspired to reflect on their own scholarly pursuits, the students spoke on the ways in which they are stepping out of the box, not only with this visit, but every day in the WMSURE program, empowered to be curious and follow their passions.
Key to WMSURE’s success are the program’s faculty co-directors, Dr. Iyabo Osiapem, teaching professor of Africana studies and linguistics, and Dr. Katherine Barko-Alva, Associate Professor of ESL/Bilingual Education.
Christian Cole ’27, a government major and WMSURE student fellow, spoke to the program’s impact in inspiring him to pursue his research interests and collaborate with peers and program staff.
“They give me lots of support. I feel like they encourage me to do things that I did not think I was capable of doing, such as research,” Cole said. “Whether it's AJ or Dr. Barko-Alva or Dr. Osiapem, each one of them gives you so much support and backing that it makes me feel a whole lot more comfortable going to William & Mary, because I know I'll have figures like them.”
The research that Cole conducted with the support of WMSURE and a Charles Center research grant, exploring how W&M students of the African diaspora perceive and connect to their racial and ethnic identities, broadened Cole’s horizons for Cole and allowed him to reach new depths.
Pursuing research was “a really good opportunity for me to get to know my peers on more than a surface level understanding,” he shared. “WMSURE is a home away from home. It instills that family dynamic that you wouldn't get at any other school, and I feel like it will get me through my four years here,”
The close-knit community fostered by WMSURE, which aims to support underrepresented scholars in their research endeavors, is a key part of the program pioneered by Dr. Anne Charity Hudley and Dr. Cheryl Dickter and now co-directed by Osiapem and Barko-Alva.
Allison Nkansah ’26, an economics and kinesiology and health sciences major with a concentration in public health, expressed her special appreciation for WMSURE’s community and their cozy community space in Blow Hall, as it gave her a sense of belonging when she first arrived at W&M.
“It was really one of the first places I found community my freshman year,” Nkansah shared. “Some of my closest friends are also WMSURE scholars, so I see them all the time at the WMSURE meetings and getting to meet the faculty fellows, as well as working in such a collaborative space is really good.”
For Nkansah, “the most important element is definitely the people.” It’s the people and the connections with professors, colleagues, and campus resources that she doesn’t think she would have gotten anywhere else that have made an impact not only during her academic career, but also during freshman summer researching in South Africa and her time as a student fellow.
Through informative workshops and enrichment activities, Steven Henriquez Talavera ’27, an intended linguistics and global studies double major, spoke about how WMSURE has shaped his research on the effectiveness of bilingual education policies in U.S. classrooms and his trajectory at the university.
WMSURE is “such a wonderful place for anyone of any underrepresented background to be in -- whether it's underrepresented in a sense of finances, socioeconomic class, or even language barriers,” Talavera said.
A source of support and guides on how to navigate the undergraduate and postgraduate world, the program bridges resource gaps and teaches students how to get internships and other research opportunities, giving students “academic advice and social well-being advice,” Talavera shared.
“Anything that you need, WMSURE is there for,” Talavera said. “I feel like this program has helped me grow and learn and feel certain within my own heart.” For him, the program has been the source of “camaraderie, unity, and a sense of belonging.”
Recalling his own time as a WMSURE scholar from 2017-2021, AJ Joseph, the program’s coordinator, expressed his gratitude for the friends he made and the opportunities he was able to grasp because of the support from the program.
Now looking to pay it forward, AJ spoke excitedly about his role and the fondness he has for the community the program has fostered. Embracing their scholars’ curiosities and encouraging them to “enter the space however they liked,” the program, and the workshops they coordinate, provide “a sandbox for our students to really explore, take shape, and do innovative things.”
Adapting to each student’s unique needs, AJ said the program serves to give “very targeted exposure to our students, our very gifted students about the different research and professional opportunities they can pursue.”
“The point of this program is to get students involved in research early, to help them shape their academic and professional pursuits, and provide that community of support,” AJ emphasized. “There's no question-- big or small-- that you can't ask in this space.”