fellowships – Page 4

Five Doris Duke Conservation Scholars spent the past summer researching sustainability, environmental justice and policy, agriculture, water ecology and ecosystem productivity. As Doris Duke Scholars, Kelly Lam ’19, Gabby Vargas ’18, Emily Murphy ’18, Olivia Won ’18 and Ryan Nelson ’19 received two summer experiential learning and research opportunities at the University of Michigan and the University of Washington. They will return next summer to complete the second segment of their research program. Kelly Lam '19 conducted her research on farms and orchards in the greater Ann Arbor, Mich. area through the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment.…

Davenport Study Grant recipient Anna Bisikalo ’17, a Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies major, recently completed a six-week internship at Transitions Online (TOL), a nonprofit media organization based in Prague, Czech Republic. During her internship, Bisikalo published a series of articles, including her most recent article, “Art and Politics Do Mix.” Bisikalo's internship was five days a week at the TOL office. "The office was English-speaking, but I did use my Ukrainian and Russian language skills for the articles I wrote,” she explained. “I wrote daily articles about new stories from the region, often focusing on ones that are…

LaNell Williams ’15, currently enrolled in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s to PhD Bridge Program, was named a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow for 2016. This fellowship program not only recognizes but also supports outstanding students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. With more than 17,000 applicants, Williams was one of 2,000 selected for the three-year stipend, with its professional development and international research opportunities. At the Fisk-Vanderbilt program, which aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority students engaged in PhD-level STEM research, Williams is focusing her research on the…

During the Roman Empire, the art of gem carving or intaglio provided a way to characterize one's self, family or acquaintances. This summer, three Wesleyan students with an interest in classical studies worked with a Roman intaglio collection previously owned by J. Pierpont Morgan (father of J.P. Morgan) at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. As interns, Maria Ma '17, Margot Metz '18, and Emma Graham '19 collaborated on documenting and cataloging about 200 intaglio gems, which made the collection accessible to a wider audience of scholars and museum visitors. The gems were hidden from public view for decades. "It's so exciting that our students had the opportunity…

The Office of Student Affairs hosted a Spring 2016 awards banquet for students who received academic prizes, fellowships and awards on May 4 in Daniel Family Commons. Students received awards for demonstrating outstanding character, leadership and intellectual commitment; intercollegiate debating; extracurricular participation; promoting the health, visibility, and participation of the Latino community at Wesleyan; writing the best paper that uses econometric techniques to analyze an economic problem; excellence in environmental stewardship; excellence in modern languages; exhibition in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, or architecture; and much more. To view the entire list of awards and recipients see Student Affairs Prizes…

Bulelani Jili '16 has been named a Yenching Scholar for 2016. This fully funded and prestigious postgraduate program is run by Peking University in Beijing, China. Initiated in 2014, the Yenching Academy program invites exceptional postgraduates from around the globe to engage in interdisciplinary study on ancient, modern and contemporary China in the humanities and the social sciences. Yenching Scholars are granted the flexibility to create their own study paths by choosing from six academic concentrations and a variety of extracurricular activities. Studying at the Academy represents a unique opportunity not only for intercultural and academic exchange, but also for…

Eleven Wesleyans were finalists in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program this year, including 10 from the Class of 2016, and a Class of 2013 alumna. In all, 23 people from Wesleyan applied for Fulbrights, and 12 were semi-finalists. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program operates in 160 countries worldwide. Primary funding for the program comes from an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of…

Praise Owoyemi '18 has been chosen for the prestigious Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Russian in Vladimir, Russia this summer. The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully funded summer overseas language and cultural immersion program under the U.S. Department of State, which American undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to apply for. CLS is dedicated to broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages, as well as building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries. CLS provides opportunities to a diverse range of students from across the United States at…

Alvin Chitena ’19 has been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant of $10,000 to launch his project Zim Code at five high schools in Zimbabwe this summer. Zim Code provides Zimbabwean youth with free access to resources they need—computers, internet access and instruction—to learn computer programming and how to apply their new skills in their community. Davis Projects for Peace was created in 2007 through the generosity of Kathryn W. Davis, a lifelong internationalist and philanthropist who died in 2013. It supports initiative, innovation and entrepreneurship by undergraduate students focused on conflict prevention, resolution or reconciliation in countries around…

In April, the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program presented scholarships to five Wesleyan undergraduate students. As Doris Duke Scholars, Olivia Won ’18, Emily Murphy ’18, Ryan Nelson '19, Gabby Vargas '18 and Kelly Lam '19 will receive two summer experiential learning and research opportunities at the University of Washington and the University of Michigan. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation initiated the Conservation Scholars programs at several universities across the country in 2013 with the intention of attracting and training members of under-represented communities in the field of conservation. Over the course of their two years in the program, the scholars…

As a 2016 recipient of the Keasbey Scholarship, Claire Wright ’16 will continue her education at Oxford University after graduating from Wesleyan this May. While at Oxford, she will pursue an MPhil in Comparative Social Policy. “Throughout my time at Wesleyan I have become increasingly passionate both about international development efforts and gender equality initiatives," she said. Wright's senior thesis focused on medical, social and political implications of using PTSD-focused aid for survivors of sexual violence in postcolonial nations. "I wanted a course of study that would allow me to translate these theoretical, intellectual insights regarding responses to violence against women…

On April 5, six Wesleyan alumni–David Rabban ’71, Roxanne Euban ’88, Lyle Ashton Harris ’88, Rick Barot ’92, Adam Berinsky ’92 and Jonas Carpignano ’06–were each awarded Guggenheim Fellowships by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. According to the foundation, these prestigious awards aim to “further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions and irrespective of race, color or creed.” Rabban is an award winning author and academic whose research focuses on labor law, higher education and the…

Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Begin 2-Year Research Projects in Michigan, Washington

Bisikalo ’17 Completes Writing Internship in Prague at Media Organization

Williams ’15 Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Students Catalog Roman Gems during Museum Internship

Students Honored with Academic Prizes, Fellowships

Jili ’16 to Study Public Policy, International Relations as Yenching Scholar in China

10 Wesleyan Students, 1 Alumna Receive Fulbrights

Owoyemi ’18 to Study in Russia as Critical Language Scholar

Chitena ’19 Receives Davis Projects for Peace Grant to Teach Programming in Zimbabwe

5 Undergraduates Receive Doris Duke Conservation Scholarships

Wright ’16 Recipient of Keasbey Scholarship

6 Alumni Receive 2016 Guggenheim Fellowships