Julianna Cressman is a recent alumna who graduated with a major in Dance and a minor in African Dance Studies. A UCI Regents Scholar, Julianna was also nominated for Academic Honors Phi Beta Kappa and received a 2017 Barnes and Noble College Scholarship for which she created the Dance, Drum, and Decolonization Series in order to increase cultural literacy and accessible dance education on campus. Julianna presented her research at both the 2016 and 2017 UROP Research Symposiums, and her work has been published in Dance Major Journal. She founded AwakenArts Social Justice Community Arts Organization. Julianna intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies and is particularly interested in the relationship between concert dance performance and Afrocentric community practices in the Brazilian northeast.