Sarah Ellis

REPORTING FELLOW

Sarah Ellis is a non-traditional student at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. She is completing her B.S. in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in studio arts while studying abroad in Rome, Italy, during the summer of 2015. Upon return she will begin pursuit of her M.S. in communications studies. Sarah's academic success earned her the 2014 Outstanding Continuing Distance Education Student award at SDSU. Her undergraduate thesis "Interdisciplinary Refuge Through Art Therapy" reviewed how art therapies assist refugees, asylees, and persons living in globally conflicted regions heal from trauma, overcome identity crises, and maintain their cultural identities. This literature research inspired her to investigate first-hand the struggles endured by refugees fleeing terrorism and seeking opportunity.