[Editor's note: Since these fellowships were announced, the College has been informed that both Muira McCammon '13 and Daria Kieffer '13 have also received fellowships. Read about these two recipients in a separate story here.]
Four Carleton College seniors have been awarded the highly competitive Fulbright Fellowship to pursue graduate work abroad.
The recipients include: Milan Cvitkovic ’13 (Seattle), Shantrice King ’13 (Bronx, NY), Molly Rapaport ‘13 (Ridgewood, NJ) and Sophia Daudon ’13 (Seattle).
Cvitkovic is a chemistry and mathematics double major and plans to perform theoretical chemistry research at the National University of Singapore. He will work with Professor Ryan Bettens to begin the development of a quantum-mechanical, many-molecule model of water for use in molecular simulation.
“Honestly, my first feeling was relief that I could stop looking for a job for next year. That was quickly replaced by surprise and gratitude,” said Cvitkovic. “I feel truly honored to have received the award and am utterly indebted to the many people who helped me through the application process.”
Cvitkovic has employed his chemical skills as a chemistry research associate at Carleton for more than two years. He also credits “the coursework from our exceptional chemistry department.”
King is a women's and gender studies major who plans to work with the National Institute of Health and Medical Research’s Gender, Sexual and Reproductive Health team. She will perform a content analysis of the sex education curriculum by observing middle-school biology classes, sex education classes, health workshops and a family planning clinic.
“I'm really excited about having won the Fulbright. I can't wait to start another chapter of my life in a new country among new people. I look forward to being taught about life and all it has to offer by the people I'm going to work with,” said King. “What makes this accomplishment particularly special is that I had decided I would apply for the Fulbright to France when I was a sophomore so it’s incredible that it actually happened for me.”
King served as president of Carleton’s reproductive justice collective. She credits it with her interest “in the diverse ways women define and interpret the power they have over their bodies and reproductive choices.”
King also ran a writing program in Faribault, “Courage to Write.” The program helped young, first-generation, immigrant women improve their writing skills.
Rapaport is a French and Francophone Studies and political science/international relations double major who plans to do research in Burkina Faso on the impact of polygamy on female economic autonomy. Rapaport will work with the almost entirely female-dominated shea butter collectives to better understand women’s economic freedom.
Rapaport credited her study abroad program in Mali led by Professor Chérif Keïta as an important influence on the development of her project. In Mali, she first learned about the different types of polygamous familial structures, which sparked her interest in their effects on women, financially and socially.
Daudon is an environmental studies major who plans to do research in Greece on its emerging ‘back to the land’ movement, She will study at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece, the preeminent institute for agricultural studies in that country and the destination for many unemployed adults who want to learn how to farm.
Last year, Daudon studied the environment science in Madagascar in a trip that both psychically and mentally challenged her. She also managed the Carleton farm, interviewed farmers and wrote her senior comprehensive project on local food systems in Northfield.
The Fulbright United States Student Program is the largest United States exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 1,800 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 155 countries worldwide. The Fulbright Scholarship covers transportation to the host country, the cost of living there and health benefits.
It selects recipients based on many qualities including: academic record, personal qualifications, language preparation and advancing the Fulbright aim of promoting mutual understanding among nations through engagement in the host community.
