2025 Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellowship Awarded to Valerie Aronhalt

The USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research has awarded the inaugural Charles E. Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellowship to Valerie Aronhalt.

The Charles E. Scheidt Undergraduate Research Assistant Fellowship enables an outstanding USC undergraduate student from any discipline to assist international fellows and visiting scholars at the USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research, shadowing emerging and senior scholars across disciplines for two semesters. Participating in and contributing to cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholarly research, this fellowship enables students to learn research methods from the most innovative scholars in the fields of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, explore USC’s unique resources and collections in these fields, and build valuable analytical, research, and communication skills.

Valerie Aronhalt is a junior at USC pursuing a Progressive Masters in Public Policy, a B.A. in International Relations, and a Minor in Cyber Security. She began her residency at the Center in March, assisting Center Research Fellow Professor Victoria Sanford (Lehman College, CUNY) with her project on forced disappearances during the Guatemalan genocide. Aronhalt will continue shadowing and supporting fellows and visiting scholars in the Fall 2025 semester.

Having grown up primarily in Lima, Peru, Aronhalt became interested in global affairs from a young age and hopes to pursue a career in Human Rights. Prior to joining the Center, she has worked at the U.S. Department of State and the City of Los Angeles Civil and Human Rights and Equity Department. This summer, she is participating in a Maymester course on Human Rights in the Caucasus: Georgia and Armenia. She plans to study refugee integration in these regions.

At USC, she is involved with Delta Phi Epsilon, USC’s Primer Foreign Service Society, USC Helenes, and USC Flavors. She is a Social Justice fellow in the Agents of Change program and received the Leonard D. Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service award in 2024.