Intern

Jonathan graduated from Boston University in May 2025 with a B.A. in Sociocultural Anthropology & Psychology, with honors in the major. His academic and research interests lie at the intersection of anthropology and psychology, with a focus on cross-cultural approaches to mental health.

His journey into anthropology began unexpectedly—sparked by a video game character that led him to take an introductory course in his sophomore year. After only a couple of classes, he became captivated and instantly decided that he wanted to double major in it. From there on, he was introduced into cross-cultural research, thanks to his former professor/mentor, eventually developing an independent research project that would eventually become his Honors Thesis.

His honors thesis, titled “PTSD & Post-Combat Purification Rituals: An Analysis into Potential Therapeutic Benefits”, explored the potential healing functions of post-combat rituals across cultures, with the goal of informing for future treatments for PTSD symptoms. Using ethnographic materials from the eHRAF database, he constructed a cross-cultural dataset to examine what makes ritual practices effective in contributing to psychological recovery. Since completing his thesis, Jonathan is actively preparing his thesis research for publication.