Here’s what it is like to spend the summer on a �ֲ���ý-funded project to record oral histories of the fishing community on Grand Manan in New Brunswick, Canada.

In the waters off Grand Manan Island, Kate McNally ’17 bands lobsters on the fishing boat “Island Bound”��in this photo taken by boat captain Russell Ingalls.

Name: Kate McNally ’17

Hometown: Deep River, Conn.

Major: Anthropology

Internship Sponsor: Otis Fellowship, providing grants of up to $6,000 for self-designed, innovative, and imaginative summer projects that address a student’s personal concern or interest in the natural world. In the fall, each fellow makes a public presentation to the campus community about the experience.

1. What was your project?

On the island of Grand Manan, in New Brunswick, I recorded oral histories of a fishing community that is in a state of cultural and economic flux.

The recordings of those interviews will contribute to community memory archived in the Grand Manan Museum and will form the basis for my own writing, in which I will reflect upon Grand Manan and its connection with the ocean.

2. Where did you live?

I lived and worked at Swallowtail Lighthouse. I also joined a lobster boat, which meant waking up very early to band lobsters

“On Grand Manan, I was everybody’s student.”

I did lighthouse repair and helped dulsers, people who gather dulse, a kind of seaweed, in the intertidal zone.

3. What have you learned?

First, you can do a lot when you put your mind to it. Second, strangers can be very kind, and quickly are strangers no longer — two very good things to learn if you hope to be a citizen of the world!

4. How did you use your anthropology major in this project?

In anthropology, you gain understanding of a place and a culture by finding people who can teach you about their lives and their perspectives.

Kate McNally ’17 photographed Bowlin Gaskill, a lifelong resident of the village of North Head on Grand Manan, as he participated in an oral history.

I find it inspiring to have teachers from every conceivable walk of life.

And on Grand Manan, I was everybody’s student.

I’ve also done biology coursework, so I was able to use my knowledge of the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy ecosystem to ask the question as an anthropologist: “What does this mean to the people who live here?

5. During this project, how did you manage your own privilege as someone who can enter and leave this community at will?

I researched the history and culture of Grand Manan before my arrival, but that told me nothing about the lives of people living there now.��I wanted to tell them that I wasn’t romantic, presumptive, insensitive, or ill-informed — but I simultaneously feared that all those words described me precisely.

Like many small, beautiful communities, Grand Manan is an incredibly tight year-round community and a tourist destination, too, so I was aware that I was treading an awkward line between the community and the tourists.

“Good things will happen that you didn’t expect — let them take you places!”

I dealt with that challenge in two ways. First, in oral history interviews I tried to listen honestly and wholeheartedly. Second, when I share my experience with the wider �ֲ���ý community in the fall, I will emphasize the complexity of this place that tourists so often and simply call “whimsical.”

I think that these strategies are a reciprocal response to the respect and kindness that was paid to me here.

6. What would you tell a younger �ֲ���ý student about the process of applying for a fellowship like this?

First, plan ahead. I started working getting information about the Otis Fellowship over a year before I applied, and every conversation helped me write my application.

The crew of the fishing boat “Island Bound” go about their work. (Kate McNally ’17)

Talk to members of the committee and previous fellows. Learn about the history and culture of the place you hope to go to, and don’t be afraid to email strangers!

Be comfortable with changing your plans. My fellowship was ever-evolving, right up until the last week.

Good things will happen that you didn’t expect — let them take you places! Frustrating things will happen that you didn’t expect. Think on them long enough to learn and reflect, but keep going.

��

Patrick Tolosky ’15, a Spanish major and premed student from Longmeadow, Mass., was awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant to build a health center in Peru. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

A Spanish major at �ֲ���ý College, Patrick Tolosky ’15 of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, has been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant to construct a health center with the people of the Q’eros nation, located in a remote region of the Peruvian Andes.

Now in its ninth year, Projects for Peace provides $10,000 grants to aspiring undergraduates attending member institutions of the Davis United World College Scholar Program. These students propose sustainable projects around the world that promote peace and address the root causes of conflict.

Tolosky will work collaboratively with the Q’eros people, one of the few remaining Inca communities in Peru, to build a health center focused on preventive care. This “Hampi Wasi,” or home of healing, will serve as a base for both visiting healthcare professionals and practitioners of the botanically based traditional medicine of the Q’eros.

“This work cannot wait, because this community should no longer have to abandon a newborn to curable dehydration or watch preventable infection take a limb or a life,” Tolosky says.

“I’ll be excited to hit the ground running and get started quickly upon arriving in Peru in mid-June. It will be rewarding to see what true collaboration can accomplish.”

Tolosky, who aspires to a career in public health and medicine, is the president of the pre-med club at �ֲ���ý and co-president of the college’s Public Health Initiative. He has tutored children at the Lewiston Public Library and has volunteered widely on and off campus.

He also received a 2015-16 Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Spain, one of 18 current or former �ֲ���ý students to receive Fulbright fellowships this year. He will work in Peru during the summer and head for Spain in September.

Hannah Rae Porst ’11.

Tolosky’s Project for Peace extends the work of Hannah Porst, who graduated from �ֲ���ý and received a Project for Peace grant in 2011. With her Davis grant, Porst built the first Q’eros school, in the village of Ch’allmachimpana.

That project, Tolosky explains, spawned Willka Yachay, a nonprofit that continues to help the community thrive. In a collaborative effort since 2012, Willka Yachay and the Q’eros people have constructed three additional school buildings that serve children and adults. They have also undertaken other projects for this community whose 14 villages comprise about 2,000 people.

Porst and Tolosky were initially put in contact by a common adviser, professor Claudia Aburto Guzmán of the �ֲ���ý Spanish department. Porst and Tolosky then met last summer at a children’s home in Urubamba, Peru, where Tolosky helped build a sustainable greenhouse after studying in Lima. They have collaborated closely since then. It was Tolosky’s third visit to South America.

Tolosky was moved to launch his project when Porst told him about the lack of healthcare among the Q’eros — and about one of the consequences of that lack, the child mortality rate. “The World Bank database cites Peru’s child mortality at 2 percent, while in Q’eros it is around 40 to 50 percent. When Hannah told me that, I simply couldn’t comprehend it.”

The Hampi Wasi will provide education in preventative medicine and serve as a base of operations for visiting healthcare professionals. Combining traditional and modern practices, volunteers will teach nutrition, sanitation, prevention of hypothermia and other preventative measures.

But it will also support the traditional medical practices of the Q’eros, serving as a repository for documentation of those practices, which are now passed down orally. Part of the tradition is lost every time one of its practitioners dies, as was evidenced by a recent unexpected death of a highly skilled “curandero” or healer.

“The intention is not to establish Western medical care as the dominant force, but rather to supplement the traditional practices of the Q’eros people when it’s beneficial,” says Tolosky.

“This will be a great example of different types of medicine working together toward a common goal.”

Tolosky, whose summertime work in a Massachusetts emergency department has opened his eyes to the effects of both poverty and preventative care on overall health, sees healthcare as the key to a peaceful and sustainable future for the Q’eros community.

He adds, “I think a beautiful part of this world is how many different cultures there are, and how each has something to offer the others. I’m excited to learn from the Q’eros people and walk away with a broadened perspective about what it means to be human.”

Environmental major and Watson Fellow Caroline Caldwell ’15 of Gambier, Ohio, poses with a friendly lamb at Nezinscot Farm in Turner, Maine. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

As a young teenager, Caroline Caldwell ’15 lit out for a two-week New Mexico training camp to complete her skill set for the sport called the modern pentathlon.

Already competitive in horseback riding, swimming and running, three of the five stages of modern pentathlon, she wanted to round out her repertoire by learning to shoot and to fence.

It was a big hop, geographically and psychologically, to Roswell from the family farm in Gambier, Ohio. “I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ ” Caldwell says. “It was really hard for that first week.”

But then came the payoff. “I remember finishing the camp and continuing into nationals and thinking, ‘This is awesome,'” she continues. “That sparked my desire to keep throwing myself into situations where I’m going to fly somewhere and not know anyone, and live with them and work with them.”

Caldwell will be doing exactly that later this year, thanks to the coveted Watson Fellowship, an award that supports a year of study and research abroad. This environmental studies major is one of 50 U.S. students to receive the $30,000 stipend in 2015.

Caroline Caldwell at Zapata Ranch, in Colorado, during her 2014 internship.

For her Watson year, Caldwell will undertake an exploration of sustainable livestock ranching in Australia, Finland and Tristan da Cunha, the namesake island of the world’s most remote inhabited archipelago.

“I’m trying to learn more about sustainable management in places where it’s about survival more than keeping up with a fad,” says Caldwell, who from an early age was responsible for a collection of animals on the farm in Gambier.

In all three nations, rigorous agricultural management is essential. Australia, the land of livestock “stations” or ranches that can rival small countries for size, is dry and getting drier as the climate changes. Finland presents all the agricultural challenges of a far northern land.

Grazing on Tristan, whose land is held communally by the entire population, is limited by the availability of suitable pastureland and a culture that emphasizes income equality.

The livestock operations that she’ll visit during her Watson year, Caldwell explains, employ practices informed by ecological knowledge handed down over generations. Those operations must be self-sufficient, because their locations present few economic or environmental alternatives.

“There isn’t really a fallback plan for them,” she says. “These farms and ranches operate in stark contrast to America’s wealthy subsidized farms that have modern high-tech machinery and a powerful economic status as massive cattle exporters.

“I want to explore how sustainability is inherent in each community’s culture, and how they have adjusted to political and economic influences within the bounds of their natural environments.”

Watson Fellow Caroline Caldwell ’15 greets a goat at Nezinscot Farm. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Caldwell’s Watson plan reads like a blueprint of her personality and passions. It’s a blueprint that she refined and polished at �ֲ���ý. For her, �ֲ���ý was the place to find focus and fresh challenges for a robust energy, a love of the outdoors and a voracious appetite for new skills, the more hands-on the better.

Whether it’s wielding a chainsaw, tending to livestock wounds or learning to sew (thanks to the �ֲ���ý theater course “Pattern Drafting and Draping”), Caldwell says that she just loves “physically being able to replicate what other people can do.”

Caldwell developed her capacity for hard work on the family farm, which her parents ran in addition to day jobs in education. (They now operate the college farm at Kenyon.) As she notes in her Watson proposal, “At age 7 I could show you the difference between new soybean and corn sprouts, and by 14 I could look at any hay bale and identify the various grass types packed into the bale.”)

At �ֲ���ý, Caldwell started out with the swim team and gravitated to rowing. “Rowing has really shaped me as a person,” she says. “Whenever I feel like I can’t do something any longer, if I’m exhausted or mentally burned out, I think back to rowing practice — ‘Well, if I could get through that, then I can get through this.'”

Caldwell’s Watson itinerary reflects her �ֲ���ý journey. For her senior thesis, with Holly Ewing as adviser, she looked at land preservation organizations in Maine, Maryland and Ohio. Her study-abroad experience in the Turks and Caicos Islands whetted her interest in the challenges of island life.

And Caldwell’s Otis Fellowship, a �ֲ���ý grant supporting off-campus research with an environmental theme, enabled her to undertake a three-month internship, in spring 2014, at The Nature Conservancy’s Zapata Ranch in Colorado.

Watson Fellow Caroline Caldwell ’15 at Nezinscot Farm in Turner, Maine. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

The 103,000-acre ranch supports some 3,000 bison and 300 cattle in an environment where strict management of water use and grazing is crucial. “A lot of the cottonwoods around the ranch were dying,” she says, “because the water table has dropped so much.”

The internship “introduced me to large-scale ranching and the success that comes from managing entire ecosystems instead of focusing separately on the crops or livestock,” Caldwell explains. The experience was eye-opening after life on an Ohio farm where the land is fertile and rainwater plentiful.

“I felt Zapata Ranch was the beginning of my life in sustainable ranching, and I realized how much more I want to learn.”

Caldwell readily credits �ֲ���ý for helping prepare her, in ways both specific and broad, for both the Watson experience and what comes next. Like many �ֲ���ý seniors whose work with fellowship advisers (in her case, Nancy Kleckner, biologist and �ֲ���ý’ Watson liaison, and Robert Strong, lecturer in English and the college’s graduate fellowship adviser) has paid off with an award, Caldwell feels that guidance was decisive.

On the broad scale, Caldwell could write the theme song for the liberal arts experience. “The fact that there are opportunities to explore almost any interest is just phenomenal. I think coming here and taking that leap of faith has led to so many other opportunities.”

She adds, “I’m going to look back to my �ֲ���ý experience for a lot of inner strength because it has pushed me in ways that I didn’t think possible.” Coming from Caroline Caldwell, that’s saying a lot.

Fifteen current seniors and five graduates won the 20 prestigious awards for teaching and research abroad in 2015-16.

“The name ‘Fulbright’ is synonymous with international service, learning and adventure,” said Matthew Auer, dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs. “It’s incredibly gratifying to see so many of our students going abroad to make an impact as teachers, as scholars and as ambassadors of �ֲ���ý.”

Update: for number of 2015-16 Fulbright Student grants.

Compared with prior year totals achieved by U.S. undergraduate colleges, �ֲ���ý’ crop of Fulbright U.S. Student grants ranks among the top several schools nationally.

Supporting an academic year of research or teaching in more than 155 countries outside the U.S., the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, funded primarily by the U.S. Department of State, sends some 1,500 U.S. citizens abroad annually.

Of the 20 �ֲ���ý recipients, four were awarded Fulbright Study/Research grants and 16 received Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships, which support positions teaching English in primary and secondary schools or universities abroad.

The college’s prior record was 12 Fulbright U.S. Student grants, in 2013-14.

Teika Carlson '15, an environmental studies major from Southbury, Conn., has received a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Samuel Schleipman '12, a history major volunteering with the Peace Corps in Namibia, has received a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia.

Danielle Munoz '15, a politics major from Bedford, N.H., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Germany. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Joel Colony '06, a religion major from Harrisville, N.H., was awarded a 2015–16 Fulbright Study/Research grant to study global politics and international relations in the European Union

Nicole Huang ’14, an anthropology major from Portland, Maine, was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Study/Research grant for India.

Class of 2015 Fulbright U.S. Student recipients

Teika Carlson ’15

Teika Carlson ’15, an environmental studies major from Southbury, Conn., was awarded a 2015–16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

At �ֲ���ý, Carlson worked with students at Lewiston public schools, the Lewiston public library, and Hillview Resource Center. She also spent a summer in Lewiston working with Hillview as a Community Outreach Summer Student Fellow. Her extracurricular activities included leading a trip in �ֲ���ý’ Annual Entering Student Outdoor Program and running on the cross country and the track and field teams.

Further teaching experience in Hawaii and a semester abroad in Valparaiso, Chile, helped inspire Carlson to pursue a teaching opportunity through the Fulbright grant.

Teika Carlson ’15, an environmental studies major from Southbury, Conn., has received a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Carlson says that her previous teaching experiences have taught her the educational value of inviting student input through questioning.

“Questions provided wonderful opportunities to follow the students’ interests, sparked the curiosity of others in the classroom, and indicated that the students were comfortable participating in the learning environment,” she says. “Having emotional connections to classroom material makes the work seem relevant and is key to keeping students motivated and engaged.”

In Brazil, Carlson plans to form a book group, similar to one that she formed in Lewiston. “I hope to stimulate equally important conversations with the kind of thoughtful open-ended questions that defined my own tertiary education,” she says. She plans to use texts to spark conversations about social issues and current events.

Through this experience, Carlson hopes to gain exposure to new teaching methods that will support her goal of earning a master’s degree in education and working as a teacher and school administrator.

Michael Creedon ’15

Michael Creedon ’15, an English major from Medfield, Mass.,��was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Creedon expects that his Brazil experience will develop his skills in teaching and language. He also hopes that his time abroad will broaden his worldview.

He has taught summer-school English at Phillips Exeter Academy, has tutored and student-taught in Lewiston schools, and currently works for the �ֲ���ý Peer Writing Center. “In every educational context in which I work, I try to see myself both as a teacher and a student,” Creedon explains.

Michael Creedon ’15, an English major from Medfield, Mass., has received a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“While tutoring here in Lewiston, this means giving English language learners an opportunity to demonstrate their diverse range of foundation knowledge, so they can connect the new to the known.

“And in Brazil, this would mean immersing myself in the Portuguese language and exchanging ideas with students who are also aspiring teachers.”

While in Brazil, Creedon will immerse himself in the community by hosting running races in support of local causes.

He completed a �ֲ���ý honors thesis in English in 2014-15, examining the intersection of racial and sexual representations of tomboys in the years during and immediately after the Second World War.

Creedon hopes to apply the Fulbright experience to his role as a teacher of diverse students. He aspires to teach English and ELL in secondary schools.

In 2014, he helped lead a Short Term class that visited Malawi. A dean’s list student and a Dana Scholar, Creedon is an active athlete and the treasurer for the �ֲ���ý Authors’ Guild.

Barbara Crespo ’15

Barbara Crespo ’15, an environmental studies major from New York City,��was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Guatemala.

Inspired by her own childhood experience as an English-language learner, Crespo plans to use specific teaching techniques, honed during trips to Nicaragua and Ethiopia, to help students not only improve their English skills but also develop the tools to further their own success. She will also lead weekly art classes to integrate what she’s teaching in the classroom into the larger community.

“I will explore what learning English means to this community and how cultural and social conditions affect these areas,” says Crespo.

Barbara Crespo ’15, an environmental studies major from New York City, has received a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Guatemala. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

 

“The students and their families will be encouraged to reflect on their lives and aspirations through narrative and visual arts. This technique will foster a greater understanding of the English language, and also make their artwork accessible to people in the United States.”

At �ֲ���ý, Crespo worked as a Spanish tutor and assistant in the education department. She also worked off-campus as an intern at Lewiston’s Hillview Arts Program and a park steward mentor at a Bronx-based non-profit organization.

Following her time in Guatemala, Crespo hopes to work in New York City’s public school system as a program coordinator for youth development while pursuing a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on urban schools and higher education.

Jackson Emanuel ’15

Jackson Emanuel ’15, a biochemistry major from Lakewood, Colo., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Poland, where he will work with undergraduate science students on their English language skills.

Emanuel was inspired by meeting students from all over Europe, including Poland, during his study abroad at the University of Edinburgh. He feels that because many technical resources are in English, it is important to provide the opportunity for science students to improve their skills in the language.

“In addition to 20 hours per week of regular teaching sessions, I’d like to run a weekly workshop on accessing online resources in English, data interpretation and analysis,” Emanuel says.

Jackson Emanuel ’15, a biochemistry major from Lakewood, Colo., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Poland. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

 

“Ideally, I would work with host university professors to develop course content that complements what students are studying in other classes.”

While in Poland, Emanuel will also host informal English speaking sessions, and will continue learning Polish as a way to immerse himself in the cultural experience of the host country.

At �ֲ���ý, Emanuel has served as the vice president of the Biology Club, a student tutor for courses on molecular biology, and wrote his senior thesis on a gene regulation in��Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

Following his time in Poland, Emanuel hopes to pursue graduate studies in biochemistry and to earn a doctorate. He intends to teach undergraduate sciences while conducting his own research.

Frances Jennings ’15

Frances Jennings ’15,��a double major in politics and Chinese from Springfield, Ohio, was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Study/Research Grant to study the changing concept of success in China. Her research will take place primarily at Sun-Yat Sen University in Guangzhou, China.

Jennings plans to engage in qualitative interviews about perceptions of success in the context of the country’s recent development. Using ethnographic discussion to collect stories from residents, she’ll explore, from a sociological perspective, how their lives are affected by China’s massive economic growth, and the varying answers to what it means to live the “Chinese dream.”

“Understanding personal and situational effects on Chinese nationals’ interpretation of the concept will be integral to its perpetuation as a national phrase and project,” she says.

Frances Jennings ’15, a double major in politics and Chinese from Springfield, Ohio, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright Research Grant to study the changing concept of success in China. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“I think that researching individual accounts of the Chinese dream will illuminate the capacity of the phrase and its potential to change the modern Chinese conceptualization of progress.”

She will write essays analyzing and contextualizing the interviews and compile them into a narrative collection that she hopes will provide a deeper understanding of the myriad of differences existing in modern China.

Jennings works as a legal intern at Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Lewiston, Maine, and at �ֲ���ý has served as a student outreach coordinator with the college’s EcoRep organization. In 2014, while studying in Beijing, Jennings served as a research intern at Women Watch China.

Upon her return to the United States, Jennings hopes to attend law school or a graduate program in international relations or public policy to further a career in human rights law and politics.

Liliana Jimenez ’15

Liliana Jimenez ’15, a politics major from Chicago,��was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Turkey.

Jimenez was inspired to teach in Turkey by two previous experiences with Turkish students: first while studying at the Université de Nantes, in France, and then during a stint assisting English-language students in Chicago.

“Having worked with Turkish students, I understand that sentence structure is one of the most challenging parts of learning English for them,” explains Jimenez. “Being able to structure my lesson plans to effectively explain this will help me make a contribution to the Fulbright Fellowship Turkish ETA program.”

Liliana Jimenez ’15, a politics major from Chicago, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Turkey. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

During her classroom time, Jimenez plans to encourage presentations of both Turkish and American culture in order to foster deeper levels of international linguistic understanding.

After her Fulbright experience, Jimenez hopes to pursue a graduate degree in international studies to complement her fluency in French and Spanish.

At �ֲ���ý, Jimenez has participated in the student organizations Latinos Unidos and the Women’s Advocacy Group, and is a member of �ֲ���ý College Women in Leadership.

Danielle Munoz ’15

Danielle Munoz ’15, a politics major from Bedford, N.H., has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Germany.

Drawing from her experience as both a teacher and student of foreign language, Munoz hopes to instill a passion for learning in her students, while exploring culture and identity to form a meaningful cross-cultural exchange with them.

“In the classroom, I would share with my students American history, current events and pop culture, but, more than anything, I would stress that languages do not have borders,” she says. “Instead, in this globalized world, languages fluidly cross country-specific borders in ways that are full of potential for citizens of the world.”

Danielle Munoz ’15, a politics major from Bedford, N.H., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Germany. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

She also plans to teach dance, organize a girls soccer league and join a local outing club.

At �ֲ���ý, Munoz was a member of the �ֲ���ý Democrats and served as co-president of the �ֲ���ý Entrepreneurs Club. She received the Hoffman Research Support Grant to research Afro-Brazilian dance and culture in Salvador, Brazil, and in Lewiston volunteered at the Somali Youth Bantu Association as a tutor in English as a Second Language and the U.S. citizenship test.

Following her return, Munoz hopes to work in renewable energy and in urban and sustainable development in the hopes of creating more environmentally conscious communities in the United States.

Ashleen O’Brien ’15

Ashleen O’Brien ’15, a double major in environmental studies and politics from Edmonds, Wash.,��was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Mexico.

O’Brien is committed to developing close academic and personal relationships with students, families and fellow teachers, while studying the role Mexican identity plays in learning and education.

“I realized that the most effective way I can contribute to change at a macro level is not necessarily through pursuing a career as a politician,” she says. “Rather, policy is informed by empowerment and collaboration with people on the ground, and education is the most powerful tool for empowerment.”

Ashleen O’Brien ’15, a double major in environmental studies and politics from Edmonds, Wash., was awarded a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Mexico. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

Through her time living and working as an intern at Nezinscot Farm, a diversified organic family farm in Turner, Maine, O’Brien developed a strong passion for organic farming and food education that she hopes to put to use while working with students and their families in local communal gardens.

At �ֲ���ý, O’Brien has been involved with the �ֲ���ý Energy Action Movement and was a team member and tournament director for the Brooks Quimby Debate Council. She also worked at Tree Street Youth in Lewiston.

Upon her return, O’Brien will pursue a career in urban environmental justice and education. She hopes to use her experiences in Mexico to further her work with the Mexican population here in the United States.

Amelia Oliver ’15

Inspired by her own Ukrainian heritage and a passion for teaching English, Oliver will work with students to expand their language skills and encourage their exploration of culture, identity and what it means to be part of a community.

She hopes to establish an afterschool program for local children that uses the art of collage as a means of expression and documentation to further their skills in the English language.

“Collage making will mutually sharpen language skills, draw cultural parallels and provide youth with a space for reflection and discussion,” she says.

Amelia Oliver ’15, an English and Russian double major from Potomac, Md., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Ukraine. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“Collages provide a unique window into the world of words, images and messages by conjuring a conglomeration of unrelated parts to come together and make a beautiful whole.”

Oliver completed a �ֲ���ý honors thesis in English in 2014-15, examining Vladimir Nabokov’s The Eye and how Nabokov attempts to transcend traditional textures of space and time by means of artistic consciousness.

At �ֲ���ý, Oliver is a member of the women’s track and field team, and served as an English tutor through the Refugee Volunteers Club. Her experience as a campus tour guide and as a volunteer college admissions adviser at a local ELL afterschool program have allowed her to sharpen her skills as an educational counselor and outreach administrator.

Following her time in Ukraine, Oliver will apply to master’s programs in Slavic languages and Eurasian studies with the ultimate goal of a career in international relations. She hopes to gain the necessary skills and experience for a lifetime of work dedicated to diplomacy and Eurasian policy.

Molly Pailet ’15

Molly Pailet ’15, a history major from Denver, was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for the Czech Republic.

There Pailet will teach English as a second language in an immersive environment. Her interest in the Czech Republic was deepened through her study abroad experience there, and her recently completed honors thesis focused on Czech spirituality and secularism. Pailet will become involved in the Czech community through arts and crafts work and beekeeping.

Molly Pailet ’15, a history major from Denver, has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for the Czech Republic. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“I will bring my openness, personal self-sufficiency, perspective and skill set of communication and perseverance as an ETA,” says Pailet.

“I do not expect that being an ETA will be easy. I look forward to embracing the challenges of teaching English in a different culture because I know that change and challenge inspire me.”

After her Fulbright experience, Pailet plans to pursue her interests in public and oral history through organizations such as which advances the practice of public stoytelling, and , and a national oral history project that records and distributes personal history.

She plans to earn a master’s degree in either museum science for exhibit development or museum education.

At �ֲ���ý, Pailet is a dean’s list student and a writing and speaking assistant in Ladd Library.

M. Lane Peterson ’15

M. Lane Peterson ’15, a double major in German and rhetoric from Washington, D.C., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Germany.

Peterson will teach English to students using a comprehensive, conversational approach. “By creating an English-speaking community in the classroom, the students’ comfort with the language and their breadth of comprehension will grow,” Peterson explains.

M. Lane Peterson ’15, a double major in German and rhetoric from Washington, D.C., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Germany. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“Once class has begun, we will speak English and explore ways of clarifying unknown words through English, not German. This will help them stop translating and begin thinking and understanding in English.”

As part of her community outreach, Peterson plans to join a choir and take art classes at a German community college.

After her Fulbright experience, Peterson says, “I want to work in a position that allows the opportunity to work with an international company’s German or European branch.” She is also contemplating graduate school.

For her senior thesis at �ֲ���ý, Peterson explored questions of cultural identity through the work of German-Spanish poet José F.A. Oliver. She has served as a teaching assistant for the German department and been a member of the choir and the Merimanders��a cappella��group.

Grace Pezzella ’15

Grace Pezzella ’15, a history major from Newburyport, Mass.,��was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia. Pezzella will offer her students an opportunity to master the English language through creative and empowering instruction. She also plans to study how increased tourism in Malaysia has affected children in rural areas.

Using her background in theater, Pezzella plans to create music-themed exercises such as improvisation games, skits and songs as a secondary means of learning that will incorporate the cultures and traditions of her students.

Grace Pezzella ’15, a history major from Newburyport, Mass., has received a 2015-16 Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“Not only will this support the students’ English training in a way that could reach those who struggle in a traditional setting, but also it will allow for meaningful intercultural exchange through art,” she says.

She completed a �ֲ���ý honors thesis in history in 2014-15, examining the evolution of the Appalachian Mountain Club hut system as a masculine space, and how the modern huts function as an ideal feminist model.

At �ֲ���ý, Pezzella served as managing news editor of The �ֲ���ý Student newspaper and is the vice president of the �ֲ���ý Outing Club. She works as a cook and wilderness-medicine guide for the Appalachian Mountain Club in Gorham, N.H.

Pezzella plans to attend a graduate program for journalism or travel writing upon her return to the United States.

Quincy Snellings ’15

Quincy Snellings ’15, a double major in sociology and English from Lexington, Mass., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Inspired by conversational learning in the �ֲ���ý Peer Writing and Speaking Center, Snellings’ application to teach in Brazil was also propelled by her interest in the cultural exchanges between Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

“In the classroom in Brazil, I’ll listen carefully, with the intention of making meaningful connections with my students and understanding what is holding them back from meeting their potential,” says Snellings. “Outside of the classroom, I will hold myself to the same standards as I explore and make connections with the community around me.”

Quincy Snellings ’15 of Lexington, Mass., a double major in sociology and English, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

While in Brazil, Snellings plans to engage with her community through capoeira, the��Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and acrobatics, or other forms of dance or martial arts.

In the future, Snellings plans to teach high school English to diverse classrooms in areas of high need. She hopes that her time in Brazil will help her to introduce global perspectives to her students.

She completed a �ֲ���ý honors thesis in sociology in 2014-15, investigating �ֲ���ý students’ perceptions and awareness of whiteness and its impact on their college experience.

A dean’s list student, Snellings works in recruitment for Teach for America. She is a writing and speaking tutor, a Dana Scholar and the captain of women’s track and field.

Matthew Summers ’15

Matthew Summers, a senior economics major from Short Hills, N.J., was awarded a��2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for South Africa.

Summers, named the top debater at the 2015 U.S. Universities Debating Championship in April, plans to bring international awareness and a passion for communication to his teaching position, and hopes to use his years of experience in teaching public speaking and in debate to start a debate club at his assigned school.

“I have spent much of the last decade training myself to be the best communicator I can be, and during that time I’ve seen how much individuals can be held back when they struggle with English,” he says.

Matthew Summers ’15, a senior economics major from Short Hills, N.J., was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for South Africa. (josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

“For the next period of my life, I want to use the skills I’ve learned to help others communicate their ideas and feelings as well as they possibly can.”

At �ֲ���ý, Summers has worked as a writing assistant for fellow students in the Peer Writing and Speaking Center. He also served as a teaching assistant for the economics department, and was an SAT tutor for local students at the Lewiston-based organization Let’s Get Ready.

Upon his return, Summers may enroll in an economics doctoral program with the goal of becoming a developmental economist or a macro economist, while devoting equal time to teaching, research and policy advising.

Patrick Tolosky ’15

Patrick Tolosky ’15, a Spanish major and premed student from Longmeadow, Mass., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Spain.

Tolosky is also the recipient of a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace award. During summer 2015, prior to his departure for Spain, he will use the Projects for Peace grant to build a public health facility in a remote region of Peru.

Patrick Tolosky ’15, a Spanish major and premed student from Longmeadow, Mass., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Spain. (Josh Kuckens/�ֲ���ý College)

Tolosky’s experiences in tutoring began in high school. At �ֲ���ý, Tolosky has worked as an organic chemistry tutor and as a tutor for English language learners at the Lewiston Public Library. He believes that leadership skills he has learned through these experiences will be invaluable to his plans for teaching English in Spain.

Tolosky has also been inspired by the example of the Model UN. “Teamwork, communication, reliability, foresight, resourcefulness and adaptability are all skills reinforced through the Model UN project,” says Tolosky.

As part of his cultural outreach in Spain, Tolosky plans to become involved as a public health volunteer.

A dean’s list student, Tolosky has served as president of the �ֲ���ý Public Health Initiative and the Health Sciences Club. He is a member of Men Against Sexual Violence and the Spanish Club.

Tolosky hopes his experiences in Spain will inform his plans to promote the use of the Spanish language in the field of health care. His goals include medical school and a career that addresses the role of poverty in health both domestically and abroad.

Alumni Fulbright U.S. Student recipients

Ashley Braunthal ’14

Ashley Braunthal ’14, a double major in geology and German from Riverside, Conn., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Study/Research grant to work with the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR) in Bergen, Norway.

While in Norway, Braunthal plans to study the effects of Arctic Sea ice on the Greenland Ice Sheet by comparing abrupt shifts in ice and sediment core samples. She will begin her fellowship aboard a research vessel bound for eastern Greenland and the Nordic Seas.

Ashley Braunthal ’14, a double major in geology and German from Riverside, Conn., was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Study/Research grant.

Braunthal will work under the mentorship of Trond Dokken and Matthew Reeve of the BCCR.

“I anticipate that 
the experience will contribute to my lifelong commitment to global science collaboration and intercultural exchange,” says Braunthal.

“Bergen is an international hub and think tank for climate research, and I hope to take with me an inspiring and innovative approach toward my future endeavors: that is, sharing with others a passion for climate research and other interests while embracing our
 cultural and personal differences.”

To share her work, Braunthal will contribute articles to , an international and inter-disciplinary community where early-career scientists interact in order to improve their writing and communication skills, and on her own blog. During this process, she will participate in the ClimateSnack writing group at the University of Bergen (UiB). She plans to live at UiB.

At �ֲ���ý, Braunthal was an EcoRep, president of the German Club from 2012-14, founder of the �ֲ���ý Field Hockey Club and a member of Takenote, an a cappella ensemble. Following her Fulbright experience, Braunthal hopes to pursue graduate work in Earth system science.

Joel Colony ’06

Joel Colony ’06, a religion major from Harrisville, N.H., was awarded a 2015–16 Fulbright Study/Research grant to study global politics and international relations in the European Union

Joel Colony ’06, a religion major from Harrisville, N.H., was awarded a 2015–16 Fulbright Study/Research grant to study global politics and international relations in the European Union.

Colony’s project includes travel to London, Brussels and Rome where he will examine how gender equality is being promoted through EU foreign and security policy, and ways in which U.S. and EU approaches to this issue can be improved.

Meanwhile, he plans to earn a master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Colony will base his research on interviews with EU scholars and policymakers. He will also engage in public diplomacy through sports and community service.

At �ֲ���ý, Colony was a dean’s list student and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He was the captain of the track and field team, a residence coordinator and an active member of the �ֲ���ý College Student Government. Since 2009, Colony has worked for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) as an adviser on foreign policy.

Colony’s goals include working for the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. He hopes to advance the inclusion of women in matters of foreign policy, security and development.

Nicole Huang ’14

Nicole Huang ’14, an anthropology major from Portland, Maine, was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Study/Research grant for India.

Titled “Sustainable Development and the Organic Movement in South India,” Huang’s research project involves relationships between sustainable agriculture and development. Her research will include interviews with farmers, consumers and activists. She hopes that her work will promote communication between communities.

Nicole Huang ’14, an anthropology major from Portland, Maine, was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright Study/Research grant for India.

The project, she says, “will allow me to further develop my understanding of the organic agriculture movement in its local and global contexts. More importantly, as a Fulbright Fellow, I will engage with communities in India, contribute to sustainable agriculture projects and build connections between groups that are involved in the movement.”

Inspired by a study abroad program in Madurai, India, Huang plans to immerse herself in her host country’s culture by working on organic farms or volunteering at local schools.

Huang intends to pursue a graduate degree in environmental policy and education upon which to build a career in the field of sustainable agriculture.

“After returning to the United States,” she says, “I plan to educate the American public about innovations in Indian agriculture as I work to promote sustainable development and agricultural change at home and abroad.”

At �ֲ���ý, Huang worked at the Somali Bantu Association in Lewiston and at the �ֲ���ý Peer Writing Center. A dean’s list student, Huang graduated Phi Beta Kappa and is currently an AmeriCorps volunteer at the University of New England.

Elizabeth McKean ’12

Elizabeth McKean, a third- and fourth-grade lead teacher from Helena, Ark., was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia to further her interest in education, reading instruction and multiculturalism. McKean graduated from �ֲ���ý in 2012 as a politics major.

Drawing from her experience teaching struggling readers, McKean will use targeted lesson plans that use engaging repetitive drills and conversational activities to get students talking to one another. She also hopes to connect with the community through local routines and traditions, and attending activities such as church events, performances, games and festivals.

Elizabeth McKean ’12, a politics major who teaches third and fourth grade in Helena, Ark., has received a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia.

“In Arkansas, I connected with the place and my students by walking through neighborhoods, attending community events, soaking in the reality and potential of the Mississippi Delta, and finally bringing what I found into the classroom,” says McKean. “I will continue to spark inquiry in my Malaysian students using the same techniques.”

McKean was a campus campaign coordinator for Teach for America during her senior year at �ֲ���ý, and eventually began teaching through the organization in Helena. In 2013-14, she received three grants, totaling just over $95,000, each designed to provide funding for instructional technology for the classroom.

After Malaysia, McKean will apply to graduate school to earn a degree in educational leadership or learning instruction, or will apply for a leadership role at an elementary or middle school.

Samuel Schleipman ’12

Samuel Schleipman, a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Namibia, has received a 2015–16 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia. A Boston native, Schleipman graduated from �ֲ���ý in 2012 with a history major.

Schleipman’s passion for teaching English stems from a desire to open doors for his students and allow them to feel confident seeking university and job opportunities in the world beyond their borders.

Samuel Schleipman ’12, a history major volunteering with the Peace Corps in Namibia, has received a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia.

“Foreign nationals who have a command of English enjoy vastly expanded opportunities,” he says. “The ease I have navigating the world with English has impressed upon me its supreme utility.”

He adds, “The satisfaction I’ve felt when teaching compels me to immerse myself in that role again. I want to assist my students to self-actualize, and there is no better way to do that than as a teacher.”

He views this fellowship as an opportunity to immerse himself in a new culture and give back to this new community, one he will soon call home.

“The defining moments of my life have always derived from travel and study in extreme and unfamiliar destinations, where my perspective changes and confidence in my ability to meet difficult challenges grows,” he says.

“I have realized that fulfillment and satisfaction comes not from following the traditional path of success, but from jumping headlong out of my comfort zone and rising to the occasion.”

Schleipman hopes to bring a deep enthusiasm to his classroom using skills and strategies he learned while teaching English at the Benevolent Islamic Secondary School in Sierra Leone. At �ֲ���ý, he was a member of the Robinson Players and the Brooks Quimby Debate Team, fueling a passion for drama and debate, which heavily influenced his work in Sierra Leone as chair of the Literary & Debating Society.

He helped students articulate and analyze complex arguments, and started a drama club that made English tangible and exciting, enabling students to proudly demonstrate their achievements to peers and families on stage. Evacuated out of Sierra Leone in August 2014 due to the Ebola outbreak, Schleipman continues his community service in Namibia as a resource coordinator at Regional Library, promoting literacy programs on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

Upon his return to the United States, Schleipman intends to pursue graduate studies and a future in development or humanitarian aid, and will explore possibilities with the United Nations and the U.S. Foreign Service.

Bo Ra Kim ’14: scholar, activist and musician.

Bo Ra Kim ’14 of Seoul, Korea, has received a to fund her study of environmental economics at Columbia University.

Kim is among 41 scholarship recipients who will each receive up to $50,000 annually for graduate studies in the U.S. or abroad.

“I would like to either work as an environmental consultant, working to increase corporations’ environmental practices, or at the United Nations Environment Programme as a policy consultant,” says Kim, who double-majored in environmental studies and music at �ֲ���ý.

Kim is clear about not only what she seeks to do with her life, but also how she aims to change the world around her. “I am incredibly passionate about mitigating climate change and adapting to the inevitable effects of the greenhouse gases that we have already emitted.”

The �ֲ���ý environmental studies faculty helped Kim narrow down an intimidatingly large choice of specialties. “I was able to really explore different concentrations within the large topic of environmental studies,” she says. “Through taking classes in different disciplines, I was able to find my interest in environmental economics.”

Lynne Lewis, Elmer W. Campbell Professor of Economics, “did a wonderful job of supporting me and sparking my interest in this subject.” Kim adds. “She provided me many research opportunities and further grew my interest in environmental economics.”

Kim says, “Without this focus, I would not have thought that I wanted to work as an environmental or policy consultant.”

For her senior thesis in environmental studies, Kim investigated a topic related to Lewis’ research into contingent valuation, an economic technique for placing a value on resources,��such as environmental quality, that don’t have conventional market value. This work, says Kim, “taught me a lot about data analysis through the application of concepts that I had learned in other classes. I understand regressions a lot more than I ever would have through just taking the econometrics class.“

Kim’s interest in environmental studies is rivaled by her lifelong love of music.

“Music often is my stress reliever, because when I leave everything and go play the piano, violin or sing, I can get lost in it. That is one of the only times when my head is not swirling with thoughts of everything else I need to do.”

Her musical achievements include service as concert master of the Choate Rosemary Hall Chamber Orchestra and participation in a Grammy Award-winning recording by the Michigan State University Children’s Choir in 2006.

The��Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, established by a successful entrepreneur who regretted that his Depression-era upbringing prevented him from attending college, has been by Kim’s side since seventh grade, when she became a JKCF Young Scholar.

“The JKCF helped provide me with opportunities,” she explains. “They provided financial assistance for my musical activities, including violin and piano lessons, and choir.

“But I think that the most valuable aspect of this relationship was the guidance they provided. They advised me through boarding school applications and again through my college applications and choices. They did not just support me financially — they guided me through the challenges I faced in life.”

�ֲ���ý College’s 2014 Fulbright recipients as of June 5, 2014. Top row, from left: K. Ailes, E. Gawarkiewicz, A. Hill, A. Lepre, C. Maeder. Bottom row: O. Minott, A. Munter, M. Ramey, J. Stewart, A. Strada.

Known as a top producer of students receiving prestigious Fulbright grants for teaching and research abroad, �ֲ���ý has announced that 10 seniors and former students have received Fulbright awards this year.

Supporting an academic year of research and teaching in more than 155 countries outside the United States, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of State and sends some 1,500 U.S. citizens abroad annually.

This year, 16 current �ֲ���ý students or alumni were selected as Fulbright finalists. Of the 10 recipients, all but one were awarded English Teaching Assistantships, which support positions teaching English in primary and secondary schools or universities.

The exception was �ֲ���ý senior Kathryn��Ailes, who received a grant for study and research. She��is �ֲ���ý’ first Fulbright recipient to enter a master’s program in the U.K.

Meet �ֲ���ý’ 2014 Fulbright recipients (except as indicated, all are members of the Class of 2014):

Kathryn Ailes��of Swarthmore, Pa. A double major in English and dance, she received a grant for study and research and��will enter the Masters of Research program at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

Ellen Gawarkiewicz of North Falmouth, Mass. A 2013 graduate of �ֲ���ý, where she majored in environmental studies and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Gawarkiewicz received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Nepal.

Alexandra Hill of Wayland, Mass. A double major in Spanish and sociology, Hill was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Brazil.

Ashley Lepre of Portland, Maine. A 2013 graduate of �ֲ���ý, where she majored in English, Lepre was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship for Bulgaria.

Clara Maeder of Washington, D.C. A politics major, Maeder received an English Teaching Assistantship for Mexico.

Owen Minott of Needham, Mass. A politics major, Minott was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Anna Munter of Washington, D.C. A French and Francophone studies major, Munter received an English Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia.

Meg Ramey of San Francisco. A 2012 graduate of �ֲ���ý, where she majored in English and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, Ramey is the recipient of an English Teaching Assistantship for Mexico.

John Stewart of Keene, N.H. A double major in philosophy and politics, Stewart was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Amy Strada of North Salem, N.Y. An English major, Strada received an English Teaching Assistantship for the Czech Republic.

Destany Franklin ’14 received the Heart and Soul Award for community engagement. (Marc Glass/�ֲ���ý College)

A �ֲ���ý senior from Seattle and the college Department of Athletics were each recognized for outstanding work in public service and civic engagement by Maine Campus Compact at the organization’s annual awards ceremony at the Maine State House on April 30.

Destany Franklin ’14 received the Heart and Soul Student Award for her work with the Hillview Center in Lewiston, and the athletics department received the President’s Leadership Award for its commitment to community engagement.

Maine Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of 17 college and university presidents who work to strengthen communities and create a more just society by prioritizing community-based learning for students. It is an affiliate state office of Campus Compact.

• Learn more about Destany Franklin and the Heart and Soul Student Award.
• .

Devin Tatro ’14 of Haverhill, Mass., is the co-recipient of a Davis Project for Peace grant. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Two �ֲ���ý seniors have received a national award that will launch an initiative in Rwanda to support children of incarcerated people.

A 2014 Davis Project for Peace award has gone to Simone Schriger of Los Angeles and Devin Tatro of Haverhill, Mass., who, after graduating from �ֲ���ý, will spend this summer in Rwanda developing a program to foster resiliency and community among people whose parents have been imprisoned for reasons including their involvement in the 1994 genocide.

Simone Schriger ’14 of Los Angeles. (Sarah Crosby/�ֲ���ý College)

Established in 2007 by the late Kathryn Wasserman Davis, the Project for Peace program provides $10,000 apiece to initiatives promoting peace and addressing root causes of conflict. Learn more at .

Titled Restoration, Reconciliation and Rehabilitation: Empowering CIPs, Schriger and Tatro’s project will explore how children of incarcerated parents (CIPs) can develop coping skills conducive to their mental health.

The pair will establish the program with the Rwandan branch of Prison Fellowship International. They are basing their project on activities proven in U.S. CIP-advocacy programs, which they will adapt for Rwanda’s unique circumstances.

Imprisonment is a salient social and political issue in Rwanda, which ranks seventh worldwide for imprisoned population, according to Tatro and Schriger. Twenty years after the 1994 genocide, in which Hutu extremists massacred as many as a million Tutsi and moderate Hutu, the nation is still working toward recovery — a situation presenting a unique context for more universal concerns about children of prisoners.

With some 120,000 individuals accused of genocidal crimes, Rwanda found distinctive ways — such as the “gacaca” courts adapted from tribal practices — to exercise justice in the years after the massacre.

“Achieving a peaceful society demands successful criminal reconciliation: healing broken relationships, repairing the damage done by crime and restoring an imprisoned offender to an integrated and productive member of society upon release,” Tatro and Schriger write in their Davis proposal.

Yet, they note, the children of prisoners have typically been neglected in the two decades of national healing.

“Rwandan CIPs are a critical missing link in national reunification and vital to the peace-seeking process.”

Schriger and Tatro bring complementary interests and skills to the project. Tatro, who has studied in Rwanda, is an honors anthropology major whose experience with field work will inform the pair’s research.

“Working with children of incarcerated parents as a demographic is something I’ve been interested in doing,” she says. “It’s a demographic that people don’t necessarily know how to help or deal with.

“A lot of these children go under the radar — it’s like losing a parent, but also involves shame and confusion. We will look into how this ties into their identity.”

An honors psychology major, Schriger is interested in the practice of restorative justice, a theme in Rwandan reconciliation and recovery efforts since the genocide. She believes that restorative justice methods are the key to an empowered community.

Restorative justice prioritizes the personal needs of the victim and the community over the abstract needs of the state. It fosters dialogue among the parties with the intent of redressing the victims’ grievances and rehabilitating the offender.

“It is based on the belief that justice has to be achieved through a process of reconciliation and conversation, rather than just banishing someone to a cell,” Schriger says.

The pair hope to bring that concept into the breach between imprisoned parents and their children, who are typically separated by barriers not only physical but emotional and social.

“We want to put children in contact with their parents,” says Schriger. “We want them to understand that their parents are real people — and that not everything has to be perfect, but that they can have working relationships.”

Tatro points out that her and Schriger’s project reflects a growing worldwide concern about the well-being of CIPs. “A lot of our work in designing this project was looking at programs in this country that address children with incarcerated parents — programs that are growing in number and influence.”

The project will be undertaken in partnership with Prison Fellowship Rwanda, a nonprofit related to Prison Fellowship International, an NGO that employs restorative justice techniques to aid prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims and their families.

Along with interventions by expert counselors, Tatro and Schriger will empower CIPs with resources for emotional catharsis and self-understanding, such as journaling, support groups and letter writing to imprisoned parents.

Drawing on Tatro’s anthropology training, the pair will also document the narratives of the children, “beginning to capture and interpret their unique position, and what it means for peacemaking, in a post-genocidal culture,” they write.

Tatro visited Rwanda in the fall of 2012 where she got hands-on experience in conflict resolution at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Rwanda Development Board.

She also conducted research in Uganda for her honors thesis in anthropology, which looks at the efforts of the Sebei people to market their ethnic and cultural heritage to tourists and international aid organizations.

Schriger, who received a prestigious Watson Fellowship this spring, worked with CIPs at a program for impoverished children in Los Angeles. She spent winter 2012 in Chile, where, in addition to studying at a local university, she conducted research for her honors thesis about perceptions of dating violence in that country.

Two �ֲ���ý College seniors are among this year’s 43 recipients of a Watson Fellowship, a prestigious grant that supports a year of travel and research outside the United States.

�ֲ���ý seniors Simone Schriger and Brian Kennedy are recipients of 2014 Watson Fellowships. (Sarah Crosby/�ֲ���ý College)

Brian Kennedy, an economics major from Port Washington, N.Y., will travel to Japan, Australia, Ireland and Canada to study commercial production of marine algae and its potential for revitalizing coastal economies in the United States.

• Read more about Brian Kennedy’s plans for his Watson year.

Simone Schriger, a psychology major from Los Angeles, will study the implications of the trade in human body parts, such as blood and hair, in India, South Africa and Costa Rica.

• Read more about Simone Schriger’s plans for her Watson year.

A program of the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, the Watson Fellowship supports a year of international exploration in any field for graduating college seniors “of unusual promise.” Each fellow is awarded $28,000 for 12 months of travel as well as college loan assistance as applicable and an insurance allowance.

Recipients come from select private liberal arts colleges and universities across the U.S. This year’s 43 recipients were selected from a pool of nearly 700 candidates overall and 150 finalists.

Growing up along the North Shore of Long Island, Kennedy says, “it’s hard not to interact with seaweed — definitely my first experience with seaweed was probably just throwing it at my siblings.”

But through his �ֲ���ý studies and other experiences, including a 2013 internship with Maine’s marine algae and aquaculture industries, he developed a fascination with the broad potential of seaweed and other algaes in food and fuel production.

“What fascinates me in economics is the interface between industry and natural resources,” he says.

Schriger plans to research the practice of donating human body parts and products: specifically, breast milk, hair, blood and kidneys. She will travel to India, South Africa and Costa Rica to understand differing motivations for “parting with one’s parts” and the cultural contexts that affect those motivations.

In her interviews with people involved in myriad ways with corporeal donations, she will also investigate attitudes toward the commodification of these goods. “There’s a global network of these parts,” she says.

“One of the things that I’m trying to figure out is how that has changed and how much our view of it, as something that’s pretty normal, is representative of others’ understanding of it in different nations and cultures.”

Both Kennedy and Schriger credit their time at �ֲ���ý as key to their success at competing for the Watson.

Guidance from psychology faculty was crucial in helping prepare Schriger for a successful Watson application. “The individual attention they provided was instrumental in developing confidence and independent working habits,” Schriger says.

Kennedy found that feedback and support from the Watson Fellowship Committee at �ֲ���ý was invaluable as he honed his application. And, he adds, “One thing that �ֲ���ý really has taught me to do is to just take my own initiative and go with that.

“It’s so easy to get to know the professors and other people who can help you make something happen.”

The 2013 Phillips Fellows, Asha Mohamud ’15 and Rachel Baumann ’14. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“The next world is already on its way. College education in the U.S. faces the urgent task of getting ready for it,” �ֲ���ý President Charles F. Phillips told the incoming class during Convocation 1959.

Intersections between culture and medicine drew Asha Mohamud to Tanzania.

Phillips was referring specifically to Asia, which was just beginning its ascent to today’s global influence. But �ֲ���ý’ fourth president was getting at a broader notion as well: the educational importance of understanding cultures different from one’s own.

Since 1999, Phillips Student Fellowships have put that concept into action. Phillips Fellows create outstanding international or cross-cultural projects involving research, community-engaged learning or career exploration.

The program supports immersion in another culture, opportunities for intense meaningful work and unique prospects for intellectual and personal growth.

Meet Phillips Fellows Rachel Baumann ’14 and Asha Mohamud ’15.

The story of her grandparents’ escape from the Holocaust drew Rachel Baumann to Europe.

The student fellowships, along with faculty fellowships and professorships, are supported by the Phillips Endowment Program, a suite of awards, honors and opportunities funded by a $9 million bequest to �ֲ���ý by Phillips and his wife, Evelyn Minard Phillips.

“The fellowships take students out of their comfort zone in ways that are personally transformative, and prepare them to be citizens of the world,” says Kerry O’Brien, assistant dean of the faculty. “They really embody the mission of the college on several levels: educating the whole person, honoring diversity, cultivating intellectual discovery and civic action, and preparing future leaders.”

In 2013, seeking to understand experiences outside the U.S. that had changed the lives of people close to them, two �ֲ���ý students sought and were awarded Phillips Fellowships.