Fellowships at Mount Holyoke celebrates 2024 recipients

含羞草研究所 congratulates our recipients, alternates and finalists of the 2023-24 fellowship application cycles.

Fellowships at Mount Holyoke is excited to announce our recipients, alternates and finalists for the 2023-2024 application cycle! Fifty-eight applicants expended enormous effort over several months while working to achieve their goals. In total, they submitted 66 applications to 28 countries. All participants expended tremendous effort in this highly competitive cycle, so we have included the names of the alternates, finalists and semi finalists along with those of the recipients to highlight their tremendous accomplishments in advancing through these competitions.

Premier programs

To receive one of these prestigious fellowships, students first submit their application to the Mount Holyoke Committee on Fellowships. The organizations that sponsor these fellowships rely on campus officials to review eligibility and endorse and nominate applicants.

Thank you to the members of this year鈥檚 Committee on Fellowships 鈥 Katherine Aidala, Ombretta Frau, Kathryn McMenimen and Christopher Mitchell 鈥 for their work in assessing applications. Additional thanks go to the many faculty and staff who served on review subcommittees: Alexi Arango, Amy Hitchcock Camp, Rick Feldman, Sarah Frenette, Jennifer Wallace Jacoby, Jackson Matos, Katy McNally, Eva Paus, Adelia Pope, Vanessa Rosa, Jared Schwartzer, Mark Shea and April Stroud.

Beckman Scholars Program

for students to engage in fifteen months of mentored on-campus research

  • Evelyn 鈥淢oss鈥 Beeler 鈥26 鈥 Moss has a deep interest in bioacoustics and intends to pursue a Ph.D. in biology; the skills she gained in Professor Patricia Brennan鈥檚 lab will be foundational to her growth. This summer, Moss will conduct a literature review and further study salamander sound production and bioacoustics under the guidance of Brennan. Salamanders are integral to the ecosystem鈥檚 health and biodiversity, and the hope is that this research will serve as a launching point for additional study.
  • Aitana Zamora Varela 鈥27 鈥 With hopes to lead their own neuroscience lab someday, Aitana will need to master many integral skills, such as surgeon-level fly brain dissection and confocal microscopy, to complete their current tauopathy research. Under the mentorship of Professor Kenneth Colodner, they will research Alzheimer鈥檚-associated tau protein expressions in the astrocytic and cortical glial cells of fruit fly brains.

The two Beckman Scholars were recently profiled.

for United States undergraduates to study abroad with a focus on the geography, language and culture of countries deemed critical to U.S. national security

  • Alternate for Mandarin (anonymous)

for highly qualified graduating seniors and recent graduates to pursue a postgraduate degree at a German university

  • Renee Pelletier 鈥19 鈥 Renee鈥檚 excellent academic record, demonstrated interest in the German language and culture, and unique area of research 鈥 informed by both academic pursuits and lived experiences related to heritage and pilgrimage 鈥 led her to pursue a Master鈥檚 program in World Heritage Studies at Brandenburgische Technische Universit盲t.

for students at partner universities to design grassroots projects around the world that promote peace and address root causes of conflict

for students to pursue graduate study or independent research or to teach English abroad in one of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Programs (ETA)

Finalists (received the award)

  • Karla Biery 鈥23 鈥 Finalist for the Fulbright Study/Research Award to Brazil, where they will complete an installation art project titled 鈥淔iber Art Bridging Divides From Rio de Janeiro to Chicago.鈥
  • Amanda Thibodeau 鈥24 鈥 Finalist for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Thailand.
  • Emma Waldron 鈥24 鈥 Finalist for the Fulbright Study/Research Award to Sweden, where they will complete an environmental sciences research project titled 鈥淓xamining the Impacts of Climate Change on Carbon Fluxes in High-Latitude Ecosystems.鈥

Alternates

  • Lydia Henning 鈥21 鈥 Alternate for the Fulbright Study/Research Award to obtain an M.Sc. in Peace and Conflict Studies at Ulster University.
  • Hilary Vergera FP鈥24 鈥 Alternate for the Fulbright ETA to Kazakhstan.

Semifinalists

  • Bria Carlson 鈥23 鈥 Semifinalist for the Fulbright ETA to Lithuania.
  • Nyasha Franklin 鈥19 鈥 Semifinalist for the Fulbright Study/Research to Colombia.
  • Caroline Odlin-Brewer 鈥24 鈥 Semifinalist for the Fulbright ETA to Belgium.
  • Anonymous 鈥 Semifinalist for the Fulbright ETA to Colombia

for underrepresented students to pursue graduate school and serve in the Foreign Service

  • Mariam Keita 鈥24 鈥 Mariam has long desired to make an impact through public service, thriving in situations where she can build global connectedness. The support the Rangel Graduate Fellowship provides throughout its two-year master鈥檚 program will prepare Mariam well for a career in the Foreign Service. She will study Global Communications at George Washington University鈥檚 Elliott School for International Affairs.

Direct applications

Students and alums can apply directly to the following organizations, as they do not require nomination from 含羞草研究所.

for graduate students in National Science Foundation鈥搒upported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions

  • Nina Gilkyson 鈥22 鈥 Nina was a physics major at Mount Holyoke and is currently at Brown University in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science to model theories of magma supply into caldera-forming volcanic systems.

Honorable mentions

  • Katherine Dailey 鈥22 鈥 Microbial Biology
  • Celia Mulcahey 鈥21 鈥 Astrophysics

for recent graduates to engage in an English teaching assistant internship in schools in Lombardy, Italy

  • Marci Edwards 鈥24 鈥 Marci declined a teaching placement in Treviglio in favor of a graduate program through Middlebury at the University of Florence, where she will specialize in language and linguistics.

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