Category: SharkBytes

Aura Rojas, M.S.

Aura Rojas, M.S., 2015 graduate of the M.S in National Security Affairs (now the M.S. in National Security Affairs and International Relations) is a Captain in the United States Army. Currently she is serving as the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Officer at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia. Prior to her current assignment, she served at the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) where she was responsible for coordinating and assisting all matters related to the State Partnership Program, a Department of Defense program that is managed by the National Guard that oversees all the partnerships with more than 20 countries in Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

According to Rojas, “The greatest gift I received from my experience at Nova was one of my professors, who inspired me to believe that my story needed to be shared. We are unique and diverse; we have a story to tell, a story that can change someone else’s life. I was born and raised in Colombia, South America, and for so many years, it was difficult for me to accept the fact that I was different. I just wanted to fit the American standard; but little did I know that what makes me so valuable and special is how different I am, and how much I can help and serve others through my uniqueness. My life changed after my years at Nova, and today my job is to tell my story and motivate others to respect and accept each other through their uniqueness. I have been serving in the military for several years, but my military career was greatly impacted after the education I received at Nova, not only was my intellect developed, but the personal relations I developed changed my life forever.”

Toran Hansen, Ph.D., is a master’s graduate of the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), was the guest editor of ACR Quarterly, the Journal of the Association for Conflict Resolution. The special issue was titled, Colloquy on Restorative Justice, Part I, Volume 36, Issue 2, Winter 2018. Hansen wrote, “Introduction to Restorative Justice Colloquy,” and co-authored the article, “State of Knowledge: Four Decades of Victim-Offender Mediation Research and Practice: The Evidence,” with Mark Umbriet, Ph.D.

In addition to his degree from NSU, Hansen received his Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. He is currently an associate professor at Salisbury University Prior to relocating to Maryland; Hansen was an assistant professor in DCRS. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea, West Africa and worked with medium to high-risk juvenile offenders for the Focus Foundation of Canada.

 Kenrick Roberts, M.S., J.D., graduate of the master’s program in College of Student Affairs in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), is an associate in the law firm, Berman, Sobin, Gross, Feldman & Darby, LLP, in Washington, DC. Roberts graduated from the CSA program in 2009 and began his career at The Catholic University of America as an Area Coordinator in the Office of Residential Life. He entered law school at the David A, Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia. While a law student at UDC, Roberts continued to use his CSA experience as the Coordinator of Student Organizations, Office of Student Life at Georgetown University Law School. After graduation, Roberts served as a judicial law clerk for the Maryland judiciary before joining the DC law firm of Berman, Sobin, Gross, Feldman & Darby, LLP.

Wade Evans, M.S, a graduate of NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, ands Social Sciences (CAHSS) is the Director, Planning and Program Design at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. There he leads a team responsible for the development and Congressional Notification of $1.4B in Department of Defense Building Partner Capacity programs. Wade is a Captain in the United States Naval Reserve and is the Commanding Officer of the Commander Naval Surface Forces Atlantic Reserve Headquarters unit. Wade received his M.S. in National Security Affairs in 2014.

“The Nova National Securities Master’s degree program was excellent and would highly recommend for other mid-career professionals in the defense, intelligence, diplomacy and policy sectors. In addition to high quality instruction, I was able to interact with a diverse group of students. Soon after I completed the program I was selected to be the first government civilian Chief, Office of Military Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar and the time spent discussing complex regional and cultural issues one on one with faulty was very useful.”

Prior to NSU, Evans held a number of positions in and out of uniform focused on terrorism, international relations and military planning. Prior education included a B.S. in Political Science from the United States Naval Academy and graduate level professional military education programs at the Air Command and Staff College and Joint Forces Staff College.

Michael Fonkem, Ph.D., graduate of the doctoral program in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) in NSU’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS), has written an article, “Conflict and Crisis in the Cameroon Anglophone Region,” available in E-International Relations available at https://www.e-ir.info/2018/11/11/conflicts-and-crisis-in-the-cameroon-anglophone-region/. He also wrote a book chapter, “Resistance and the Nationalist Pathos: Southern Cameroons’ Exiles Write Bac,” in Post-Colonial Cameroon: Politics, Economy, and Society, Lexington Books, (2018), edited by Joseph Takougang and Julius A. Amin.

Fonkem is an associate professor in the Department of Human Services Leadership in the College of Education & Human Services at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. He has authored numerous articles and was a Fulbright scholar in 1995-1996 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Previously he was in the diplomatic service in the Foreign Ministry of Cameroon. His teaching and research interests include refugees, migration, and human services; social issues and solutions; and conflict analysis and resolution. Fonkem is an Executive Council Member of The Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Victoria Jones, B.A., graduate of the bachelor’s program in History in the Department of History and Political Science in NSU’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS), credits a 2015 internship at the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale with exposing her to museum studies.

“I discovered my passion for public history and museum studies and it was during a study abroad with Dr. Kilroy that I became interested in archives and special collections, specifically,” she said.

Since graduating from NSU in 2016, Jones began work on an M.A. in History at the University of North Florida. She anticipates completion at the end of 2018. She recently participated in a fellowship at Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History, where she worked on a project involving one of the museum’s collections. She also completed a summer internship in corporate archives at Southwest Airlines’ headquarters in Dallas. The internship focused on archiving the company’s history and culture by preserving materials both physical and digital. This historic content is available to the airline’s employees and customers.

“This internship was an amazing chance to work in an archive that not many people are granted access to,” Jones said. “My team and department were fantastic and I learned not just about archive management and aviation history, but also about working in a corporate environment.”

Derick McKoy, Ed.D.

Derick McKoy, Ed.D., graduate of NSU’s Fischler College of Education has been named Principal at the Maritime and Science Technology Academy commonly referred to as MAST Academy located on Key Biscayne.

Derick has over thirty years in education, starting his career as a middle school science teacher. Additionally, he has held several leadership roles, including elementary and middle school principal, and an assistant high school principal.  He has also collaborated with community agencies to create after care programs for at risk children.

Derick earned his doctorate of education at FCE in 1996.