Meet Our Team

Open Book Collective is an organization run by first generation college students that aims to serve first gen students at all stages of the academic career. In addition to our publication that features the creative work of first gen students, we also host workshops, talks, and other gatherings with the intention of fostering community and creating networking opportunities. Meet our team members below!

2023-2024 Team Members

Kelly Cunningham is a PhD Candidate in the Philosophy program at Vanderbilt. She earned her B.A. in Philosophy, Chinese Studies, and English at DePaul University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of ethics, bioethics, and narrative studies. She is currently working on her dissertation, which is centered around reconceptualizing trust. She is also a graduate coach for the Vanderbilt Ethics Bowl Team and co-chair of Vanderbilt's MAP reading group. In her free time, Kelly likes to do yoga, paint, cook, and take hikes with her dog, Bandit.

Erica Scarpitti (she/her) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Earth and Environmental Sciences program at Vanderbilt University. She earned a B.S. in Earth Sciences and a minor in Environmental Science from The Ohio State University. Her research focuses on understanding the paleoclimate of the Western U.S. Specifically, she uses cave deposits (speleothems) to learn information about precipitation patterns in the past. In her free time, she likes to play with her dogs, hike, garden, and make stained glass.

2022-2023 Founding Team Members

Jessica Barker, Vanderbilt University, (she/her)
Jessica Barker is currently a senior in Vanderbilt University’s College of Arts & Sciences where she created her own major. Originally, she thought she wanted to be an English major, but realized that she was more interested in the ways policy, mass rhetoric, and mediated speech intersect and influence each other. She served as the Editor in Chief of The Vanderbilt Hustler during her junior year and is currently a freelance researcher for CNNs The Row, where she independently verifies reporting across CNN’s platforms. In what little free time she has, she likes to garden, bake, and read. You can find her on instagram and twitter @jessmbark

Kelly Cunningham, Vanderbilt University (she/her)

Hala Mohamad, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) (she/her)
Hala is an ambitious student at MTSU, a passionate artist and creator currently on a mission to change the world. She lives by the motto: "Motivation is temporary, but discipline stays".

Noah C. Rogers, Tennessee Tech (she/her)
Noah is a sophomore at Tennessee Tech where she is currently pursing a degree in English with a focus on literature. She is originally from Lynchburg, Tennessee and in her free time enjoys reading, listening to music, and going thrift shopping!