The Fellows
The Fellows are selected from both undergraduate and graduate students at Harvard and other area universities. They demonstrate a particular interest in the Catholic intellectual and cultural tradition’s engagement with scholarship, the arts, and the professions. Click here to learn more.
2023-24 UnderGRaduate Fellows

LYLENA D. ESTABINE
Harvard College ‘24
LyLena Estabine, originally from Kansas, is a senior studying Sociology. Her research focuses on urban sociology, the non-profit industrial complex in international development, and community-engaged design. Her creative endeavors seek to connect interdisciplinary inquiry with modes of presentation accessible to people of all backgrounds, such as music, theater, and poetry. Her most recent creative project, Songs of Prophets, seeks to write a contemporary worship song for each of the Biblical prophets, the first volume of which is on all major streaming platforms. At Harvard, she led the initiative to write and implement a new, more inclusive student government, the Harvard Undergraduate Association, for which she was also the Student Body Co-President in its inaugural year. Her work has previously been recognized through awards such as the 2020 Harvard Creativity Award and the 2022 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service. As an HCF fellow, she looks forward to learning more about the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and finding new ways to more fruitfully share the beauty of the Church with the world.

OLIVIA GLUNZ
Harvard College '25
Olivia Glunz is a junior studying History and Classics at Harvard College. She enjoys reading and writing about philosophy, literature, and political theory and plans to pursue a career in law, academia, or public service. On campus, Olivia plays the violin in a student-run chamber ensemble, writes for the Harvard Undergraduate Law Review, and leads a discussion group on natural law. She is also an active member of the Harvard Catholic Center, where she leads a Bible study for undergraduates and sings in the choir. This year, Olivia looks forward to exploring questions about science and faith, grace and free will, and human dignity through the Harvard Catholic Forum's many programs and events. She is grateful for this opportunity to deepen her faith and her love for both God and neighbor.

CARTER STEWART
Harvard College '25
Carter Stewart is a junior at Harvard College studying Classics with a secondary in Statistics. Carter is interested in a wide range of topics in history, philosophy, literature, and politics, and how the vibrant Catholic intellectual tradition influences and changes our understanding of them all. Outside of academics, he is a member of the John Adams Society, plays club lacrosse, and enjoys reading, weightlifting, and spending time on the water.

JACOB GENUALDI
Harvard College ‘25

ELLIOTT JONES
Boston College ‘26
Elliott Jones is a sophomore at Boston College studying Philosophy and Theology. He is interested in the history of philosophy, and he hopes to pursue a career in academia. Beyond his studies, Elliott serves as a General Editor for Dianoia, Boston College's undergraduate philosophy journal, and he is actively involved with the Boisi Center for Religion and Public Life. Additionally, he participates in Campus Ministry with Appa Volunteers and is a leader for the Christian Life Community. As a recent convert to Catholicism, Elliott is looking forward to engaging in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and expanding his understanding of the Faith and its application to his studies.
2023-24 GRaduate Fellows

HASSAN AHMAD
MTS '24 Harvard Divinity School

SEA YUN PIUS JOUNG
MTS ‘24, Harvard Divinity School

RYAN PINO
PhD '24, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

JORDAN VANDERPOOL
PhD ‘28, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

BORIS HOUENOU
MPA ‘24, Harvard Kennedy School

REED MORGAN
PhD ‘25, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

MICHELLE VACCARO
PhD ‘26, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

DEVAN ZALLA
MPP ‘24, Harvard Kennedy School
2023-24 Postdoctoral Fellow

THOMAS SANTA MARIA
Yang Visiting Scholar in World Christianity, Harvard Divinity School
Tom Santa Maria is a Yang Visiting Scholar in World Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. He completed his PhD in History and Renaissance Studies at Yale University. He also holds an M.T.S. from Boston College, and a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in Classics and History. In the academic year 2022-2023, he was Interim Dean of Silliman College at Yale. He has taught courses in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Yale and at Sacred Heart University, as well as courses on Jesuit Missions. His research is on the body, the senses, and Catholicism in the Early Modern World. Outside of research and teaching, Tom devotes much of his time to his passion for Track and Field as a coach and official.