Cari is a Joint PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Materials Science at Princeton University, where she maintains a 3.95 GPA and conducts research in the Interfacial Water Group. She has dedicated her thesis to have direct implications for environmental remediation, contaminant transport, and sustainable energy systems.

She was also recently diagnosed with cancer.

Cari comes from a single-parent household. Her mother raised her alongside a brother currently in college and a sister in medical school. There is no financial safety net. She has always known that, and she has built her path accordingly.

Before Princeton, Cari spent two years as a U.S. Department of Energy Fellow, working on one of the largest environmental cleanup projects in the world to remove mercury from freshwater ecosystems. This work led to a peer-reviewed publication and multiple national conference presentations. That foundation in environmental protection has carried through everything she has done since.

This year, Cari was one of 14 researchers nationwide to be selected for the JSPS Summer Program, fellowship to conduct research in Japan for next-generation sustainable energy materials. The research has the potential to advance how we design Earth-abundant materials for clean energy applications. It is the kind of work that takes years of preparation to be ready for.

Beyond her research, Cari has spent her time at Princeton building community. In her roles as Vice President and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair of the Princeton Graduate Student Government, she advocated on behalf of the student body and worked directly with university administration. She is a Diversity Fellow in the Office of Access, Diversity and Inclusion, where she works to advance equity across the institution and mentors first-year PhD students. Cari is also the founding President of the Caribbean Graduate Student Association and serves as Vice President of the Black Graduate Caucus. She created a K-12 STEM outreach program in Trenton and New Brunswick public schools. She taught and led precepts as a Teaching Assistant for Princeton's introductory environmental engineering course. As a university administrative fellow, Cari built and runs a Python learning cohort for graduate students through Princeton GradFUTURES.

A cancer diagnosis changes all of this. Surgery is only the first step, but remission is a five-year process, which means years of follow-up care, ongoing treatment, out-of-pocket medical costs, and decisions that compound over time. She is navigating all of this while living far from family and honoring a fellowship she worked years to earn.

This campaign exists to cover her surgery and out-of-pocket medical costs, support ongoing treatment and care expenses over the coming years, and offset income lost during fellowship travel and recovery. The goal is to give Cari the ability to focus on her health and her research, not on managing financial pressure month to month.

She has given a great deal to her field and to the people around her. This is an opportunity to give something back.