Students & Alumni

Bailey Castillo graduated with a BA in Peace, War and Defense from The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2016. After graduation she worked for 3 years in corporate America, and in 2019 she left the corporate world to follow her heart. After teaching English in France for almost a year, she found her path at The University of Michigan School of Social Work. In her free time Bailey enjoys cooking, perfecting her cup of coffee, traveling, reading french novels and trying out new things. She is passionate about building connections between people and fostering compassion in communities. In 2015, after spending a summer in Amman, Jordan, Bailey realized her passion for working with refugee populations. As a GASP student, Bailey hopes to learn applicable skills that will prepare her to work on refugee resettlement programs around the globe.

Brandon was born in Orlando, Florida but grew up all over the United States. He graduated from Hope College with his BSW. During his time at Hope, he spent a lot of time working on different projects that dealt with supporting international students and at-risk youth. After graduation, he took a job teaching youth English in Daito-Shi, Japan. During which, he found a passion working in a global setting which inspired him to seek out what social work looks like on a global scale. As a GASP student in the MSW program he hopes to gain the knowledge and skills needed to work in a global context.

Over the summer, Brandon will be working in Oakland, California with the International Rescue Committee. He will be working with the Health and Wellness team focusing on prevention and early interventions.

Bryant received a BA in international relations from Michigan State university and studied abroad in Israel, Turkey, and Azerbaijan before completing an internship with the United Nations Development Programme in Azerbaijan. For the next three years, he worked as an English teacher at Pioneers Baccalaureate School in Nablus, Palestine, where he became interested in school social work in the international context. Bryant joined the Global Activities Scholars Program in order to learn about how social workers can support alternative models of international development and plans to work in international monitoring and evaluation. His other interests include permaculture farming, cooperative housing, and intentional communities.

Courtney (she/her) is a third year J.D./M.S.W. dual degree candidate with a particular interest in human rights and immigration law work in remote regions, such as island nations and rural communities, where climate change and forced migration is a direct intersecting issue with the aforementioned topics. She grew up in Iowa and studied Sociology and Religious Studies at Grinnell College for her undergraduate degree. She has worked with organizations in the U.S., India, Namibia, and South Africa engaging with civil and human rights and immigration, asylum, and refugee litigation, policy, and client service work. While at the University of Michigan she has been deeply involved with the First-Generation Law Students organization, serving previously as president, and has regularly served as a Graduate Student Instructor in the Sociology and International Studies Departments. She is currently completing her field placement at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and is excited about utilizing the GASP opportunity to build her advocacy toolset in preparation for her social work and legal career abroad following graduation.

LeDeanea grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated magna cum laude from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work. During undergraduate studies, she completed the Jamaica Service-Learning Study Abroad program, stationed at Belmont Basic School in the parish of Westmoreland, concentrating on community engagement and supporting resource development. 

Prior to graduate school, LeDeanea worked fulltime in office management as a support to the facility director, coordinating staff schedules and educational field trips, while aiding with conflict resolution and student enrollment.

A poet, dancer, and photographer, LeDeanea sees art as an instrument to cultivate cultural community connections for social change. 

Honored to be continuing her education at the University of Michigan as a Global Activities Scholar, LeDeanea hopes to enhance competency and the skillset to activate and empower community change while advocating for immigrant equity and inclusion, on both a local and global platform.

Sebastian was born in Lima, Peru but grew up on Long Island, New York and is a recent graduate of the University at Albany, SUNY, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Psychology, and Education. He was a recipient of the 2020 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, SUNY’s highest award. During his undergraduate career, Sebastian grew a passion for global education reform focusing on equal and equitable practices, and working with Latinx youth in the US and abroad. Prior to graduation, Sebastian was sponsored as a teaching assistant/counselor to Dominican and Haitian youth for a nonprofit organization in the Dominican Republic. Through this experience, he gained insight on how education and policy work outside of the US and understood how solutions can be implemented from a macro perspective. Growing up as an immigrant, Sebastian hopes to work with domestic and international organizations that focus on advancing education and human rights for other immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers. As a Global Activities Scholar, Sebastian looks forward to learning how social work functions in international settings; how to expand advocacy work abroad; and develop intersectional, inclusive, and holistic programs and services that benefit an organization as a whole but more importantly, the people it serves.