Student Fellowship Awards – Summer and Winter Break 2009

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Each year Carleton juniors have the opportunity to apply for a number of fellowships that allow them to follow their interests through projects completed over the summer before their senior year. As always, this year’s applicants proposed a fascinating and exciting array of projects. The following is a summary of the selected proposals.

Class of 1963 Fellowships

Helen Ashton ’10 will visit France and United Kingdom to study how growing numbers of Muslim women in the two countries are reacting to the states’ efforts to integrate the Muslim communities into mainstream society. She plans to meet Muslim women and their families, community organizers, and state officials.

Becca Dougherty ’10 plans to conduct quantitative research at an infertility clinic in Mumbai that matches infertile foreign couples with Indian women willing to carry their genetic child. Through observations and staff interviews, she will study how this industry affects the lives of its participants as well as the global hierarchies and inequities that fuel its existence.

Rachel Johnson ’10 will spend six weeks in Tanzania studying the consumption patterns of illegally hunted wild animal meat. She will conduct interviews and participatory observations to learn about the type and quantity of protein sources consumed by villagers of different socioeconomic statuses to determine to what extent various groups rely on bushmeat as a source of protein.

Sam Kanner ’10 will study how Europe has invested in ocean energy as a solution to the impending energy crisis. He will meet with the professors, engineers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers at the forefront of the European wave energy industry and learn about the challenges they will face in making ocean energy a competitive source of electricity.

Andrew Shenk ’10 will live in Russia, examining the national identities of both Chechnya and Dagestan during the late Soviet period and how this relates to their different paths following the break-up of the USSR. He will study two literary journals published during that time in hopes of clarifying how cultural leaders articulate their national identities and contextualizing the differences between Chechnya and Dagestan today.

Environmental and Technology Studies Internships

Sarah Berlin ’12 will serve as an Organizing Director for MPIRG. She will be researching environmental issues and proposed legislation, preparing for MPIRG lobbying, and helping plan MPIRG’s fall campaigns.

Michelle Hesterberg ’12 will serve as an Environmental Policy Intern with the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. She will be researching policies and advocating for the organization in addition to drafting public comments, working with coalitions, and developing advocacy strategies.

Callie Millington ’12 will be working to create a human and animal powered communal farm in Massachusetts. She plans to write a paper about the experience and economics of her project.

Libby Nachman ’12 plans to work for Bridging the Gap, an environmental group based in Kansas City. She will be hold the position of Kansas City Wild Lands Intern and be responsible for the publications of the Kansas City Wild Lands program.

Dale and Elizabeth Hanson Fellowship in Ethics

Christopher Logel ’10

will spend his summer in libraries, composing a paper regarding the rights of non-human animals. He has already created a thesis: any ethical theory which draws a hard-line distinction between non-human animals and humans does so erroneously. A philosophy major hoping to obtain his Ph.D. in Philosophy after graduating from Carleton, he will use this fellowship as an opportunity to further develop and refine his position into a paper and presentation.

Independent Research Fellowships

Shane Auerbach ’10 will travel to Mali to study award-winning author Massa Makan Diabaté’s trilogy that serves as a portrait of Malian life in the village of Kita during the years leading up to Mali’s independence. Shane plans to study the changes in Kita since the books were written and will examine the cultural context surrounding these novels, gathering his information from villagers and the author’s descendents.

Emily Cousins ’10 plans to spend the summer in the Republic of Palau, examining efforts toward marine conservation and studying how the interests of various groups coincide and conflict. She will focus on traditional fishing and conservation methods and the extent to which these are still practiced among Palauans in the face of a rapidly changing economy and culture.

Clare Jones ’10 will draw places of worship in New Orleans, investigating how they have defined themselves after Hurricane Katrina and what role they play in the restructuring of the greater urban community. She will bind a series of sketchbooks and use them to visually document the places she visits and the people she meets.

Daniel Schillinger ’10 will study the texts and performances of Macbeth and Henry VIII, examining how Shakespeare dramatizes the relationship between nature and politics. He will examine why Shakespeare would deliver philosophic political teachings through the theater with his project, culminating in a journal-length paper to be submitted to undergraduate journals and presented at Carleton.

Jonathan Paradise Israel Experience Scholarship

Melissa Abecasis '10, an international student from Bolivia, is a SOAN major. She will spend fall term at Haifa University studying aspects of Israeli society and history, as well as Hebrew language.

Iosif Sorokin '11 will study at Haifa University this summer, in their intensive language program.

Eric Reich '11, a Political Science and International Relations major, will study at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem this summer.

Kelley International Fellowships

Andrew Terwilliger ’10 has arranged to travel to China and meet three to five year-old children to test their comprehension and production of certain complex sentences. He believes that studying the language acquisition process in Chinese and comparing this to the process in English will illuminate principles of general language acquisition.

Peter Ladner ’10 will examine Chile’s model of free trade and how its commitment to export-oriented growth has led to economic growth and stability for over a decade. He will conduct extensive interviews with Chilean governmental, business, and academic leaders to determine whether this model is sustainable and suitable for other similar economies in Latin America.

Larson International Fellowships

Ben Mirin ’10 will be traveling to Northern Ireland to better understand Protestant and Catholic experiences. He will be spending time at historical sites of the Conflict, and will be a spectator at a number of summer public events.

Emogene Schilling ’10 will be drawing and painting in the city of Sapporo, Japan, meeting with local artists and taking workshops in printmaking and glassblowing. In the fall, she will present an exhibition to the campus on her experience as a foreign artist in the art community of Japan.

Daniel Kagan-Kans ’10 (and Jennifer Morse ’10) will spend six weeks in Nepal to explore the origins and effect of Yeti on Nepalese culture. They will first meet the university scholars, historians, and ordinary Nepali citizens. The project will be presented by showing the video diaries along the trip, and a retrospective analysis.  Read Daniel and Jennifer's blog here!

Adam Karas ’10 will follow the path of Ibn Battuta, traveling from India to Sri Lanka, exploring transnational religious and linguistic bonds that are pertinent today. By meeting people, visiting mosques, sharing food, and observing customs, he will better understand the extent of the Muslim influences in India and Sri Lanka.

Jennifer Morse ’10 (and Daniel Kagan-Kans ’10) will spend six weeks in Nepal to explore the origins and effect of Yeti on Nepalese culture. They will first meet the university scholars, historians, and ordinary Nepali citizens. The project will be presented by showing the video diaries along the trip, and a retrospective analysis.  Read Jennifer and Daniel's blog here!

John Schlaefer ’10 travel to Tibet Autonomous Region on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, interviewing residents or villages and cities along the route.

Theodore Wolff ’10 will visit Kenya and ride with Riders for Health, an international organization helping health workers in Africa have access to reliable transportation so they can reach the people in isolated areas with regular and predictable health care.

Laura Stone ’10 plans to visit Berlin and work with the German urban agriculture organization Shiftung Interkulter. Through volunteer work, she hopes to understand how Germans’ political ideologies drive urban spaces.

Allen and Irene Salisbury Fellowship

Caitlin McKimmy ’10 plans to volunteer at the Tibetan Home of Hope, an orphanage and school situated in the Amdo sector of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. She will travel with its founder, Tashi Dolma, and work as a “pilot-intern,” assessing the needs of its 64 children and giving them exposure to English. Read Caitlin's blog here!

Richard Salisbury

Samuel Robson ’10 will travel to Nicaragua and study how Creoles of the South Atlantic Autonomous Region remember the Sandinista Revolution and Contra War, and how those memories are influenced by past and present racial politics. He will examine artwork and monuments and collect oral testimony as signs of collective memory from the 1980s.

Richard Strang Prize

Syed Sadaf Sultan ’10 will study social networks in microfinance in Bangladesh, examining how group lending schemes are shaped by shared interests among group members. He will pay particular attention to female entrepreneurs and concerns for social agendas like self-empowerment and child welfare.

Initiative for Service Internships in International Development

Ryan Farkas ‘10 will work with the International Health Program in Tanzania through the Global Service Corps program. He will teach HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness training, spend time in local clinics, and work with some community service health programs.

Myla Fay ‘11 will work with Tibetan students in northern India at the Siddhartha School and provide language help by reading books aloud and encouraging English conversation. She will also assist teachers and students in using computer programs, graphing calculators, and newly acquired science equipment.

Kaitlin Forsberg ‘10 will volunteer with Global Crossroad at an ethnographic and folkloric museum in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Her specific tasks will range from assisting the museum with their research, to translating visitor information into English and giving tours to English-speaking guests.

Catherine Gardner ’10 will work at Holt Ilsan Center, a developmental rehabilitation and permanent residential facility in South Korea, to assist staff with educational, spiritual, vocational, and athletic programs.

Ariana Kiener ’10 will teach students in Khon Kaen Education Initiative (KKEI) schools with other local teachers and will provide administrative and classroom support to English teachers by participating in lesson-planning and cultural activities.

Olivia Killeen ’10 will be working with a grassroots organization through Cross Cultural Solutions to help children and adults in Morocco. She will help children with Math and reading, and adults with computer and professional skills.

Sonya Krishnan ’10 will be volunteering in the Central Highlands of Honduras through the i-to-i program. She will work in a Honduran hospital by providing general medical assistance in the pharmacy, blood bank, and pre-natal care unit.

Khant Khant Kyaw ’11 will be working with the NGO Think Twice in Cape Town, South Africa, to develop and facilitate educational programs about HIV/AIDS to children in under-resourced communities.

Siyuan Liu ’11 will be working with the non-profit organization One School to promote educational opportunities to school-aged children in rural villages in China. Siyuan will also translate the organization’s website into English.

Roy Martin ’10 will be working in rural Peru with ProWorld helping to construct and install ceramic stoves and remove health-hazardous traditional wood burning stoves. He will also conduct surveys and lung capacity tests to measure the effectiveness of clean burning stoves.

Anh Nguyen ’10 will teach English at the Center for Disadvantaged Children, develop and lead extracurricular activities and support poverty reduction programs. He will assist the Center in bridging the gaps between the educational opportunities for the students in rural and urban areas.

Matthew Pieh ’10 will volunteer with Operation Crossroads Africa at a local hospital in rural Gambia with their community health and medical outreach programs. He will help provide health care to those with few resources and limited technology.

Carmen Ross ’10 will work with CENIT (The Center for the Working Girl) in Quito Ecuador. She will work daily with pre-school aged children and lead programs and activities that help foster the children’s educational and emotional development.

Prakriti Thapa ’10 will work at a local organization through Experiential Learning International (ELI) in the Meru community in Tanzania. She will be providing assistance and guidance with business start-ups, marketing, and educating them about microfinance and loan application procedures.

Vivyan Tran ’10 will be volunteering through the program Cosmic Volunteers at the orphanage, Huong Duong, in Ho Chi Minh City. Vivyan will teach Math and English classes, and provide tutoring for school-aged girls.

Analeisha Vang ’10 will work and live in an orphanage for 8 weeks in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, through the program i-to-i. She will be teaching basic life skills, assisting with homework, organizing activities, and teaching English to children.

Sophie Williams ’10 will be volunteering in Costa Rica for three months, working and learning at Rancho Mastatal, an environmental learning and sustainable living center that leads local efforts in conservation, education, and community growth.

Richard T. Newman Family Fund for Language Study Internships

Jonathan Fraser ’10 will work as a full-time intern in the Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Vienna for 10 weeks. He will help organize the Embassy’s 4^th of July Gala, update the Embassy website, write and record podcasts for Austrian students, draft letters, translate letters, and coordinate arrangements for visiting VIPS.

Kenneth Bendiksen ’10 found this opportunity through a magazine editor, who he met while traveling in France during Carleton’s Paris Seminar ’08. As a summer intern for Photomasterskaya, Ken will assist in the creation process of each issue of the magazine – including developing themes and new articles, as well as working on layout.

Alex Gibson ’10 will spend five weeks as an intern in Zaragoza’s branch of Spain’s national news radio network, Cadena SER. He will work as a personal assistant to Miguel Mena (a Spanish author and journalist), putting together Mena’s program script and schedule. Alex will also conduct interviews in the streets of Zaragoza and will master the technical aspects of preparing radio broadcasts.

Courtney Morris ’11 will live and work with Les Mussets, a 300-acre family farm operation southwest of Paris. He will not only become more fluent in French, but also hopes to gain a better understanding of French agriculture by helping with the myriad tasks that are required to maintain a farming operation such as caring for the animals, working in fields, and delivering goods to the co-op.

The Laurence and Lucille Wu Family Fund

Scott Donaldson ’10 will act as an apprentice to Professor David Lefkowitz as he prepares for his fall exhibition, putting together models, preparing surfaces, and visiting the gallery to help organize the show. He will also create personal work, focusing on children’s illustration and the graphic novel and studying specific illustrative styles.