Fisher ’17 Wins Watson Fellowship to Study Cooperatives

As the recipient of a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, Michaela Fisher '17 will spend a year studying cooperatives in five countries. Her project, titled "Cooperative Worlds: Exploring the Global Cooperative Economy," will take her to Spain, Argentina, New Zealand, Germany and Canada. Watson Fellows are all seniors nominated by 40 partner colleges. According to the website, “Fellows conceive original projects, execute them outside of the United States for one year and embrace the ensuing journey. They decide where to go, who to meet, and when to change course.” Fellows receive a $30,000, 12-month travel stipend and health insurance while abroad. The Thomas…

Claudia Kahindi '18 has been named a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. She joins a distinguished group of 273 community-committed students, all nominated by college presidents or chancellors, from across the Campus Compact network of schools in this one-year fellowship. The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation. It honors the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact's founders and a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. "Leadership everywhere is going through a crisis. Social justice issues and polarisation continue…

Hilary Brumberg ’17, who volunteers at Wesleyan's Long Lane Farm, recently received a Princeton in Latin America Fellowship to develop an environmental education program in Costa Rica. As a Princeton in Latin America Fellow (PiLA), Hilary Brumberg ’17 will spend next year working at Osa Conservation in Costa Rica developing a river conservation and environmental education program. Brumberg is double majoring in earth and environmental sciences (E&ES) and Hispanic literatures and cultures. She's also working on the environmental studies certificate. PiLA matches highly qualified and motivated recent college graduates with partner organizations engaged in socially responsible development projects in Latin America and the…

Next spring, May Treuhaft-Ali '17 will graduate from Wesleyan with a degree in theater, but that won't be her final curtain call. As a Mitchell Scholar, Treuhaft-Ali will have the opportunity to advance her studies on theater and performance at Trinity College in Dublin. The George J. Mitchell Scholarship Program is a nationally competitive award for U.S. citizens sponsored by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance. Named in honor of the former U.S. Senator's pivotal contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, the Mitchell Scholarship is designed to introduce and connect future American leaders to the island of Ireland, while recognizing and fostering…

Ethnomusicology PhD candidate Maho Ishiguro MA ’12 was honored at the 2016 Society of Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting with the Nadia and Nicholas Nahumck Fellowship for her research titled "Seudati and the Social Contestation of Female Dance in Aceh, Indonesia.” The award is given to help support research on a dance-related subject and its subsequent publication, and consists of a $4,000 research fellowship and $1,000 award for publication. “This fellowship will allow me to continue doing my research on the topics of Acehnese dance and music forms, women's practice of performing arts, and changing socioreligious climate in the post-tsunami Aceh, from 2004…

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…

Fisher ’17 Wins Watson Fellowship to Study Cooperatives

Kahindi ’18 Named Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow

Brumberg ’17 Wins Princeton in Latin America Fellowship

Mitchell Scholar Treuhaft-Ali ’17 Will Continue Theater Studies in Ireland

Ishiguro Awarded Research Fellowship to Study Acehnese Dance

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