kaelani burja
Derian/proces Summer research intern

Kaelani Burja is a rising sophomore at Princeton University. She is committed to fostering spaces of access, inclusion, mentorship, and diversity.

In 2020, Kaelani was awarded Outstanding Work by a Freshman for her work in the Lewis Center for the Arts’ theatre and music theatre departments. As a Latina artist actively involved in the Princeton theatrical community, she spent her first year taking courses that focused on the systematic oppressions of diverse voices (and of Latinx voices especially) in contemporary professional theatre. After collaborating with The Sol Project for her class 21st Century Latinx Drama, taught by Brian Herrera (The Sol Project’s Resident Scholar), she jumped at the opportunity to become the project’s first intern. Passionate about addressing the paucity of Latinidad in theatre, Kaelani is excited and grateful for the opportunity to learn from The Sol Project team! Alongside her internship, Kaelani will also be spending this summer serving as a residential college advisor for the Freshman Scholars Institute, which welcomes Princeton’s incoming class of first-year students coming from first generation, low-income backgrounds.

Kaelani's internship is sponsored by the Derian/ProCES Summer Research Internship Program at Princeton University which connects curriculum with Princeton's signature commitment to service.  It fosters collaborative, change-oriented projects of an intellectual nature that benefit students, faculty members, and community partners.  The Derian/ProCES Summer Research Internship program is designed to meet non-profits’ needs for research and information while providing interns with experience in the sector that will help inform decisions on their career and future studies. Learn more at proces.princeton.edu.