Build Exito

Meet Our Student Employees

Since the start of our program in 2015, we have seen 4 different cohorts of Scholars graduate from our program! We have been fortunate enough to be able to have Alumni Scholars now serve in various roles within our program to support current Scholars. Learn about some of our Alumni Scholar employees and their roles in our program below!

Graduate Research Assistants

Ann Jeline Manabat
Graduate Research Assistant
amanabat@pdx.edu 

Ann Jeline Manabat graduated with her Bachelors in Public Health Studies with a Pre-Medicine Track, and is from Build EXITO’s Cohort 3. She is currently obtaining her Master’s in Public Health with a focus in health promotion. She is interested in the research and evaluation of health programs involving older adults, vulnerable youth, and BIPOC populations. In her downtime, she enjoys playing with her roommate’s dogs, binge watching true crime series on netflix, and going on road trips

Felicia Zhou
Graduate Research Assistant
fzhou@pdx.edu 

Felicia Zhou joined BUILD EXITO in 2017 as a Cohort 3 scholar and graduated from PSU with a Bachelor in Biology and Public Health Studies. She is currently working on her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. Her research interest revolves around the understanding of infectious disease distribution and causes, particularly in vulnerable communities. In her free time, Felicia enjoys reading, and watching shows.

Maria Theresa Dizon
Graduate Research Assistant
dizonmar@pdx.edu

Maria hails from the beautiful island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. She is a first-generation college student, Exito Cohort 2 Scholar, and a proud product of community college! As a transfer student, she graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Community Health from Portland State University and is now a 2nd year Master of Public Health student at OHSU-PSU in the Health Promotion concentration. She has 8 years of health research experience, with focuses on alternative medicine, animal venom, Pacific health disparities, child anthropometrics, functional brain imaging, pediatric clinical trials, and more. Her end goal is to serve the Marianas Islands in the public health and rural health sector. When she is not caught up in school and the like, she’s probably testing a new boba tea recipe or freediving.

 

Motu Sipelii
Graduate Research Assistant
msipelii@pdx.edu 

Motutama Nogotau Sipelii (he/him) is from the village of Utulei from American Samoa. He transferred to PSU in Fall 2017 from the American Samoa Community College and graduated in Spring 2021 with a BS in Public Health Studies: Pre-clinical Health Science. He is currently a Masters of Public Health Candidate in Health Management & Policy at the OHSU PSU School of Public Health. He's an active student leader at PSU and was even the first Asian Pacific Islander-identifying student body president for the Associated Students of Portland State University. Motu enjoys gardening, cosplaying, and binge-watching anime shows! Reach out to me if you have any questions or want to connect msipelii@pdx.edu

Updated on: 05/05/2022