Rooted

Madison Krumins

Madison Krumins is a “Double Wolverine” at the University of Michigan who is continuing her studies at the University as a U-M Law School student. She is well-versed with the idea of uprooting one’s life, as she has lived in 14 different places throughout the last 5 years. From roaming northern Michigan to working in Washington, D.C., to teaching English in Latvia, Madison’s roots lie around the world.

Joshua Ong

Joshua Ong is a Resident Physician at the University of Michigan’s Kellogg Eye Center. With a passion for protecting astronaut health, Joshua has conducted NASA-funded space medicine research and published the first textbook on spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome, making Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2024.

KunAl Majumder

Kunāl Majumder is a journalist, media academic, and press freedom advocate specializing in journalist safety, media capture, global politics, and technological disruptions in journalism. Currently a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, Kunāl led the India operations of the international press freedom group, the Committee to Protect Journalists, for six years.

Video coming soon

Hakem Al-Rustom

Hakem Al-Rustom is an anthropology and history professor at the University of Michigan who has committed much of his research to modern Armenian history. Many of his teachings, through both written and unwritten history, encapsulate the exile Armenians faced during World War I’s Armenian genocide, and throughout history. By reframing “roots” from a concept of geography to one about ethics, Hakem examines the intersection between exile and identity.

Video coming soon

Chris Vrenna

Chris Vrenna is a University of Michigan music profess, but is perhaps best known as a former, founding member of rock band Nine Inch Nails. Chris has also been the drummer for international acts including Gnarls Barkley, Marilyn Manson, and Guns N’ Roses. Having explored the producing, engineering, and remixing aspect of music, he is also a video game composer whose credits include the Call of Duty, Doom, and Quake series.

Tifani Sadek

Tifani Sadek is a University of Michigan law school professor. Before joining academia, Tifani spent over a decade serving Fortune 500 companies in elite law firms. As a first-generation college graduate navigating an unfamiliar professional life, she often felt burdened and unprepared by her upbringing, but soon came to find it as a source of resilience.