2025 Conference Attendance Scholarship (CAS) Awardees

• By: Taylor Leigh
• On: 04/18/2025 10:25:01
• In: Scholarships

Biographical Information
 
Alex Allison
Indiana
 
Alex Allison is a graduate student at Indiana University (IU), where he is currently pursuing a Master of Library Science degree. Prior to enrolling at IU, Alex earned a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, he studied Haitian Creole and worked as a Collections Assistant for the Manuel Zapata Olivella Collection, housed in Vanderbilt's Special Collections and University Archives. He also conducted research on the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement in Colombia's Chocó department—work largely inspired by his experiences as a Fulbright scholar in Quibdó, Colombia.
 
During his time at IU, Alex has continued to investigate the Colombian peace process and has developed an interest in collecting and promoting library materials in Haitian Creole.
 

Fernanda Agüero
Texas
 
Fernanda Aguero is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is completing a dual master's degree in Information Studies and Latin American Studies. Her academic interests center on Indigenous cultures, critical archival theory, and post-custodial archival practices in Latin America. Before beginning graduate school, Fernanda worked as a philosophy teacher and held positions in both special collections and museum settings, where she developed an interest in the ethical stewardship of cultural heritage materials.
 
She currently serves as the Graduate Research Assistant for Digital Initiatives at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. In this role, she has created metadata for several audio collections and contributed to ongoing efforts to increase access to Latin American archival materials through digital platforms.
 

Stephanie Naut
New York, NY
 
Stephanie Naut is a Master of Library and Information Science student at Pratt Institute with a strong interest in digital humanities and special collections. She is the 2024–2025 Rooted and Relational Archives Fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) Archives of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. Her work explores the potential of digital humanities as an alternative framework for research methodologies, preservation strategies, and accessibility practices.
Stephanie's projects have focused on data visualization, exhibitions, collection development, and digital environmental humanities. Through this work, she aims to bridge archival practices with creative and inclusive forms of knowledge production. Outside of her academic pursuits, she is a bookseller and an avid reader.