Naicha Chamille Christophe, of Taunton, is earning dual degrees in psychology and public health, with a certificate in criminology. Christophe’s dedication to social justice and public health is evident in her extracurricular and research endeavors. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she is president of the Haitian American Student Association and reactivated the organization’s charity initiative, P.E.A.C.H., to help raise nearly $6,000 for the Haitian Health Foundation and for winter blankets to donate to a local migrant shelter.
She has interned at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School’s Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, as well as its Center for Addiction Medicine, where she co-authored a research paper about opioid-use disorder and smoking cessation.
Christophe is a strong advocate for students of color, making their voices heard through her involvement on the executive boards of multiple student organizations, in peer mentoring programs and with the “Day by Day” podcast that explores the unique challenges faced by students of color. She has also served the community as a tour guide, residential assistant, teaching assistant and as secretary of registry for the Student Government Association.
After graduating, Christophe plans to move to North Carolina to join the emerging leaders program at Fidelity Investments, after which she hopes to attend law school.
Vandrey Sisson, of Newton, a Commonwealth Honors student, is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology.
His research projects and extracurricular activities demonstrate his passion for a wide range of biological fields. Under Ph.D. candidate Joshua Medina in the Irschick Research Lab, Sisson participated in a four-year research project that examined sexual dimorphism in tanagers. The project, which is pending publication, earned him a Peter K. Hepler Field Research Scholarship. In January 2024, he traveled to Teresópolis, Brazil, to study the vibrant radiation of neotropical songbirds in their natural habitat.
Among his other accomplishments at UMass, he is the co-president of the BioSci Club, a peer advisor for the Pre-Med/Pre-Health Advising Office, and a peer mentor at the Learning Resource Center.
Sisson has flourished as a leader on campus, participating in and steering community organizations that help people with developmental disabilities. He is the president of the Autism Awareness Club, a member of the Developmental Disabilities and Human Services letter of specialization program, and founder of the UMass LEGO Playgroup, a respite care program for children with a range of abilities.
After graduation, Sisson will study for the MCAT as he works as a patient care associate on Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s pediatrics floor. He hopes to matriculate into a research clinician program specializing in pediatric oncology and eventually join the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.