This spring, five students were named Fulbright awardees and an additional seven received prestigious fellowships, scholarships, and awards to pursue teaching and study across the globe.
Fulbright Award
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs across the globe. During their grants, awardees will meet, work, live with, and learn from the people of the host country. Fulbright intends to resume programs in January 2021.
Emelia BensonMeyer 鈥�20, English Teaching Assistant Program, Germany
Anezka Boyle 鈥�20, English Teaching Assistant Program, Kazakhstan
Zoe Cardwell-Copenhefer 鈥�20, English Teaching Assistant Program, Spain
Sarah Ellye Groh 鈥�20, English Teaching Assistant Program, Spain
Jared Yalung, 91吃瓜 Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program, Study/Research Award, Public Health, the Philippines
Davis Projects for Peace
Tanvi Shah 鈥�20
Tanvi Shah is a Davis Projects for Peace awardee for her project,聽鈥淎ddressing Gaps in Reproductive Healthcare聽in India.鈥� Davis Projects for Peace funds students to design and implement their own grassroots projects for peace anywhere in the world. Though the 2020 grant program has been canceled, Davis Projects for Peace hopes to roll the grants forward to the summer of 2021.
Napier听贵别濒濒辞飞
Sophia Knowlton-Latkin 鈥�20
Claremont鈥檚 Pilgrim Place community awards two $15,000 Napier Awards annually for creative leadership to graduating seniors who demonstrate outstanding leadership promise in the areas of social justice, peace, and environmental sustainability at the Claremont Colleges.聽Sophia Knowlton-Latkin鈥檚 project proposed the creation of educational workshops on reproductive health and menstruation for students in an indigenous school within an evacuation center in Manila, the Philippines.
Sahana Mehta 鈥�20 and Tanvi Shah 鈥�20 were named alternate Napier Fellows for their projects, 鈥淏uilding the 鈥楽outh Asian Youth Action Network鈥� (SAYAN)鈥� and 鈥淭raditional & Indigenous Medicine as Active Combatants of Maternal Mortality, Rural India,鈥� respectively.
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Eliamani Ismail 鈥�20
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent exploration outside the United States awarded to graduating seniors. Eliamani Ismail鈥檚 project, 鈥淧rinciples of Mercy: Imagining Justice Beyond Punishment,鈥� aims to explore restorative justice using practices of poetry and social reform in Taiwan, Colombia, Sweden, New Zealand, and Rwanda Ismail intends to pursue her project as soon as travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19 are lifted.
Critical Language Scholarship
Petie Schill 鈥�22
Olivia Truesdale 鈥�21
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) is a competitive summer study abroad language program funded by the Department of State for American college and university students to learn languages essential to America鈥檚 engagement with the world. Petie Schill 鈥�22 was awarded the CLS to study Swahili in Tanzania; Olivia Truesdale 鈥�21 will be pursuing her study of Korean virtually.
US Teaching Assistantship at Austrian Secondary Schools (USTA)
Emelia BensonMeyer 鈥�20
The Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science, and Research seeks recent college and university graduates interested in teaching English in Austria. 鈥淚 have had experience teaching and learning German, and I knew I wanted to spend more time traveling. USTA seemed like the perfect combination of these factors and a great stepping stone to begin my post-grad career,鈥� she says.
Newman Civic Fellows
Mackenzie Rutherford ’21
The Newman Civic Fellows Program recognizes and supports community-committed students who are changemakers and public problem solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. Newman Civic Fellows attend a national convening of fellows as well as regional and state gatherings and one-on-one leadership development with a mentor. Rutherford says that 鈥減rison abolition work will always be part of my life, and I am eager to learn about how the fellowship will help me hone my organizing and public service skills.鈥�
The Donald A. Strauss Scholarship
Samhita Kadiyala 鈥�21
The Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation makes annual awards of $15,000 to California college sophomores or juniors. The Foundation promotes the value of public service in the education and preparation of our future leaders by financing innovative student-generated projects. Samhita Kadiyala’s project, 鈥淏ack to Business: An Entrepreneurship Program for Youth in California鈥檚 Inland Valley,鈥� is a year-long program for high school-aged students at ReachOut, a non-profit based in California鈥檚 Inland Empire, which provides an after school safe space called The B.L.O.C.K. The program aims to provide a creative outlet and support network for opportunity youth, youth who are in the foster care system, and youth who are at risk of dropping out of school. During the program, youth will be paired with volunteer mentors, engaging in 鈥渟killshares鈥� with student business owners, working on personal and professional development, and collaborating on a group advocacy project.