2016-2017 Recipients

Isabel Udell, a double major in government and Asian studies, was awarded a fully-funded study abroad opportunity through the U.S. State Department’s Boren Scholarship program. Their South Asian Flagship Language Initiative (SAFLI) provides awardees the opportunity for intensive language study in Hindi and Urdu and cultural immersion in India. Isabel will spend this summer at UW-Madison studying Hindi intensively followed by a semester studying in Jaipur, India while living with a host family. Isabel spent a summer studying Hindi during high school through NSLI-Y, another U.S. State department program, and looks forward to building on that foundation of cultural and linguistic knowledge. Isabel’s future professional goals lie in foreign policy where she would be able to contribute her linguistic skills and regional knowledge in order to build democratic institutions, diffuse radicalism and forge peace between various ethnic factions within India, India and its neighbors, and India and the U.S. 

Over the summer, Sarah will travel to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where she will intensively study Persian (Farsi). She is familiar with all three Persian dialects as she studied Tajiki in Tajikistan during the summer of 2013 on a NSLI-Y scholarship, learned the Dari dialect from her parents, and took classes in Farsi during her gap year in Vienna. She is interested in the Persian-speaking countries and how U.S. relations with the Middle East and Central Asia affect economic policy and politics. She plans on undertaking coursework at Bowdoin in economics, mathematics, and German.

An Asian studies major, Daniel is excited to spend his summer in China as part of the summer-long, intensive Critical Language Scholarship program. While at Bowdoin, Daniel has focused on studying religious politics and culture in Asia, and hopes that the language immersion program will prepare him to pursue his own research on religious and political identity in ethnic minority groups in Yunnan. He is also interested in bridging his background and his studies to understand China's increasing economic and political role in Central America, particularly in Honduras, where he was born.

Lisa is excited to spend the summer studying Arabic in Amman, Jordan. Her interest in the language began while studying abroad in Oman her senior year of high school on a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES) scholarship, an exchange program between the United States and countries with significant Muslim populations. While at Bowdoin, Lisa particularly enjoyed being involved with Residential Life and the Bowdoin Outing Club. Lisa is a government and legal studies major from Underhill, Vermont.

At Bowdoin, Charlie majored in German studies with a concentration on theatrical modernism, and minored in psychology. After developing a passion for the German language in his first semester, he studied abroad and lived in Germany for 6 months during his junior year, where he began to engage with works of modern German literature and drama. He plans to combine his love of theater, teaching, and German as a 2017-2018 English Teaching Assistant, intending to hone his pedagogical methods while immersing himself in German culture before attending graduate school for Germanistik.

Juliet graduated from Bowdoin with an education and computer science coordinate major. As an English Teaching Assistant in Peru, she will teach English at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lima. Juliet developed an interest in teaching adults through a TEFL course in Thailand and a fellowship in Cambodia. During her time at Bowdoin, she assisted in English language classes for adult immigrants and refugees at Portland Adult Education (PAE). In her senior year, she developed and taught a community-based computer programming course for English language learners at PAE. In addition to her English teaching in Lima, Juliet plans to teach a computer programming class for local youth

Rob Gaines is an English major, Asian studies minor from East Providence, Rhode Island. After studying endangered plant conservation and Sinhala language in Sri Lanka with the ISLE program in his third year at Bowdoin, he is returning to Sri Lanka as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. While in the country, he hopes to improve further his ability with South Asian languages and, if possible, add to the body of his earlier research in the time available outside of teaching.

At Bowdoin, Ana majored in biology and Romance languages, studying both Spanish and French. After starting college following a pre-vet track, the literature she read in her Spanish classes inspired her to pursue a career as a high school Spanish teacher. She will be spending the coming schoolyear working as an English Teaching Assistant in Mexico, where she will have the opportunity to gain experience in the classroom and to immerse herself in a new culture. Upon her return from Mexico, Ana plans to study Spanish literature in graduate school.

Casey graduated with a major in German and minor in psychology. After spending a semester abroad in Freiburg, Germany, a summer working with resettled refugees in Maine, and a semester as a TA for the German department, Casey has cultivated a deep interest in language and cultural education. She is particularly excited to return to Germany through Fulbright's Diversity Program and have the opportunity to teach English and American culture to migrant and minority populations in Saxony. After Fulbright Casey intends to continue working with underserved communities either abroad or back in the U.S.

A government and German double major, Jodi  will spend the 2017-2018 academic year in Germany as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Her passion for teaching stems from mentoring middle-school girls as a co-leader of the program Fostering Female Leadership and Youth (FFLY) and as a Teaching Assistant for Bowdoin's introductory German class. She spent the fall of her junior year studying in Berlin, during which time she expanded on her interests in Holocaust studies, European politics, and eating lots of Kasekuchen. Jodi helped found a student-run podcast, The Bowdoin Commons, and write and act in a female sketch comedy group. She hopes to expand on those creative pursuits through her live storytelling community development project.

A gender, sexuality, and women's studies and German double major, Caroline received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Germany next year. Having studied in Berlin during the fall of her junior year, she is excited to return and further her engagement with German culture. Alongside her teaching duties, Caroline hopes to work with communities of immigrant and refugee women, as well as intern for a local newspaper.

While at Bowdoin, Esther majored in anthropology and spent a semester studying abroad in India where she taught English and spoken word poetry in a local women’s college. She has also taught and tutored for many years in her community at home in New York City, especially within the African community there. In South Africa, she will serve as an English Teaching Assistant and hopes to use her interest in spoken word to connect with her students and the community around her.

A sociology major and English minor, Emma will be an English Teaching Assistant for middle schoolers in Tamil Nadu, India. At Bowdoin, Emma had the opportunity to serve as a Writing Assistant, a mentor with Falcon Friends, and an Alternative Spring Break leader. While in India, Emma hopes to create a photography exchange between her Indian students and students at her high school in Denver, CO. She also plans to engage with her community through volunteering at an NGO focused on women's education. Having studied abroad in Southern India with the SITA Program her junior year, Emma is excited to return to the region and build lasting relationships with her students and community.     

Emily majored in psychology and German while at Bowdoin. After studying German language and culture for four years and studying abroad in Berlin, she looks forward to returning as an English Teaching Assistant, where she will combine her love of German with her interest in working with kids. She also hopes to engage with her community through yoga and art classes, as well as through volunteer work in sexual assault prevention. Upon returning to the U.S. Emily plans to apply her experience working in German schools to a career in education.

A sociology major with a passion for Latin American studies, Amanda is excited to use what she learned in Chile, Uruguay, and Spain to inform her position as an English Teaching Assistant in Mexico. She looks forward to getting to know her local community and discovering more about herself. At Bowdoin, Amanda was involved in Residential Life, the Women's Resource Center, the Title IX Office, and the Spanish department as a teaching assistant. She edited and directed the play Rise: Untold Stories of Bowdoin Women. Upon her return to the U.S., Amanda hopes to work at the intersection of women's rights and international development.

Roger Tejada, Class of 2015, majored in government and legal studies at Bowdoin and developed an interest in education through tutoring. After Bowdoin, he moved back to his hometown of Passaic, NJ, joining Teach for America and working as a 5th-grade bilingual teacher and pursuing a master's in teaching. He has now set his sights on international relations, drawing on his study of comparative politics and will combine his teaching and language skills as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Brazil.  Outside his Brazilian classroom, he plans on improving his Portuguese and immersing himself in the community by playing or coaching rugby. He hopes to utilize this experience to pursue a career in international development.

Preston values education and is interested in learning how inclusive communities are created. After leading an ASB trip focused on immigration and refugee resettlement, teaching students who are ESL learners for two consecutive summers with Generation Teach, and conducting research on race and ethnicity in Puerto Rico, Preston hopes to advocate for ethnic studies programs in U.S. public schools. He is excited to work with Brazilian undergraduate students who are studying to become English teachers, as well as with Afro-Brazilian/Indigenous human rights and cultural organizations, to better understand how multicultural education can create inclusive communities. 

Madison graduated with a major in English and a minor in music. While at Bowdoin, Madison worked as a Writing Assistant and received institutional fellowships to spend two summers researching English literature, which has culminated in her honors project on seventeenth-century intellectual culture and gender theory. Madison served on the management team of Bowdoin's student radio station, WBOR, and played violin in a variety of ensembles. She looks forward to sharing her love for music and literature with her students in Germany and plans to complete a Ph.D. in English upon her return to the U.S.

Michael graduated from Bowdoin with a double major in neuroscience and Asian studies with a focus on Japanese studies. Drawing upon neuroscience research at Bowdoin and a summer of art history research in Japan, Michael looks forward to returning to Hiroshima, Japan for his Fulbright study/research grant. In Hiroshima, he will contribute to research efforts at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in order to study the transmission of trauma as it relates to survivors and descendants of the atomic bombings in Japan. In the future, Michael plans to pursue graduate studies in cellular and molecular neuroscience while continuing to improve his Japanese language skills

Erin graduated in 2017 with a coordinate education and earth and oceanographic science major and sociology minor. After a summer of research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole, MA, Erin is excited to continue her research with the Department of Marine Science at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. There, she will be studying the swimming responses of different marine taxa to ocean acidification. Erin is excited to return to New Zealand after sailing there during the fall of 2016 from American Samoa with SEA Semester. As a leader for the Bowdoin Outing Club, Erin also plans to get involved with New Zealand's outdoor education programs

As an Earth and Oceanographic Science and Environmental Studies coordinate major, Hannah is excited to explore changes in alpine landscape development in rapidly retreating glacial ecosystems in Switzerland. Hannah developed her passion for glaciers and research during her study abroad on the Svalbard Archipelago, and during two summers of research at Bowdoin. An avid trail runner and cross country skier, Hannah is also very excited to become a part of Switzerland's outdoor culture while being immersed in the French language.

While at Bowdoin, Luis Rico double majored in German and government & legal studies. During his semester abroad in Munich, Germany, Luis conducted independent research on unaccompanied refugee minors and the asylum procedure. His honors project focused on the contemporary refugee crisis and European Union asylum policies. For his Fulbright research, Luis will return to Germany and investigate shifts in integration practices addressing refugees during the crisis period as well as what political factors drive the German government to undertake such policies. Alongside his research, Luis will continue to engage with the unaccompanied minor refugee population by tutoring them in German.

Liza majored in history and environmental studies with a minor in Chinese. She was a varsity swimmer, wrote for The Bowdoin Orient, and was an active community service volunteer. Liza also studied abroad in Amman, Jordan. For her Fulbright, Liza will research the environmental history of Dianchi, a 115-square-mile lake in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province that is home to 26 of China's 55 ethnic minorities. Liza also plans to collaborate with local non-profits and teach swim lessons. After her Fulbright, Liza plans to work in journalism and/or pursue a graduate degree in Asian studies or environmental law.

Drew is a mathematics and computer science major interested in a variety of applied topics in these fields including energy efficient technologies. In the fall of 2015 he worked on an independent study at Bowdoin College, which looked at designing a home system to efficiently monitor the energy usage of appliances. During his senior year he plans to pursue an honors project on high performance computing. In the future Drew hopes to work for companies researching and developing innovative technologies.

Sam is a mathematics major and Russian minor, and will be combining those disciplines as he studies at the Math in Moscow program in Russia during the fall 2017 semester. He has spent the summer of 2016 conducting research in abstract algebra and plans to pursue another mathematical research program during the summer of 2017. Sam's long-term goals include earning a Ph.D. in mathematics.

Justin's long-term passion for Japanese language and culture has inspired his life choices in many ways. He has embarked on year-long study abroad programs twice, both during high school and college, during which time he took on new challenges such as sumo wrestling. While at Bowdoin, he was the founder of a Japanese language and culture program at a local elementary school and a finalist at the New England speech contest hosted by the Japanese embassy. He will launch his career as an international relations coordinator for the Japanese government and hopes to work as a liaison between non-profit organizations (NPOs) that support social services for immigrants and refugees.

As an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, Chris has the opportunity to assist in English language instruction in an elementary, junior high or senior high school classroom in Japan. Outside the classroom, he will help coach soccer and serve as an ambassador in local international exchange activities. Upon his return to the U.S., Chris plans to pursue a career in cross-cultural psychology, education or international relations.

A sociology and Latin American studies double major, Bill is currently a Truman-Albright Fellow at the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is passionate about immigrant rights and has conducted grant-funded research on the human consequences of border security and volunteered for organizations that provide food, water, and medical assistance to migrants in distress in the Sonoran Desert. As a Marshall Scholar, Bill will study for master's degrees in Migration Studies as well as Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Oxford beginning in the fall of 2017.

Sasha graduated from Bowdoin in 2016 with a coordinate major in Earth and Oceanographic Science and Environmental Studies. While at Bowdoin, she did research with Professor Collin Roesler who sparked her interests in phytoplankton ecology and optical oceanography. Sasha is currently a PhD student in Marine Science at UC Santa Barbara, working in Dr. Dave Siegel's lab. With the support of the NDSEG Fellowship, she is working on a project linking in situ measurements of surface ocean phytoplankton community structure to remote sensing observations.

At Bowdoin, Margaret majored in earth and oceanographic science as well as math. She did research with Professors Collin Roesler and Mary Lou Zeeman, who inspired her love of the ocean and curiosity about the dynamics that connect ocean and climate. As a Ph.D. student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, she will study ice-ocean interactions in Greenland's fjords with support from the NDSEG fellowship.

At Bowdoin, Althea majored in neuroscience and performed research with Dr. Richmond Thompson. After graduating in 2013, she worked as a research technician for two years at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is currently a Ph.D student in the lab of Dr. David Foster at Johns Hopkins University and will be moving with her lab to UC Berkeley in summer 2017 to continue pursuing her degree. Althea’s NSF fellowship will support her research into how space and memory are represented in the brain.

Sara graduated from Bowdoin in 2016 with a double major in biology as well as gender and women's studies . Her love for marine science took shape when she studied marine resource management in the Caribbean during her junior year. She took the year after graduation to pursue internships in geographic information science (GIS) at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary as well as the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and spent two months diving in Southeast Asia. She is now starting a Ph.D. at Oregon State University in Integrative Biology, where she intends to study how to improve the management and conservation of marine ecosystems

A 2010 graduate with a double major in biology and French and minor in visual arts, Stephanie is now pursuing a Ph.D degree in the department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology at Columbia University. Passionate about sharing her science with students around the globe, she is working with collaborators and students in Vietnam to assess plant responses to climate change in a growing Vietnamese National Park.

With her Princeton in Asia fellowship, Natalie will travel to the small southern coastal village of Bangsak, Thailand to teach English to elementary school children. While in Bangsak, she will be involved in a program that encourages local tsunami orphans to learn how to swim. Originally from New Mexico, Natalie returned to the West during the summers and worked at various outdoor recreational camps, and this most recent summer taught nature and science camp at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO. Coupling her love of kids and her degree in neuroscience, Natalie hopes to work with kids with neurodevelopmental disorders in the future.

Walter graduated in 2014 with a degree in English and environmental studies. At Bowdoin, he was a leader with the outing club and a tutor at the writing project. He stayed in Brunswick after college to work for the local newspaper, The Forecaster, as the Mid-Coast beat reporter. He now lives in Boston working for the local NPR affiliate, WBUR. Next year Walter will move to Colombo, Sri Lanka, to write for the English-language Daily News. The fellowship is part of Princeton in Asia's journalism placements. He is excited to report for a paper that publishes in three languages, work in an old and dynamic newsroom, and eat crab curry.

As an aspiring physician with an interest in health disparities, Mariely is invested in learning how systems of healthcare can evolve to meet the needs of underserved populations. During her Watson year, Mariely will explore the ways in which marginalized parts of people's identities, such as gender, sexuality, and legal status, affect their experiences accessing healthcare. She hopes that her Watson year will make her more sensitive to the factors that affect patients' ability to get well. During her time at Bowdoin, Mariely participated in Project Sunshine, Fostering Female Leadership in Youth (FFLY), and was an active member within the McKeen Center for the Common Good. Read Mariely's blog to learn more.