2020-21 UW Undergraduate Nominees:

Lucille Holmes-Anderson
Miranda Perry
Roshni Sinha

Lucille Holmes-Anderson, Nominee

Lucille is a transfer student and senior at UW majoring in International Studies with a focus on International Human Rights. During her time at UW she received a 2020-2021 academic year Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship and was accepted into the Jackson School departmental honors program where she is currently working on a research thesis examining how narratives in news media contribute prejudice and discriminatory attitudes towards marginalized communities. In addition to pursuing her Bachelor’s, she also works as a corporate paralegal at Big Fish Games, primarily focusing on commercial contracts and privacy-related issues.

Lucille was homeschooled for her childhood and early adolescence before she started the Running Start program. She received her A.A. from Cascadia College, and upon graduating in 2014 she joined the AmeriCorps NCCC national service program where she served for a full year term and worked with a variety of organizations throughout the mid- and southwest United States. Her time in AmeriCorps reinforced her passion for public and community service that she had developed as a child, an interest which only continued to grow as she moved back to Seattle and started working in the games industry. She spent a significant amount of time working as a Developer Relations Manager; in this role she handled partner relations, contract negotiations, and business project management for several dozen game development studios, which helped her to develop and hone skills supporting and empowering the individuals and organizations she worked with. She worked in that role until autumn of 2019, when she chose to return to school with the goal of pursuing a law degree and channeling her interest in law and policy into a career serving others.

Lucille is particularly interested in the fields of environmental and immigration law and policy, especially as they relate to addressing serious issues like climate change, system inequities, and oppressive systems. Her goal is to pursue a career where she can use her skills and passions to support activists and communities working to create better systems for everyone around the globe.

Lucille’s near-term and long-term goals: In the mid-term, Lucille plans to attend law school and begin working as a practicing attorney, ideally after spending some time working and studying internationally to gain more professional experience in the fields she’s interested in. In the longer term, she hopes to establish a career supporting activists and community organizations fighting against inequality, inequity, and injustice both within and outside of the United States. Environmental issues do not impact everyone equally, and her goal is to contribute to the fight against climate change and the various systems that feed into it.

Lucille’s tips for future applicants: Take some time to really read through the website and at some of the previous scholar profiles. It can be helpful to get an idea of what some other people’s experiences have been as you’re thinking about your application and why you’re excited about the program. It also may be kind of cheesy, but don’t be afraid to be yourself. It helps the program get to know you better and it makes it a more enjoyable experience as you’re going through the application process.

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Miranda Perry, Nominee

Ever since she can remember, Randi has had a love of science which later grew into a passion for medicine and healthcare by the time she entered high school. At age 16, she became a certified nursing assistant and by age 18, she graduated top of her class to become a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician, where she worked with the fire department as a first responder and further refined her field of interest to focus on acute care. It was through her hands-on experience with patients she discovered just how much of an impact the interaction between caregiver and patient could have on both parties, which inspired her to pursue a career as a physician.

Here at the University of Washington, Randi discovered Global Health and quickly fell in love with the field. She is currently a senior, working towards her B.S. in Public Health-Global Health with departmental honors. Outside of her coursework, Randi was an undergraduate research intern with the Global Mental Health (GMH) Program, where she contributed to the qualitative analysis of data and composed a review of literature in preparation for the AFRICOS project. Randi is also a part of the GMH communications team where she authors the faculty/project spotlight for the program’s monthly newsletter.

Outside of her domestic endeavors, Randi spent the summer of 2019 in Ecuador as an intern with Child and Family Health International. There she collaborated with the ministry of health to perform outreach and collect data as well as study medical practices in urban clinics, rural clinics, rural hospitals, and an indigenous group outside of Puyo.

All of these experiences drive her to continue to fight health inequities around the world, a goal she will continue to strive to meet post-graduation.

Miranda’s near-term and long-term goals: After graduating Randi plans to spend 1-2 years abroad gaining international experience in the field of Global Health before applying to Medical School. Her ultimate goal is to become a physician working for an international organization such as Doctors without Borders (MSF) or UNICEF.

Miranda’s tips for future applicants: I would recommend spending some time reflecting on why you want to go to Asia specifically, and how you will apply what you learn in the future.

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Roshni Sinha, Nominee

Roshni Sinha is a fifth-year senior from Cupertino, California pursuing a B.S. in Medical Anthropology and Global Health and a B.A. in International Studies with a focus on International Human Rights. Roshni is a participant in the Anthropology Honors program, through which she wrote her honors thesis on the construction of memory and identity in Ethiopian adoptees in the Seattle area. Her passion for human rights and women’s rights have been shaped by the media she watched growing up and her own experiences as a Bengali-American woman living in America and traveling abroad.

After coming to the University of Washington, Roshni was involved both on and off campus through becoming a Program Leader at Unite UW, interning at the Refugee Women’s Alliance, co-coordinating a project on Human Rights and Forensic Anthropology in Latin America, becoming the Director of UW Leaders, interning for law enforcement to work on human trafficking cases, and more. Roshni has been influenced by all the individuals who believed in her and challenged her to become the leader she is today. She believes that anyone is capable of becoming a leader, but not everyone has the confidence or resources to reach their potential. She also believes that leadership extends to daily life in the form of taking initiative, especially in the face of injustice. Because of this, Roshni is passionate about empowering individuals from all backgrounds in developing their own kind of leadership and pursuing their dreams.

Roshni is passionate about supporting refugees, fighting human trafficking, working toward gender equality, and forensic anthropology. After college, she hopes to spend some time abroad developing her perspective on all these issues before pursuing graduate degrees in Human Rights and Forensic Anthropology. Roshni plans to work for an international humanitarian organization in the future at the intersection of human rights and forensic investigation so she can work with other driven individuals on issues of truth, justice, and reconciliation in post-conflict settings.

Roshni’s near-term and long-term goals: My near goal is to travel, go to graduate school to get a degree in Human Rights, and to work for a humanitarian organization to support refugees and fight human trafficking. My longer term goal is to get a graduate degree in Forensic Anthropology and return to working for a humanitarian organization at the intersection of human rights and forensic investigation in post-conflict settings.

Roshni’s tips for future applicants: I advise working closely with the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships, and Awards by scheduling review appointments well in advance! I also recommend asking friends, mentors, and others to edit your personal statement when possible. Lastly, I advise taking some time to to learn to strongly articulate your passions and how the Luce Scholars program can help you pursue them.

Elizabeth Calvillo, Nominee

Elizabeth is a senior majoring in Photo/Media and is participating in Departmental Honors. She is double majoring with International Studies with a focus on Human Rights. Her other areas of interest include international immigration history and policy, as well as diaspora studies. She focuses heavily on working with archives, found objects, and multiple medias to create artwork that pose necessary questions. She draws inspiration from the random stories shared with her at random times.

Elizabeth’s tips for future applicants:
Giving yourself plenty of time is very important for this scholarship, and most other scholarships. Give yourself time to write whatever is required, but also time to have one or two people read it and offer feedback. Communicate with your references so they understand what the scholarship is about, why you are a good fit, and how it might help you achieve your goals. And finally, be yourself throughout the application process and interviews.

Connor Edick, Nominee

Connor Edick is a recent graduate from the University of Washington, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Public Health. As an undergraduate student he focused heavily on public health nutrition and is now seeking to further his knowledge in this field. During his senior year Connor had the opportunity to contribute to a variety of global nutrition research projects under the mentorship of the Nutrition Innovations team at PATH, where he was introduced to concepts and ideas in the nutrition world that revivified his original passion for food and health while framing his interests in the global context. Whether integrating traditionally consumed foods into culturally appropriate nutrition interventions or using fortified dietary staples to increase the intake of micronutrients essential for development and immunity, there are many strategies for improving health outcomes in undernourished populations and Connor is eager to explore them all. Going forward he aims to find opportunities that will allow him to travel abroad while sustaining the momentum he built as a student toward realizing his professional goals.

During his free time Connor is an avid backpacker, hiker, and snowboarder. He loves the Pacific Northwest for everything it has to offer and intends to return periodically to the mountains and wilderness here no matter where his academic and career pursuits may lead.

Connor’s tips for future applicants:
Consider how the scholarship you are applying for will set you on a path, both professionally and personally, that aligns with the mission of the grant-making organization.

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Binh Truong, Nominee

Binh is an immigrant from Vietnam majoring in International Studies with a focus on foreign policy, diplomacy, peace and security. Binh’s research interest is in communication between different political parties and the difference between policy and what happens on-the-ground. Binh is currently completing their Honor’s Thesis on political memes during political flash points. Other research projects includes a partnership between the Applied Research Program and Microsoft on threats to democratic processes.

Growing up in a diverse neighborhood nurtured a curiosity in different cultures and people which inspired them to become a Foreign Service Officer in Public Diplomacy. They seek to learn more about cross-cultural communication and exchange on the Luce Program. And of course, further developing themselves as someone that will represent America, as diverse a country as it is. When Binh is not researching or working, they can be found eating and/or reading. Binh is proud of their ability to do both simultaneous while walking.

Binh’s tips for future applicants:
Be clear in your intentions and focus with the Luce Program! Why are you going and why does it matter (not just to you).

Annie Lewis, Nominee

Senior, English and History major, Spanish and Jewish Studies minor

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Natalie Pearlman, Finalist

Senior, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology major

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Enrique Pérez de la Rosa, Nominee

Senior, Journalism major

Caleb Huffman, Nominee

Senior, Political Science and Communication major

Dylan Moore, Nominee

Senior, Biochemistry major

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Benjamin Pennant, Nominee

Senior, Aeronautics & Astronautics major

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Varsha Govindaraju, Scholar

Senior, Law, Societies, & Justice and Anthropology major

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Linhchi Pham, Nominee

Senior, Bioengineering major

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Emily Nitz-Ritter, Nominee

Senior, English and Comparative History of Ideas major

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Max Sugarman, Nominee

Senior, Environmental Science & Resource Management and International Studies major

Genevieve (Gennie) Gebhart, Scholar

Senior, International Studies and Economics major

Kelly Miller, Finalist

2011 Graduate, International Studies, European Studies, and German Language and Literature major

Jonathan Teng, Nominee

Architectural Design

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Jesse Burk-Rafel, Scholar

Senior, Bioengineering major

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Shoukouh Pardakhtim, Nominee

Senior, Mathematics major

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Natalie Claire Bankson, Nominee

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Sophia Carey

Sophia Carey is a senior at the University of Washington studying English and the Comparative History of Ideas with a minor in Theatre Studies. She entered the UW through the Early Entrance Program at the Robinson Center for Young Scholars and has since acquired significant experience as an interdisciplinary researcher, theater maker, and community leader.

Sophia was recently named a 2021 Beinecke Scholar. A two-time recipient of the Mary Gates Research Scholarship, her current research focuses on the ways in which the Seattle Rep’s Public Works program utilizes, adapts, and exposes theatrical forms to make possible a heightened sense of the power of theater to catalyze transformation. Her past research has explored the ways in which residents of Villa El Salvador, Peru in the 1970s used community-based theatre to facilitate self-governance. Other projects have included a critical essay on the Public Theater’s 2019 production of Much Ado About Nothing and a paper exploring the discursive power of metatheatricality in the 1938 congressional hearing of Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theatre Project. In 2019, Sophia won the UW Library Research Award for Undergraduates with her paper investigating barriers to Latin American youths’ access to educational support services.

Sophia is currently the President of the Early Entrance Drama Society (EDS), a student-run drama club at UW. In over three years of involvement with EDS, she has co-facilitated the translation of a 2020 production into a virtual format, performed in and directed several productions, and hosted community events. In addition to her work with EDS, Sophia has acquired significant experience with local theater, as a directing intern at Stone Soup Theater, a development assistant at ArtsWest, and most recently with the Public Works program as a student researcher, volunteer, and performer in the Rep’s filmed adaptation of The Winter’s Tale.

Sophia’s near and longer term goals: Within the next few months, Sophia plans to complete her critical performance ethnography research project on the Seattle Rep’s Public Works program and to present the results of this research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in spring 2022. Next year, Sophia plans to begin graduate studies that will allow her to more deeply explore the process of new work development in theater from practical and theoretical perspectives.

Sophia’s tips for future applicants: A detailed outline is a helpful way to begin. It helps make your essays organized and it is less intimidating than the prospect of writing an essay from a blank page.

Yogasai Gazula

2021 grad, International Studies major

Arwa Mokdad

Arwa is an honors graduate in International Studies with a specialty in Human Rights. Her studies have focused on human rights in the Middle East. As a child of Arab immigrants, she is passionate about peace efforts and activism in the region. She has spent time in Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, U.A.E, and Jordan. Growing up between the U.S. and Middle East solidified her global perspective on regional challenges. While at UW, Arwa was able to study abroad in Nizwa, Beirut, and Rome. These experiences furthered her interest in international cooperation and cross-cultural exchanges. While studying advanced Arabic at the American University of Beirut, Arwa volunteered as an English teacher for Syrian refugees. She has continued this work and now teaches vulnerable populations within Oman.

Currently, Arwa is an intern and teacher at Al Jisr Foundation in Muscat. She is also working on a cultural webinar series “Beyond the War” that aims to build international solidarity with Yemeni communities. Arwa volunteers with Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation as a Peace Advocate. Through this work, she supports aid programs in Yemen while participating in anti-war campaigns in the U.S.

Her time as a research assistant at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies inspired her to pursue a career in foreign policy. In graduate school, Arwa hopes to build on her past advocacy and research experience to center Yemeni perspectives on conflict resolution. In the future, she hopes to work on progressive Middle East policy that centers the voices of people throughout the region.

Arwa’s near and longer term goals: Arwa plans on pursuing a MPhil and DPhil in International Relations. Following her graduate schooling, she hopes to work as a Gulf Analyst at a think tank.

Arwa’s tips for future applicants: Start early and utilize all the resources available to you! OMSFA offers workshops, counseling sessions, and much more. As you undergo the application process, stay in regular contact with OMSFA- they are incredibly helpful and supportive. Keep in mind that applications are a marathon not a sprint, so make sure to break up tasks and set realistic deadlines. While researching the programs themselves, consider how the program is a good fit for you and how you are a good fit for the program.

Elizabeth Peterson

2022 grad, Near Eastern Studies major

Emma Spickard, Finalist

2019 Public Health-Global Health and Honors Program graduate whose passion lies at the intersection of politics, policy and public health.

As an undergraduate I consistently leveraged my public health coursework to engage in first-hand experiences with the Seattle, and global, community. I was a part of GlobeMed, an RSO partnered with ecofarming nonprofit, NECOFA, in Kenya and worked with the Seattle nonprofit, Real Change Homelessness Empowerment Project’s, advocacy arm to facilitate community conversations around a proposed plan to redevelop unused Army land in Seattle into affordable housing. I also helped to organize a panel to prepare UW students to take part in Legislative Education Day, when public health advocates convene in Olympia to educate lawmakers about the importance of public health funding.

Following graduation I traveled solo as a Bonderman Fellow through South America and Southeast Asia for eight months learning about health systems abroad and the intersections of colonialism, conflict, health and resilience.

Upon my return, my passion for bridging public health and politics led me to work as a Campaign Manager to elect a progressive to the Washington State House of Representatives where I now work as a Legislative Assistant.

I am committed to a career in policy and public service to change the ways in which US citizens access and pay for health insurance as I fundamentally believe healthcare is a human right. I applied for the Marshall Scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in international health policy in order to learn firsthand in the United Kingdom- a country whose healthcare system is founded on this belief that health is a right for all.

Emma’s near and longer term goals: I hope to pursue an international health policy degree in the United Kingdom before returning to work in the US on health policy issues at a federal level to move our healthcare system closer to a single payer model.

Emma’s tips for future applicants: Do not be the one to say no to yourself!

Meena Vasudevan

I am a recent graduate from the Law Societies and Justice Department at UW. Throughout my time at UW I was involved in working with the Dream Project and tutoring with Student Athlete and Academic services. These positions along with classes in the Education department inspired a passion within me to understand barriers existing for students and increase access and equity in higher education. I am currently working as a College Success Advisor at a non profit agency and through this experience I have really been able to get a deeper understanding of what kind of work I’d like to engage in to change the higher education landscape. I hope to take the learning I did at UW, along with what I’m learning through work currently into a graduate program focused in Education Policy.

Meena’s near and longer term goals: Right now I’m focused on working as a College Success Advisor with a non-profit in Chicago. I am also currently in the process of applying to graduate school so I hope to have a successful application cycle and start in Fall of 2022!

Meena’s tips for future applicants: Use this application to really dig in as a space to think about what you’d like to do in the future and what your goals are!

Milli Wijenaike-Bogle

Milli Wijenaike-Bogle is a senior in Interdisciplinary and Departmental Honors, majoring in Public Health- Global Health and minoring in Data Science. Milli is passionate about improving population health, especially in the fields of maternal and pediatric health. She also wants to work to improve global mental health by identifying and reworking systems that cause trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Milli has been involved in PTSD research at the Puget Sound VA since her first year at UW and was named a 2020-2021 Levinson scholar for her original research on Hostile Assessment Bias (HAB) in people who have experienced trauma. Hostile Assessment Bias refers to the tendency to interpret a neutral or ambiguous situation as hostile or dangerous. Specifically, her research examines the link between Hostile Assessment Bias and PTSD severity and the impact of prazosin in normalizing Hostile Assessment Bias patterns with the goal of alleviating PTSD symptoms. Milli has worked as a research assistant at WSU’s IREACH, served as a Public Health Major Steering Committee Representative and worked as a data extraction assistant at the Institute for Health Metrics. Milli also has been involved in creating and assisting with the University of Washington’s first undergraduate course specifically centered on Indigenous Health (HSERV 473/573). She also enjoys reading, painting, and engaging in various musical endeavors.

Milli’s near and longer term goals: In the future, Milli hopes to undertake a MPH in Maternal and Child Health and eventually pursue a PhD in population health. She hopes to work in international health to improve MCH in South/Southeast Asia where much of her family lives.

Milli’s tips for future applicants: Start early—you will undoubtedly go through multiple revision processes and it’s important to allow time for your work to grow. The process is intense—you will be asked to reflect deeply on the contribution you hope to make in the world in your future work and the aspects of your life that have led you to this point. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and emotive in this work, the more you put into your essays the more you will get out and be able to use for other projects.

Naomi Yuen-Schat

Naomi is a senior in the Political Science Honors program majoring in Political Science with a focus in Political Economy and minoring in Gender, Women and Sexualities studies. She was born in Taiwan and raised on Oahu, two places she is happy to call home. Her exposure to a multitude of cultures and her identities as an Atayal—one of sixteen Indigenous tribes of Taiwan—woman and immigrant led to her passion for social equity, in turn her lifelong goal to practice immigration law. This past summer, she partook in research with the Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Studies at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. This inspired her to currently write her honors thesis studying the effects of social mobilization on government policies geared towards creating equitable education with a focus on Indigenous language preservation in Taiwan. In addition to school, she works as the Assistant Director of the Asian Student Commission and is an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity: both positions which enable her to work towards advancing gender and racial equity.

After partaking in a study abroad program in Italy, she sought another opportunity to study abroad. With an interest in gender and migration, she found the Gender Studies and Law program at SOAS University of London. She believes this program is a great fit as London is a truly multicultural city and the best place to study the United Kingdom’s Afghanistan Resettlement Scheme firsthand. Should she receive the Fulbright award to study at SOAS, she hopes to apply an interdisciplinary framework such as gender study in relation to global legal issues and feminist legal approaches to her future work in immigration law.

Outside of school, Naomi enjoys swimming and hiking. Over quarantine she started playing the guitar!

Naomi’s near and longer term goals: I hope to attend SOAS University of London and partake in the Masters of Arts in Gender Studies and Law program. Then, I plan to attend law school in the United States and practice immigration law. Eventually, I hope to work in policy making!

Naomi’s tips for future applicants: Start early, reach out to advisors because they are SUPER helpful and edit edit edit!

Vanessa Zelenović

I am finishing my fourth-year at UW. In addition to studying nonstop and working, I spend a lot of my time writing, reading, playing with my dog, and cooking. I was motivated to apply to this scholarship because I felt that it would align with my long-term goal of becoming a diplomat. I would be able to gain my graduate education abroad and become accustomed to immersing myself in a foreign culture.

Vanessa’s near and longer term goals: My short-term goals are to graduate with my BA and then go to graduate school. My long-term goals are to become an American foreign service officer.

Vanessa’s tips for future applicants: Start months in advance.

Kaley Aldrich

Kaley Aldrich is a Senior at the University of Washington in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program, studying English and Political Science. As a strong advocate for women’s rights and feminist jurisprudence, Kaley dedicates her research and career ambitions to their advancement.

At the UW, Kaley founded the Undergraduate Law Review and began her work as a research fellow at the Center for American Politics and Public Policy. There, she developed a successful measure of the Equal Rights Amendment’s impact on the sexual subordination of women. In her research on the effects of poverty and geography on abortion access in the United States, Kaley successfully measures the disparate impact of abortion restrictions on women existing in poverty in the United States through her Undue Burden Index.

Finding that legal precedent does not protect all women’s right to choose abortion in the United States, Kaley founded myreproductiveaccess.org in 2020, making her findings and data accessible to anyone visiting the website. Currently, Kaley is working on her two honors theses and an independent project on the comparative concept of privacy in Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” and Roe v. Wade. After graduating from the University of Washington, Kaley plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in English and later attend law school. In the future, she plans on becoming a Professor of Law specializing in feminist jurisprudence and the integration of feminine consciousness in Constitutional Law.

In her free time, Kaley enjoys CrossFit, painting, music composition, and spending time with her dog, Alta. Kaley also spends her time writing her fiction novel titled “Penumbra” about the varying and intersectional impact of abortion restrictions on women’s lives. Out of all her activities outside of UW, Kaley’s most rewarding is spending time with the two girls she nannies, explaining that being a role model to them is her most important title.

Kaley’s near and longer term goals: After completing my undergraduate education, I plan to complete my Ph.D. in English, and later attend law school. Ultimately, I plan to teach feminist jurisprudence and Constitutional Law as a Professor of Law.

Kaley’s tips for future applicants: Approach these applications with an open mind—be open to suggestions, do not doubt yourself, and continuously communicate with your advisers and mentors throughout this process.

Ewan Cameron

I am studying Political Science and English here at the University of Washington. You may recognize me from various volunteer events; advocating on behalf of student interests in the ASUW Senate; or running D&D games at the Pen & Paper Gaming Association. When not doing these or held up studying in Suzzallo, I am usually hiking, playing music, writing, or taking on some eclectic new hobby. I also run youth retreats and help in various missions around eastern Washington, focusing on at-risk youth and families through the network of nonprofits and church diocese working hard to fight the good fight in our state.

My work has principally been in the courts, where I have been fortunate enough to get involved in consumer rights advocacy—mostly surrounding class-action and appellate landlord-tenant and debt defense law. I have helped take on predatory lenders, abusive landlords, major banks, and even certain popular app developers—all who have sought to target and take advantage of those who are already underserved. Recently, I assisted our attorneys before the State Supreme Court against Toyota, where the court ruled in our favor to redefine ‘deception’. This month, we will be arguing before the Supreme Court again over the rights of tenants evicted during the pandemic. While enjoyable, this work has shown the deep, systemic perpetuation of inequality in the United States.

A US-UK citizen interested in the comparative politics of the Anglo-American relationship, I believe both sides of the Atlantic can learn a great deal from the other about protecting the welfare of historically underserved communities. If accepted, I aim to study these differences with a mind towards government, nonprofit or other policy work—directly pushing for more productive reforms in the fight for socioeconomic justice.

Ewan’s near and longer term goals: I would like to continue advocating for consumers’, debtors’, and tenants’ rights and for their humane and equal treatment by the law. If accepted, I would like to study the politics of poverty while in the UK in order to help governments and nonprofits better implement legislation that truly reforms systemic inequities. If not a policymaker, lobbyist, or nonprofit worker, I would like to go to Law school and become an attorney in order to directly serve those who are most in need.

Ewan’s tips for future applicants: Apply! But relax and put your best foot forward. Be confident and be passionate about your subject–show them what you have done, but also show them what you can do, what you want to do, and what you will do.

Alton Cao, Finalist

2019 grad, Bioengineering major

Marissa Gaston

Marissa Gaston graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, in June 2020 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Classical Studies. Her multi-faceted academic interests include political philosophy, public policy, Middle Eastern affairs, language, and Christian theology. With a long-standing interest in the American founding, she spent her senior year of high school portraying First Lady Abigail Adams in a one-woman living history show.

During her sophomore year, Marissa earned multiple grants and scholarships to study abroad at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva, Israel. Her time living and learning in Israel solidified her focus on both theology and international politics. Shortly thereafter, in early 2020, Marissa interned with the State Department at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, Italy. Serving under Ambassador Callista Gingrich, she learned about American diplomacy and the Vatican while working in Political Economy and Public Affairs. Additionally, she has completed research internships with Dr. Natan Aridan, editor of the Israel Studies journal, and with the Washington Policy Center. She also recently finished the manuscript of her first book.

Throughout her undergraduate career, Marissa was an active staff writer at the The Daily where she especially enjoyed writing political opinion pieces. She has also been involved with AIPAC and the WPC Young Professionals. Following her graduation, Marissa managed the 2020 reelection campaign of a Washington State representative before beginning an academic fellowship at the John Jay Institute in Pennsylvania.

Marissa speaks several languages, including French and Norwegian, and enjoys writing, swimming, and cat-cuddling in her free time. She hopes to earn a graduate degree in politics or international relations and aims to work in policy and politics.

Marissa’s near and longer term goals: In the short term, Marissa hopes to earn a graduate degree in politics or international relations before transitioning into policy or advisory work. Long term, Marissa aims to build a career centered on principled leadership in the political sphere.

Marissa’s tips for future applicants: Allow substantial time to thoroughly research all the program options available in order to identify the one that is best suited to you. This can be the most overwhelming part of the process, but it is absolutely essential to crafting a compelling application. Make sure to formulate a key question or idea that will act as a touchstone to ground and unite all of your different short answer and essay components.

Julia Jannon-Shields

Julia Jannon-Shields is a fourth year undergraduate student at the University of Washington. Born and raised in the Silicon Valley, Julia has become highly aware of the range of detrimental impacts that rapid development poses on underrepresented communities and the surrounding environment. As a womxn of color, Julia’s intersections inform her perspective as she navigates space and advocates for justice. These experiences have led Julia to pursue degrees in Community, Environment & Planning and Communication at the UW to address issues of environmental injustice & work towards a sustainable and equitable future. Since arriving at the University of Washington, she has immersed herself within the community through the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMAD), and various other organizations while maintaining strong academic standing. Through her academic ambitions and involvements, Julia has been recognized as part of the 2020 Husky 100, a cohort of one-hundred undergraduate and graduate students across the three UW campuses making the most of their time at the UW. She plans to continue making the most of what life has to offer by seeking opportunities that contribute to community, challenge her & further her growth. Julia hopes that her passion for advocacy, sustainability, and international unity leads her to a fulfilling career in the public sector, non-profits, and/or international organizations. She is grateful for the University of Washington for allowing her to develop the tools necessary to get there.

Julia’s tips for future applicants: Please feel free to reach out to me if you’re applying in the future!

Willa Jeffers

I am a recent graduate in the Political Science Department, Political Economy Track. I have participated in several research projects since coming to the University of Washington focusing in American Politics, Security Studies, Foreign Policy, and Environmental Policy. In my current research position I am writing a paper on rebel dynamics in the Syrian Civil War. I am a Fellow in the Sierra Club Women and Gender program, and have participated in local and state political campaigns. Moving forward I am planning to focus my work on the economics of environmental policy, analyzing how varied levels of governance can most effectively pursue economically productive environmental transitions. I hope to earn a graduate degree in the areas of global environmental policy and progressive economic development. After graduate school I would love to work at the international level creating global climate policy in organizations such as the UN, World Bank, and various multilateral negotiating systems.

Willa’s near and longer term goals: In the near future I hope to gain career experience in the environmental policy sector, either in public or NGO positions. I will then move on to a graduate programs that can provide more specialized training on analyzing policy schemes and scaled research on environmental action at differing levels of government.

Willa’s tips for future applicants: You are in this position, having the honor to apply to amazing opportunities, because of the what you are passionate about. Nothing will serve you as well as voicing your honest reflections on why you want to engage with this work and how it will positively affect your community and our world.

Sasha Jenkins

2019 grad, International Studies major

Sasha Lee

Sasha graduated cum laude from UW in 2018 with a major in Law, Societies, and Justice (LSJ). Following graduation, she spent a year in Germany as a fellow in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) studying the pre- and post-war contexts of identity and rights, as well as learning the German language. During this time she worked for local nonprofits supporting immigrant transition services as well as the state chancellory organizing civic engagement events. Since returning last year, she has worked as an academic advisor in the LSJ Department. As a potential Marshall Scholar, Sasha seeks to continue expanding upon LSJ themes by researching government accountability via legislative and corporate oversight as a student at the London School of Economics (LSE). Moreover, through a comparative European studies lens she hopes to integrate history, culture and sociopolitical trends to be a leader in meaningful citizen engagement and oversight of their society’s institutions.

Sasha’s near and longer term goals: In the near future, Sasha plans to work either domestically or abroad with oversight organizations that hold institutions accountable, while educating the public. More broadly and in the long term, she hopes to found her own organization that provides non-partisan news and analysis that exposes and addresses inequity, as well as builds communities of engaged citizenry.

Sasha’s tips for future applicants: Engaging your full self is critical for these kinds of scholarships! Take the time to be introspective about your ambitions, what personally and intellectually inspires you, and what you hope to accomplish. Remember that friends, family, coworkers and faculty are there to support you and can add meaningful insight to the application you’re creating. Lastly, don’t be afraid to be authentically bold in every step of the process: who you ask to help you, how you articulate your future goals and communicating what makes you a competitive applicant.

Shannon Pierson

I received my BA in International Studies from the University of Washington in March 2020, where I specialized my coursework and centered my research on cybersecurity policy and disability studies. Since graduating and during the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’, I pursued a research assistant role under one of the US’s leading experts on influence operations, the Wilson Center’s Disinformation Fellow Nina Jankowicz. Together, we track disinformation campaigns directed at women running for public office that employ gendered tactics.

As democracies around the world begin to recognize the threat of election interference and begin to extend their administrative reach into cyberspace to rein in the proliferation of disinformation, I want to play a role advising regulatory policy that strikes at the correct angles of these threats and is framed by democratic and human rights standards. I have studied attempts by States to regulate social media platforms in response to disinformation and observed the tensions and trade-off’s democracies often face between fighting disinformation and protecting freedom of speech online. The world needs more Internet-literate experts who understand the nuances on the battlefield of information warfare weighing in on technology regulatory policy and international relations in cyberspace. I am committed to helping identify the best strategies for addressing the assaults on democratic institutions, discourse, and elections democracies around the world experience today from foreign and domestic actors. It is my highest aspiration to devise and roll out future-proof policy solutions that engage governments, Silicon Valley, and civil society to safeguard democracy against disinformation.

Shannon’s near and longer term goals: I intend to position myself as both a digital rights-focused internet policymaker and national security expert specializing in information warfare and democratic interference defense strategy. I hope to pursue roles at organizations like the National Democratic Institute, Ranking Digital Rights, or the State Department. In these capacities, I could make a difference influencing policy decisions that have implications for democracies around the world in their fight against disinformation. In the future, I hope to contribute to US leadership establishing global precedent-setting democratic responses to evolving digital threats at the National Security Council.

Shannon’s tips for future applicants:Be very specific and honest about your dreams and aspirations in the application — don’t censor yourself. Start early and set aside time to mull over your statement/answers. Read books/studies associated with your field/intended masters degree while you mull it over. Do in-depth research into the programs you’re proposing– read the course plans, identify the research groups you wish to work with, and have a very clear idea of what your outcomes are. It may seem overwhelming when you start these applications, and you may experience imposter syndrome. Apply anyway and put yourself out there. Begin preparing for the interview after you submit the application. Give yourself an advantage over the competition by starting early.

Irika Sinha

I am currently a senior at the University of Washington and a 2020 Husky 100 scholar. I am planning to graduate Winter 2021 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and B.S. in Biology (Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental). Additionally, I am a part of Interdisciplinary Honors at UW and plan to complete College Honors for Biochemistry.

Currently, I am a part-time researcher in the McGuire Lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center studying Epstein-Barr virus. I am also a C.L.U.E. tutor for chemistry and illustrate for The Daily at UW. Previously I have also researched in the bioinformatics and chemistry fields as a member of the Yang Lab at UCLA and Ginger Lab at UW, respectively. I am very grateful to have been funded by the Goldwater Scholarship, a Mary Gates Endowed Research Scholarship, and a Washington Research Foundation Fellowship over the years.

This year I have been nominated from the UW for the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships in the UK. Through these scholarships I am applying to research neuroimmunology as it pertains to dementia and Alzheimer’s at either Oxford or University College London.

Irika’s near and longer term goals: Currently I am applying to graduate schools to study neuroimmunology or neuroscience pertaining to dementia and hope to begin in Fall 2021. Long term I hope to be able to both research and mentor other students who may lack support or opportunity in the sciences.

Irika’s tips for future applicants: Starting these applications is intimidating but the first step is always just writing (often a somewhat terrible) draft. But once you have a draft you can come back to it and work on it a few hours every day to change the parts you don’t like! So, regardless of how confident you feel about the essay, try to write down SOMETHING, even if it’s bullet points at first, to get your thoughts down on the paper. After that, definitely talk to mentors and friends to help streamline your thoughts. If you’re explaining your reasoning and ideas to them, then it will help you word it in the essay itself. (Be careful with the Rhodes essay though! make sure that’s done first!)

Kayla Van Kooten

I am a recent International Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations graduate with a minor in European Studies. During my time as an undergraduate, I was fortunate to have the ability to study Arabic, Persian, German, and Spanish, as well as complete an honors thesis on the influence of migration and multicultural identities on rap and hip-hop in Germany and the UK. I am currently an English language teaching assistant in Seville, Spain, with the Auxiliares de Conversación program administered by the Spanish Ministry of Education, as well as volunteer English tutor at a migration nonprofit. As a Marshall or Rhodes scholar, I hope to continue my language training and research on integration and multiculturalism within migrant communities in Europe, using an interdisciplinary approach that blends humanities with the social sciences at Oxford or London School of Economics.

I draw my urgency from the rise of political regimes on both sides of the Atlantic that have tried, with terrifying success, to unravel long-standing immigration, asylum and refugee laws. As many politicians threaten the future of migration and declare multiculturalism as a policy failure, it is now more important than ever to understand the unique identities 1st and 2nd generation migrants to Europe. I feel a deep sense of responsibility as an American to use my voice and my knowledge to help reframe the question of migration, not as an external problem, but as an internal, humanitarian problem.

Kayla’s near and longer term goals: After my time in Spain, I hope to either continue my English teaching assistantship experience in Germany as a Fulbright awardee or start graduate school. I’m currently in the process of applying to several different graduate programs both in the US and in Europe that would allow me to continue my passion for studying languages and my research on multiculturalism within migrant communities in Europe.

Kayla’s tips for future applicants: Start early and use your network of professors, advisors, and friends, they are all eager to help you! Don’t get discouraged by being “behind” on applications and most importantly—don’t self sabotage!

Karen Zhang

Karen Zhang is a senior studying Biochemistry and Microbiology. She is part of the Interdisciplinary Honors program and is working to complete Departmental Honors in Biochemistry. After graduating from UW, she aims to obtain a PhD in Bioengineering with a focus on synthetic biology. She is deeply passionate about studying the machineries of life at a molecular level and engineering them to perform novel tasks. She was first introduced to this concept of “hacking” biological systems in high school when she participated in iGEM, an international synthetic biology competition. Since then, she has been fascinated by the numerous issues that synthetic biology could help solve in a wide range of fields, including medical, environmental, and industrial.

Currently, Karen is an undergraduate researcher in the Molecular Information Systems Lab (MISL) at UW. Her lab investigates technologies for storing digital data in DNA and is interested in all things at the intersection between computer science and biology. Her projects so far have focused on using nanopore sensing technology to read out information from engineered biological systems. Through this interdisciplinary lab, she has gained invaluable experience in professional research and delved deeper into synthetic biology. She has also developed an appreciation for bioinformatics and the essential role that computational algorithms play in interpreting biological data.

Outside of academics and research, Karen works as a chemistry tutor for CLUE. She is also a student officer for UW’s Free Radicals Chemistry Club and Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemistry Honor Society. In her free time, Karen enjoys reading (and maybe one day writing) fantasy novels.

Karen’s tips for future applicants: Let your passion shine through, especially in the personal statement portion of the application. Think about what motivates you and what makes you excited about your research, and use that to explain the actions you took and the things you achieved.

Alexander Zhu

I call Tacoma home and currently live in Teejop/Madison, Wisconsin. I am the child of Chinese immigrant parents for whom I am eternally grateful. I feel it is my responsibility to use my power and privilege to give others what my parents gave me: the chance to live a meaningful, impactful life.

My values are shaped by my communities. The atmosphere of curiosity and kindness in the Promislow lab fostered an environment where the scientific process could thrive, where it was possible to be vulnerable, admit mistakes, and ask for help. CHID brought together students of all disciplines, backgrounds, and interests to create space for a more loving, inclusive world. While studying creative writing in Rome, I shared my roughest drafts, ripest tomatoes, and longest nights with my cohort, solidifying my understanding that a meaningful life is composed of novelty, intentionality, and community. The Filipino American Student Association (FASA) and Filipino Night created family through shared stories and histories, emphasizing empowerment through learning history and culture. I have shared many wonderful moments with all my friends in the Neuroscience cohort, Stevens Court Community Council, UW Glee Club, and beyond.

Looking forward, I hope to study the social factors that contribute to marginality and exclusion, followed by studies in public health to understand the methods to quantitatively identify, communicate, and address issues affecting health on a large scale. My vision is to create multicultural, interdisciplinary organizations composed of people who ask important questions, who can understand and communicate their community’s needs, and who can collaborate to effectively enact change.

I currently work at Epic, where I provide healthcare organizations with interoperability support and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives to educate and empower Epic employees to address bias in processes and software and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare.

My free time now is spent around stovetops, books, bikes, podcasts, and plants.

Alex’s near and longer term goals: Following my studies, I hope to volunteer with the Peace Corps Response to apply my public health knowledge to improve health in our global community. My goal is to identify and address the interconnected systemic causes of public health problems and to be a bridge between communities with power and those which are excluded. I intend to cultivate communities through shared space and stories, shift cultural paradigms of health to be more inclusive, and produce knowledge that can change policy and institutional frameworks.

Alex’s tips for future applicants: Take care of yourself! Spend time with loved ones, read authors who inspire you, do things that bring you joy, and take breaks. I’m more than happy to chat! Send me an email.

Ian Bellows, Nominee

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Jordan Brown, Nominee

I am an early entrance student at the University of Washington pursuing a degree in mathematics. I hope to become a research mathematician. My current research is focused on recent developments in type theory and the foundations of mathematics. The expansion of the use of computers in formal mathematical proofs is of great interest to me, and I hope to ascertain the extent to which type theory can be used not only to create programs which can check the validity of proofs, but which can independently generate mathematical proofs.

I come from Seattle, Washington and I have been interested in mathematics since I was very young. For the past few years, I have volunteered with the eMode Learning Foundation, teaching mathematics in Mount Baker and Rainier Beach to elementary- and middle-school students. I enjoy sharing my love of mathematics with people from my community, many of whom receive a very poor mathematical education in school.

Although I spend most of my time doing mathematics, I also act and play the clarinet. I love libraries and have visited nearly every branch in the Seattle Public Library system. One of my favorite activities is reading mathematical papers in German, both because I enjoy the mathematics and because I enjoy reading German. While I am far from fluent in German, I am rather adept in reading mathematical writing in German. This is convenient, as much of the literature on the foundations of mathematics in the twentieth century was written in German. Many other academic subjects interest me, and I have spent significant amounts of time reading about ethics, epistemology, psychology, physics, history, and sociology. My favorite authors of fiction are Paul Auster and James Baldwin.

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Caroline Kasman, Nominee

In my undergraduate career, I have explored the determinants of population health through the lens of the social sciences. Working in Harborview Medical Center and volunteering in a pediatric hospital in Ecuador, I became more familiar with the complex causes of health disparities within communities as well as between them. I additionally participated in UW’s chapter of GlobeMed, partnered with a grassroots organization in Kenya, and the Jackson School Student Association, in which I engaged with both my peers and colleagues abroad to support social justice and health initiatives. Through interning with RTI International’s Noncommunicable Diseases Initiative and participating in the International Studies’ Task Force, I developed my interest in how historical state relationships and global systems of foreign aid influence healthcare infrastructure and resources in low- and middle- income countries. I chose to further explore this topic through an Honors thesis in Economics, in which I conducted original research on how patterns of foreign aid for noncommunicable diseases correlate with disease burdens and socioeconomic factors of recipient countries. Wanting to understand more of the health sciences components of population health, I am currently working at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in which I am helping to conduct a meta-analysis on global biomarkers in the gut microbiome and study bioinformatic methodologies.

I plan to pursue a master’s program in public health to engage in health economics, epidemiology, and biostatistics coursework in addition to more research experience. I am very interested in graduate school in the United Kingdom for their ethos towards the study of public health, which combines an understanding of climate change, food supply chain systems, biology and social determinants. In addition to the opportunity to engage in an entirely different health system, this education would allow me to gain an understanding of how countries collaborate to developing effective and sustainable health interventions as the UK navigates its history of imperialism and current relationships with the Commonwealth. Moreover, as I enjoy participating in ballet, painting, and drawing, I am very excited to be a part of England’s art scene as well as further my commitment to social justice organizations
Caroline’s tips for future applicants
The Odegaard Writing Center is incredibly helpful for writing personal statements, even if it’s just to have another pair of eyes!

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Sara Mar, Nominee

Sara graduated Summa Cum Laude with her B.S. in Environmental Health in 2017. During her last semester of college, Sara studied abroad in rural Thailand conducting community-based research. The opportunity to build relationships with local villagers cultivated Sara’s passion for hearing the stories and perspectives of other people. After spending another two months traveling abroad in Southeast Asia, Sara accepted a fellowship through CDC’s Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) and was placed at the Ohio Department of Health. She worked in both health preparedness and health equity to promote more targeted emergency response efforts and public health program interventions through policy and data analysis work. In January 2019, Sara deployed to Charleston, West Virginia to assist the hepatitis A outbreak response, where she helped coordinate vaccine outreach clinics at homeless shelters, faith-based organizations, and Medication-Assisted Treatment centers to get more than 600 people vaccinated. After her deployment, Sara garnered lessons learned and helped lead the state health department’s hepatitis A response efforts back in Ohio.

Seeing the influence of federal and state policy on public health programs, as well as Sara’s passion for global health and community-focused health programs, motivated Sara to apply for the Marshall scholarship. Sara hopes to use the Marshall scholarship to obtain her Masters in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Masters in Public Policy at the London School of Economics. With these two degrees, Sara wants to begin a global health career where she can bridge the gap between local communities and policy makers.

Sara’s tips for future applicants
Thoroughly research your graduate opportunities in London. Each school has slight variations in their curriculum and course structure, so try to figure out which are the best fit for your career goals. Additionally, look into opportunities to get involved outside of your coursework. This may include research centers or institutes where you could complete your final graduate school project, as well as places where you could engage with the London community and continue (or pick-up) a hobby or extracurricular activity!

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Henry Milander, Nominee

My academic work and interests focus on developing a better understanding of development and mobility, and what roles state and society play in the process. Considering that extreme poverty is often understood as the largest violation of human rights, I am excited and honored to study in a field with huge implications for human well-being and global peace. The key realization through my community work and leadership, service and learning, and failures and successes, has been that each community’s needs and priorities are unique, and as the true beneficiaries of any development project they deserve dedicated, qualified professionals who recognize this fact.

With the support of one of these graduate scholarships, exposure to the latest in the development field, and heightened language skills, I will be well-equipped to pursue a career dedicated to economic justice and spatial mobility in the world. Ideally, this would be through working for an international or multilateral entity such as the Danish Refugee Council, Global Reporting Initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and USAID. It will be in these organizations that I hope to add nuance, develop public opinion research, and give weight to mobility and locally-driven projects that I help develop, coordinate, and implement.

Earning a graduate degree is in no way the end of my learning as it simply opens a door to some of the institutions that house many of the great ideas and thinkers of our time whom I can learn from and together, positively impact the world for those who have historically been marginalized.

Henry’s tips for future applicants
Be cognizant of what the fellowship looks for and think about how that aligns with your own values, the experiences that have shaped those values, and how you think they apply to what you want to do in the fellowship and beyond. Embrace your inner perseverance, because fellowships, especially one with a UW nomination and subsequent national round, you’ll have to edit many a time more than what you’re likely used to. Seek out advice from a professor or professional that is familiar with the type of material or tasks you’ll be carrying out in the fellowship. They can really help guide your thought piece or personal statement and vet it for realistic application. Go to them early on in the process because at least for me, it took time to figure out what or how exactly I would contribute to the field I was hoping to enter, and they have plenty of insights into making contributions through research and/or through teaching.

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Sacha Moufarrej, Nominee

I am currently a senior in the UW Honors Program, majoring in neuroscience and minoring in music. I conduct research on pediatric chronic pain at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and am currently working on a meta-analysis on the prevalence of chronic pain in young adults. Raised in a Lebanese-American household, I grew up in the midst of the sociopolitical issues plaguing Lebanon and its neighbors, and have witnessed the physical and mental trauma experienced in war-torn and displaced communities. I have volunteered as a tutor in Lebanon at SOS Children’s Villages, an international organization dedicated to providing homes, families, and other resources to abandoned or orphaned children, some of whom, within the Lebanese village of Bhersaf, are victims of the Syrian refugee crisis. I have also performed as a pianist and singer at fundraiser concerts in the Bay Area for SOS.

Through these experiences, I have developed an interest in studying disease patterns and health risks and disparities in vulnerable communities, with a specific focus on displaced, homeless, and refugee populations. Although I plan on pursuing medical school and becoming a physician, I also want to be able to play a role in informing public health policy through research. To do so, I hope to pursue graduate studies in medical anthropology and public health to develop a better understanding of the epidemiology of various diseases affecting different populations and to develop a strong foundation in health care policy, in order to identify key strategies for health care reform for systemically neglected displaced and migrant populations.

With the US and the UK being prominent global leaders and hubs of immigration, it is vital to have collaboration between the two nations in developing effective, people-focused domestic and foreign policies. However, these countries greatly differ in their approaches to public and global health. Pursuing graduate study in medical anthropology and global health in the UK, where many institutions have become leading proponents of public health reform, would allow me to widen my perspective on public health at an international level.

Sacha’s tips for future applicants
Do a lot of research on programs and scholarships that are available to you, and reach out to professors and advisers! UW has so many resources and people who provide a great support system during all stages of the application process.

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Daniel O’Connell, Nominee

I was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1997, and moved to the United States just before I turned 10. Ever since that time, poetry has been of central importance in my life, not solely as a base art form or a technical pursuit, but as a tactic for managing and accepting the limitations of a human life. Poetry, as it seems to me, is the art of a moment at length, the elaboration and preservation of some instant of perception. There seems to be no form better suited to bottling such a thing, a nostalgia or a joy or a grief or a fear or a confusion, such that those who consume it later are then subject to the very same feeling. This can be the poet themselves, too, for memory fades and distorts over great time, and aside from those of us born with flawless or all-retaining memories, there’s a need for strategies to retain what we cherish. Far more of your life will be in the past than the present; the majority of experience is an amalgam of the sliver of the present, on the one hand, and the far greater tract of all memories to date, on the other. Effective poetry, it must be said, cannot rely on earnest feeling alone. Technique is a necessity; polished and intentional and egalitarian technique. If I really want to become the best poet I possibly can, to affect myself and others, I must commit to an intense and sustained study. As more and more of my efforts continue to center around the craft, a scholarship to facilitate my continued studies would be invaluable, not only to myself, I hope, but to everyone whom I might convince of their stake in poetry. I believe everyone has already, on some level, been the beneficiary of poetry, some phrasing or metaphor that’s remained with them unerring from whenever they heard it; to be shown that its name is poetry is all that remains for them.

Daniel’s tips for future applicants
Start your applications as early as possible! Make sure that you given yourself as much time as you possibly can to draft, re-read, edit, re-start, etc., because otherwise you’ll run the risk of forgetting something important, or missing glaring errors, or rushing your work, and on something as potentially important as these applications, it isn’t worth it.

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Alexander Peterson, Nominee

Alex Peterson is a junior at the University of Washington in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program studying economics and statistics. Since his freshman year, Alex has been involved in several areas of campus leadership, including the ASUW Senate and Office of Government Relations, the Student Council on Insurance, the HUB Board of Representatives, and others. Alex’s academic interests are multifaceted, primarily revolving around US public policy, economics, Middle Eastern political history, and language, and he has taken steps to explore each of these in depth throughout his undergraduate career. As a freshman, Alex was awarded a Fulbright Summer Institutes Scholarship to study Middle Eastern politics at the University of London, and he has also conducted his own research project regarding the influence of language on political identity in Israel.

Outside of the UW, Alex is an intern at an economic consulting firm in downtown Seattle and is preparing for deployment as a humanitarian aid worker in Dominica this summer, assisting in disaster preparedness programs for public schools. After graduating from UW and through the potential support of a Rhodes or Marshall scholarship, Alex hopes to pursue a master’s degree in economics with an emphasis on policy, helping him to not only develop high economic literacy for a career in public service but also to conduct research on Brexit and broader questions of European economic integration. In addition to a future in politics, Alex is also interested in practicing law, teaching in a university, or becoming an economic policy adviser.

When Alex has free time, he enjoys making music, hiking, and fixing watches. He explains that his motivation in life comes from a combination of his Christian faith, a desire to be a good role model for his younger siblings, and an awareness of the importance of leadership in supporting the goals of others.

Alex’s tips for future applicants:
Be authentic, sometimes even to the point of discomfort. On applications for big scholarships or grad schools, it may feel like you need to portray yourself as perfect, but committees are interested in your humanity and ability to reflect on both successes and failures.

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Katie Spink, Nominee

Katie is currently a senior majoring in psychology at the University of Washington. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. In her future work, Katie’s aim is to support families by examining factors that enhance or hinder family functioning and child development, with an eye toward disadvantaged populations. She hopes to build on this understanding by developing and enhancing feasible, affordable interventions that will buffer disadvantaged families from negative health outcomes.

As a research assistant in Dr. Lynn Fainsilber Katz’s lab, she is involved in a study examining family adjustment in the context of pediatric cancer. In addition, as a part of the Department of Psychology Honors Program, she has developed an independent research project that is investigating parental beliefs and behaviors about emotions and its impact on marital adjustment in families facing pediatric cancer.

Katie is also a research assistant in Dr. Liliana Lengua’s laboratory, working on a study intended to support low-income new mothers and their infants in stress-management and parenting. Katie conducts interviews with new mothers, administers physiological measures for both mothers and babies, while performing various tasks to measure self-regulation and attention in infants.

As a mother of two daughters, Katie has first-hand experience into the demands of raising children, and this has been an additional source of inspiration for her future research. Katie’s desire is that her nontraditional path to pursuing her career goals will inspire courage and resilience in both her daughters and those around her.

Katie’s tips for future applicants:
You and your story have immense value – never assume you’re not good enough.

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Carlie Stowe, Nominee

My degree in Community, Environment and Planning, an interdisciplinary Urban Design and Planning undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, was focused on sustainable community development. During my studies, I was able to focus my education on environmental studies, international and community development ,and ethics in relation to urban and community planning. My understanding of barriers to community sustainability, climate change, and the risk it imposes to community structures, as well as my background in planning and resiliency building, has shaped my desire to pursue a masters in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR.) This desire has been further influenced by my professional experience with PeaceTrees Vietnam, a humanitarian demining organization focused on removing unexploded ordnance from central Vietnam, and my work with post-conflict communities. I recognize that communities that deal with the impact of war have a specific set of barriers and development needs that must be addressed holistically while simultaneously addressing the need for DRR. My professional experience in international humanitarian aid, working with marginalized communities at high risk of climate-related disaster has given me field experience leading to a deeper understanding of the challenges within the field of DRR.

Pursuing a graduate degree in the United Kingdom will allow me to learn from leaders in the field of DRR and to gain a holistic education that addresses the urgent resiliency building efforts related to climate change and other natural disasters. I am passionate about researching ways to reduce disaster risk in conflict and post-conflict settings. By pursuing this degree in the UK due to their emphasis on DRR efforts in overseas development projects, I aim to highlight the importance of science and community based approaches in the field and to encourage the collaboration of the DRR with global frameworks.

In addition to my studies in the UK, I plan to continue birding and plan to join an ornithological society! I also hope to participate in citizen science projects and local conservation efforts. I am also passionate about engaging in efforts to end houselessness in the UK and applying lessons learned abroad to efforts here in Seattle.

Carlie’s tips for future applicants
Begin making connections and talking about your plans with people early on in the process. Don’t sell yourself or your accomplishment short and enjoy the experience!

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Marielle Trumbauer, Nominee

Marielle graduated from the University of Washington in June of 2018 and currently works in immigration constituent services for U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell. She initially began her academic career in business with the intent of pursuing entrepreneurship. After high school, she attended Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and studied business and Spanish. She then transferred to the University of Washington and continued her business education. Marielle started two companies, was a member of two business-oriented student organizations, and worked on several consulting projects. In 2016, she moved to Florida to work for Hillary Clinton and found her way into politics. After the election, she changed her major from business to international studies, worked on campaigns across the country, interned at the Department of State in the Dominican Republic, and spent six months as an intern in Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s office. In the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, Marielle was a part of the undergraduate departmental honors program and conducted field research in the Dominican Republic, New York, and India. Her honors thesis was entitled, “Motivations Driving the Differentiated Electoral Behavior of the Dominican Diaspora in New York during the 2012 and 2016 Dominican Presidential Elections”. Marielle also served as an officer on the Jackson School Student Association and was subsequently elected to the presidency. In this capacity, she led 17 officers in the implementation of internationally relevant events, networking opportunities, and advocacy work. The events included two rallies for a UW alumnus detained in Iran, fundraising for a UW fire victim, a dialogue about Israel and Palestine with a senior U.S. diplomat, and career panels with ambassadors, UN advisors, and White House officials. Outside of her professional and academic lives, Marielle recently completed her first half marathon and has begun to train for a full marathon. She was born and raised in Seattle and enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Patrick.

Marielle’s tips for future applicants
Take time to prepare your application and think extensively about the questions. Make sure that your answers are diverse and that you also spend time preparing for the interviews.

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Jessica Johnson, Nominee

Jessica is a 5th year student majoring in Bioengineering at the University of Washington. She has been involved in research since her freshman year, spanning topics from heart disease, to HIV, to her current project on spinal cord injuries. Presently, she is working under Dr. Saigal in the Department of Neurosurgery. Her research focuses on reducing the inflammatory response that occurs after a spinal cord injury by using polymers with encapsulated steroids. Spending time in the clinic shadowing Dr. Saigal has inspired her to pursue a Medical Degree, while still maintaining a research career. She is specifically hoping to become a rheumatologist where she hopes to help patients with complicated auto-immune conditions. Studying and pursuing research abroad would help set the foundation for her research career, while allowing her to also spend time in a different healthcare setting.

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Melissa Krook, Nominee

Melissa is a senior majoring in Psychology. Her future goals include earning a PhD in clinical geropsychology. She intends to research the psychological effects of aging, specifically, how our physical and mental state as well as our social environment affects our individual aging process. She believes that as the U.S. demographic shifts toward a larger elder population, the need for therapeutic interventions is critical. As caregiver for her grandmother, who suffered from pulmonary comorbidities, she experienced this first-hand. This award will help her to progress toward becoming a research geropsychologist.

In 2017, Melissa was selected to participate in the UW Scan|Design Innovations in Pain Summer Research Program. During this time, she worked full-time to design and implement a project measuring the effects of multisite pain on health-related quality of life in older adults. This was her first practical research experience and fueled her motivation to pursue a research career. Currently, Melissa is researching how older adults perceive and prepare for disaster situations. Her goal is to increase recognition of this important population among the general public and to educate emergency organizations that service older adults about how to support them. With the support of her Mary Gates Endowment Research Scholarship, she will finish this project in time for graduation this summer 2018.

She is a member of the Psi Chi Honor Society, the APA Division 20: Adult Development and Aging and the UW Undergraduate Research Leaders, a group that educates students about the benefits of undergraduate research. She has also worked within a local retirement community to assist in the development of healthy aging programs.

Melissa is passionate to not only alleviate aging pains, but to contribute to the resources that enhance being alive. For her current research, this means increasing what we know about age-specific disaster preparedness and utilizing it to protect older adults. Ultimately, she aims to develop psychological interventions and link them to medical treatments to enhance wellness worldwide.

Melissa’s tips for future applicants:
You never know unless you try!

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Nelson Liu, Nominee

Nelson Liu is a senior undergraduate at the University of Washington, where he studies computer science and linguistics. He works on research as a member of Noah’s ARK, and is fortunate to be advised by Noah Smith. Nelson’s research interests lie at the intersection of machine learning and natural language processing, especially with linguistically sophisticated models. Through his work with Professor Smith and various research internships, Nelson has been fortunate to explore problems in computational social science, question answering, and automatic machine translation. After completing his undergraduate degree, Nelson plans to pursue a Ph.D. in natural language processing and finally a career in research.

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Havana McElvaine, Scholar

2017 Graduate, sociology major and student-athlete. As a team captain and co-founder of the black student-athlete union, I sought to support diversity and inclusion through leadership. In my senior honors thesis I examined the impact of repeated video exposure to police violence on black male students at UW. Currently I am traveling as a Bonderman fellow on an 8 month solo journey spanning 3 continents and 8 countries, exploring global race relations, identity, community, and blackness. I hope to further my education through graduate study in the UK in programs focused on social intervention, policy evaluation and inequality. My hope is to seek out a career in government leadership and a life dedicated to social equity and equality both in the United States and globally.

Havana’s tips for future applicants:
Don´t sell yourself short.

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Cassandra McMaster, Nominee

I am applying to the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships with the intention of pursuing a master’s degree in Gender and Women’s studies at Cambridge or Oxford in order to conduct research that will prevent gender violence on college campuses in America. I believe that pursuing a master’s degree in the United Kingdom will give me a critical and unique perspective on women’s policy that will enable me to reach my professional ambitions.

My interest in women and gender studies began my freshmen year of college when I took a course in the Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies Department and was introduced to feminism. As a woman who grew up in a small, conservative town, I often describe my introduction to feminism as the discovery of a vocabulary that I desperately needed but never knew existed. My interest in the field was solidified after witnessing the impact of sexual violence on my college campus. I have since devoted my academics, volunteer efforts and career aspirations to the study of gender violence on university campuses. I am passionate about the intersection of research, policy and advocacy and believe that this intersection creates meaningful impacts within communities and it is my ultimate goal to become a leader in the effort to eradicate sexual violence from higher education through the creation of these intersections.

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Sophia Winkler-Schor, Nominee

Sophia Winkler-Schor’s research is focused on understanding human behavior and human-nature relationships in order to influence and engage people in pro-environmental behaviors and ultimately increase conservation efficacy. She is currently a fellow at the United Nations Foundation working with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves to develop behavior change interventions to increase adoption of clean cooking technology in developing nations. Sophia recently completed her master’s degree in International Nature Conservation at the University of Göttingen (Germany), Lincoln University (New Zealand) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During her master’s, Sophia interned at the World Wildlife Fund as the first conservation psychology intern developing a practitioner’s handbook for designing and implementing behavior change interventions. Building on her internship, Sophia’s thesis research explored park-user behavior at Denali National Park and Preserve (AK) to better understand user values-orientations and how those influence pro-environmental behavior.

Prior to her master’s, Sophia completed a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a B.S. in Environmental Science at UW. She was an undergraduate research assistant in the Vogt Conservation and Ecosystems Management Lab, where she deployed eco-drones to improve forest conservation practices as well as the Asah Conservation Psychology Lab. Sophia was the founder and president of UW’s Brazil Club and the treasurer for the Xi Sigma Pi National Forestry Honor Society.

Sophia plans to pursue a PhD in Conservation Psychology focused on deforestation prevention in Latin America through integrating behavioral sciences. Her research applies interdisciplinary lenses to address these issues drawing on conservation science, conservation psychology as well as other social & natural science disciplines. Sophia has conservation experience in academia, the nonprofit sector and government agencies; she hopes to establish herself at the nexus of these sectors. She strives to engage and empower diverse stakeholder groups to develop multi-faceted solutions for the complex environmental and social problems we face. Sophia plans to be a professor upon finishing her PhD and hopes to teach as well as continue researching methods to improve conservation efforts. For more information visit her website at Sophiawinklerschor.com or Twitter @ScientistSophia.

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Julia Bauman, Finalist

Julia is a third-year student majoring in neurobiology at UW. She plans to pursue an MD and a PhD in neuroscience with the goal of doing neurodegenerative disease research and seeing patients who are affected by such diseases. She would ideally like to spend a majority of her time in the lab and hopes to eventually teach at the university level.

Julia has a passion for science and medicine, and has been involved in scientific research for the entirety of her undergraduate career. Her long-term project investigates the genetics, neuropathology and risk factors associated with potential subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease. She has also researched cellular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease and neuroblastoma during summer internships at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD and the University of Freiburg in Germany, respectively.

Aside from research, Julia is involved in many activities on campus. She is Vice President of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-medical honors society, where she enjoys organizing professional development programs for members and helping other pre-meds navigate their journey to medical school. As an outreach chair for the UW Neurobiology Club, she coordinates with scientists who come to speak at the club’s events. She is also an Undergraduate Research Leader with the university, helping to bring awareness to students about research opportunities.

Despite a busy schedule, Julia is always willing to make time for running and coffee. She also enjoys hiking, traveling, playing piano and reading in her spare time.

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Ian Bellows, Nominee

Geography and International Studies

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Jacob Gross, Nominee

I first realized what I wanted to do as a career back in my junior year of high school. It dawned on me after reading an article about a four-star system that had a planet nestled between the second and third star. After working on a simulator for hours trying to recreate this system, I leaned back in my chair and realized that this is what I wanted to do; I wanted to be an astronomer. After that realization, I began working my way towards achieving that goal. I joined the Pre-Major in Astronomy Program in my first quarter at UW which is a program that assists freshmen who want to be astronomy majors. From this program, I got plugged in with various research projects and I have now been published two times and have worked on multiple projects. Due to my work on these projects, I have learned that astronomy is in fact the career path that I want to pursue and that I want to further explore X-ray astronomy subjects. Besides pursuing research opportunities, I have also joined the Society of Physics Students (SPS) club. The SPS aims to create a welcoming environment in the Physics department by hosting events to assist students with research and other academic goals as well as holding events to bring the students in Physics closer together. I joined SPS back in my freshman year and I have subsequently held the vice-president and secretary officer positions. I plan to continue my involvement in the SPS next year as I will be president of the club and also plan to continue working on research projects.

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Benjamin Lee, Nominee

Benjamin Lee graduated from University of Washington in June 2015 with highest honors in Chinese and International Studies. He studied under the departmental honors programs at the Jackson School and the Asian Languages & Literature Department.

During his junior year, Ben studied abroad in National Taiwan University as a Boren Scholar. He studied Mandarin, Taiwanese politics, and cross-strait relations. He also received the UW Presidential Scholarship for the 2014–2015 academic year, which funded his senior honors research project that compared how democratization in Taiwan and South Korea affected cross-Strait and inter-Korean relations. Ben presented his research findings in three different undergraduate conferences in Seattle, Cheney and Seoul.

In November 2014, Ben participated in in Strait Talk, a student conference on cross-Strait relations at Brown University. He worked as the Editor in Chief of the consensus document, which listed proposals from U.S., Chinese and Taiwanese delegates on how to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait. Ben was also one of three undergraduate Young Global Leaders at the Slade Gorton International Policy Center, where he was awarded the Sally Gorton Leadership award for his preparation of a policy table with former U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke.

After graduation, Ben worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a junior fellow for the Asia program. He assisted senior scholars’ research on security issues in US-China relations and published several articles for the Diplomat. For the 2017-2018 academic year, he was awarded the Fulbright Research and Study Grant to China to conduct research on cross-Strait relations. Eventually, Ben would like to work in the government where he can contribute to American foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific.

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Michael Monicatti, Nominee

Michael is a graduating senior at the University of Washington where he studies Drama Performance and Communications. He spends most of his time rehearsing and performing in plays and musicals as well as volunteering with the Undergraduate Theater Society as their Publicity Director. He currently works for a local catering company and is very passionate about health and wellness. Michael has spent his last chunk of time at UW taking advantage of the new musical theater opportunities, expanding his repertoire beyond plays. After graduation, he plans to perform around Seattle building up his resume before attending graduate school in London for an MFA in Acting.

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Ian Bellows, Nominee

Geography and International Studies

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Mollie Holmberg, Nominee

By pursuing a research MPhil in Geography, I want to continue developing a skillset that will support me through a PhD in Geography and allow me to conduct research that will build bridges across academia, help environmental policy have a more beneficial impact, and bring academic work to a wider audience. As a professional scholar, I want to use diverse ways of knowing to build more holistic models of how people interact with each other, other species and earth systems. Much about modern urban living geographically and conceptually isolates people from the biological processes essential for their existence, and by studying and rendering explicit the ecologies of de-naturalized spaces, I want to bring the immediacy of these processes for human well-being into people’s consciousness. This work will also involve challenging traditional dichotomies between humanity and nature so that we can better understand ourselves as animals with animal frailties existing within biological ecosystems.

Work rooted in traditional science often dominates discussions of policy-relevant research. Through research with aspects of both traditional science and humanities, I hope to demonstrate how multidisciplinary methods generate research more powerful than the sum of its parts for improving human well-being and diversify the knowledge base used in policy.

I also hope to continue developing and using new methods for democratizing access to research through the development of novel digital tools for exploring ideas and results as I have through past research experiences at the UW’s Summer Institute for Arts and Humanities and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. These tools make research published in journals accessible and compelling in ways it otherwise might not be for people outside academia. Additionally, this sort of communication can bring research to people within academia who primarily read journals within their subfield.

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Zoe Miles, Nominee

Psychology major

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Zachary Reshovsky, Nominee

Zachary Reshovsky was born in Pasadena, California on December 2nd, 1993. Both artists by trade, Zachary’s father and mother had careers in cinematography and professional illustration respectively . At age 12, he moved up to San Juan Island, enrolling in a local alternative school. Here, he enjoyed engaging in a variety of subjects, ranging from creative writing to mock trial to geographic studies. Following 8th grade, his family moved to Bellevue, Washington, where he attended Interlake High School. At Interlake, he completed the rigorous International Baccalaureate program in 10th and 11th grade, one year ahead normal schedule. Zachary is currently a Freshmen with Junior standing in terms of credits. He is majoring in International Studies at the Jackson School with an East Asia Concentration and intends to work in diplomacy, intelligence, and/or international human rights law following his graduation.

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Elizabeth Wu, Nominee

English (Creative Writing) and Drama: Performance major

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Zachary Reshovsky, Nominee

Zachary Reshovsky was born in Pasadena, California on December 2nd, 1993. Both artists by trade, Zachary’s father and mother had careers in cinematography and professional illustration respectively . At age 12, he moved up to San Juan Island, enrolling in a local alternative school. Here, he enjoyed engaging in a variety of subjects, ranging from creative writing to mock trial to geographic studies. Following 8th grade, his family moved to Bellevue, Washington, where he attended Interlake High School. At Interlake, he completed the rigorous International Baccalaureate program in 10th and 11th grade, one year ahead normal schedule. Zachary is currently a Freshmen with Junior standing in terms of credits. He is majoring in International Studies at the Jackson School with an East Asia Concentration and intends to work in diplomacy, intelligence, and/or international human rights law following his graduation.

Rutger Ceballos, Nominee

Political Science, History, and International Studies major, Classics and Ancient History minor

Rutger Ceballos is a senior triple majoring in Political Science, International Studies and History with a minor in Classics and Ancient History. An avid reader and learner from an early age, Rutger has spent much of his time in college building an interdisciplinary understanding of a diverse range of topics – including philosophy, political science, economics, international relations and critical theory. In recent years, Rutger’s own research has focused on the historical development of the labor movement, both in the United States and internationally. His research traces how organized labor and radical working-class movements have worked collectively to reimagine their social conditions and challenge political and economic oppression. Rutger is drawn to the complex and interdisciplinary nature of labor studies and believes that an in-depth understanding of the intersection of race, class, nationality, gender, and ideology is required to fully understand how workers develop their identities as economic and social actors. In the future, Rutger hopes to continue his historical and political examination of working-class movements, especially with regards to the relationship between ideology and social movements. He intends to pursue an MPhil in Political and Intellectual History in the UK before eventually moving on to a PhD back in the United States.

In addition to his academic interests, Rutger has served as Chair of the Student Philanthropy Education Program and as a Senior Editor of the Jackson School Journal of International Studies. He also has over two years of experience as a Writing Tutor at the Odegaard Writing and Research Center. When not pursuing his academic interests or working, Rutger enjoys all forms of the performing arts especially classic films, Shakespearean plays and the opera. After graduating, Rutger hopes to spend some time traveling and exploring before heading to graduate school.

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John Chelgren, Nominee

English Language and Literature major

I grew up north of Seattle, in Edmonds, Washington, where I attended Edmonds-Woodway High School and graduated with an International Baccalaureate Diploma. For my freshman year of college, I attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, then transferred to the University of Washington in Autumn 2012. I am currently an English Language and Literature major, am enrolled in the University Honors Program, and will take part in Departmental Honors next year. I am the founding editor of an online poetry magazine at the UW called Blind Glass, which will release its first issue this spring. Outside of school, I enjoy writing poetry, reading, bicycling, cooking, volunteering, and spending time with friends and family.

My main academic interests involve experimental and avant-garde literature, especially but not exclusively 20th and 21st century poetry. On a very fundamental level, I’m fascinated by the seemingly limitless capacities of language — its ambiguities and nuances, its ability to both communicate and transcend communication, its role in shaping human interactions and consciousness. I’m interested in experimental writing in particular because I think literature that “bites its thumb” at accepted ideas of what language can and should be for, writing that challenges us to know our own lives and experiences in new and unfamiliar ways, is essential to the intellectual vitality of our society. Literature can be entertainment, but it is also a way of learning about the world and our places in it.

I want to study literature in graduate school so that I can contribute to the discussion and culture around good writing and art. Whether this will involve going on to earn a PhD and pursuing an academic career, getting into publishing, working at a literary nonprofit, or following some other unknown trajectory, I hope to determine along the way. Whatever career I end up securing for myself, however, my highest aspiration and joy will be helping others develop a love for poetry and other literary arts, and I am confident these scholarships will enable me to do just that.

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Alexandra Kronz Kaethler, Nominee

Psychology and Linguistics major

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Leocie Nelson, Nominee

Art History and Comparative Religion major

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Kristen Zipperer, Finalist

International Studies and South Asian Studies major, Urdu Language and Literature and African Studies minor

I grew up in Coeur d’Alene, in northern Idaho, where I developed an interest in the outdoors and the mountains. At the end of high school, I traveled with two ex-Peace Corps volunteers from my town to a remote region in western Nepal, to help conduct a medical camp. I returned from this trip wanting to know more about Nepal and South Asia as a region. In 2009, I received a Critical Language Scholarship from the US Department of State and spent six months learning beginning Urdu in Lucknow, India. After Lucknow, I returned to Nepal, where I studied Nepali language and culture with the School for International Training.

Here, I developed an interest in how people operate in society’s liminal spaces, beyond the reach of state rules. One year later, I received a grant to do research for an honor’s thesis on the culture of smuggling and illicitness in the Indo-Nepal borderland. I graduated from the University of Washington in the spring of 2012, and afterwards, moved to Kathmandu. I worked for about one year as an assistant editor at a long-form, regional magazine in Kathmandu called Himal Southaian, and then as an associate academic director of the School for International Training, where I am today, helping to engage and challenge other American university students as they learn about Nepal. With the Marshall, I would like to pursue a doctoral degree in anthropology, and further study Nepal’s borderland region. In the future, I hope to become a university professor.

Hunter Bennett, Nominee

Bioengineering major, Chemistry minor

Hunter is a junior majoring in Bioengineering. Upon arriving at UW in Fall 2010, he was amazed at the work being done across campus to create novel systems for disease treatment and prevention and sought to get involved as a way to apply what he had learned in high school and to make a positive change in medicine. This interest in research led him to the lab of Dr. Kim Woodrow in the Department of Bioengineering where it grew into a passion. Hunter studies the cellular and molecular basis of the mucosal immune system and ways in which mucosal immunity to HIV can be engineered. Currently, Hunter is focused on creating a cell-based therapeutic system capable of stimulating a long-term mucosal immune response to HIV and lowering rates of HIV sexual transmission. Ultimately, his research aims at improving protection HIV in high-risk populations by inducing a potent and long lasting immune response at common sites of infection. His development as a researcher has been aided by generous funding from the UW NASA Space Grant Fellowship, the Mary Gates Research Scholarship, and the Art Levinson Emerging Scholars Fellowship.

Beyond the lab, Hunter focuses his time on teaching and mentoring younger students through the UW Biomedical Engineering Society. Hunter also enjoys running and hiking in the Seattle area, playing basketball, and cheering on the UW football and basketball teams.

After graduation, Hunter hopes to pursue a Ph.D in Bioengineering and Masters in immunology. His ultimate goal is to lead a research group that seeks to develop novel biomaterials systems that can program the human immune system.

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Genevieve (Gennie) Gebhart, Finalist

Gennie Gebhart, a Sacramento native and now a proud Seattlite, grew up exploring libraries. Gennie plans to graduate from the University of Washington in June 2013 with a degree in International Studies and Economics. While her academic studies at the UW have focused on environmental economics and international energy politics, she is aiming to extend these fields of study into a career in information justice and international librarianship.

The UW Libraries have opened countless doors for Gennie, and she owes her current informatics skills and aspirations to them. Having worked at the UW Libraries‘ Odegaard Undergraduate Library, the Northwest branch of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and the UW’s Media Center (the main multimedia library), Gennie has had hands-on experience in what it takes to keep a university library running from day to day through everything from budget cuts to large-scale renovations.

Gennie’s introduction to the art and study of cinema at the Media Center has led to her current senior Honors thesis on Italian film, which she has been fortunate to undertake in Rome during winter quarter 2013. Her activities in Italy so far have included trips to Naples for Christmas and New Years with strangers-turned-family, trying to fix her apartment’s water heater, and speaking as much Italian as possible.

Gennie’s greatest passion lies in the problem-solving and advocacy she has found as a student representative on the UW’s Library Student Advisory Committee and Faculty Council on University Libraries. In these groups, terms like “open access,” “information justice,” and “digital commons” have taken on tangible and urgent meaning. Gennie hopes to enter the global open access debate armed with international experience, a multidisciplinary education, and constant mindfulness of the vital human side of digital information technology.

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Philmon Haile, Nominee

Philmon Haile’s background, formative events in his early years, participation in OneWorld Now!, and his pursuit of higher education have fueled his passion to address global issues of equal access to education for underrepresented youth. Philmon was born in Sudan to Eritrean parents, who were both soldiers in the Eritrean War of Independence. He arrived as a refugee in Seattle at age three. He speaks Mandarin, Arabic, and Tigrinya.

Through OneWorld Now! (OWN), a global leadership program for underserved high school students, Philmon began to study Mandarin Chinese and develop leadership skills. Through the support of OWN, he spent his junior year in the U.S. House of Representatives Page Program. In his senior year of high school, he was awarded an OWN study abroad scholarship to Anshan, China for an academic year where he attended a local high school.

Following high school graduation, Philmon was accepted to Swarthmore College, where he was involved in a Chinese NGO that promotes awareness of Hansen’s disease survivors, leading a work camp in a rural village in Southern China recovering from the disease. At UW, he began to study Arabic, earning a U.S. State Department internship working at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing with Ambassador Gary Locke. Last summer, he studied Arabic in Jordan and began formulating his Fulbright research project while there.

Philmon was recently chosen to speak on a panel and present an award to Ambassador Gary Locke in Washington, D.C. Soon after, First Lady Michelle Obama quoted Philmon in a major speech in Beijing about the importance of studying abroad. After his Fulbright year in Jordan, Philmon will begin graduate study as a Rangel Fellow and looks forward to a career in the State Department Foreign Service.

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Kristine Hamilton, Nominee

Psychology and Communication (Journalism) major

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Kayhan Nejad, Nominee

History major

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Kelsey Barrett, Nominee

Global Health: General Track major

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Michael Bocek, Nominee

Biochemistry major

Mike Bocek is a Junior in the Department of Biochemistry. He currently performs research in the Pun Group in Bioengineering, studying polymer-based nanoparticle vehicles for the delivery of peptides and nucleic acids. In addition, he works at the Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE) as a chemistry tutor. He has previously participated in the Amgen Scholars Program, and was awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2011-2012. He is currently applying for the Gates Cambridge and Marshall Scholarships, and hopes to pursue a M.Sc in immunology before beginning his doctoral studies. Mike hopes to graduate in 2013 with a B.S. in biochemistry, and pursue a Ph.D in bioengineering, specifically in the field of drug and macromolecule delivery. After graduate school, he hopes to continue working in the field, either in a professional or academic capacity. In his spare time, Mike enjoys reading, baking, and the occasional bout of wilderness activity on the weekends.

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Sarah Boone, Nominee

International Studies major, Environmental Studies minor

Sarah Boone is a Junior in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, studying diplomacy and international relations. She also has a minor in Environmental Studies from the UW Program on the Environment. Her academic interests bridge these two fields of study as she focuses on issues of environmental degradation at the international level and how the global community can resolve the rising number of environmental conflicts. In particular she is interested in the management of fresh water resources around the world and the effect that issues of water quality and quantity have on international politics and security. This focus crystalized during her sophomore year, when she took the Jackson School course, “Water and Security in the Middle East.” Since then, she has studied water security issues around the world, producing several research papers on the subject which she presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in May. She is currently the editor of a research taskforce on environmental issues in Indonesia and is working on her senior thesis on water resource conflict in Oman.

Outside of classes, Sarah participates actively in a number of organizations. Sarah has taken on leadership roles within the Jackson School Journal of International Studies where she works as a senior editor, and within the Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment, in which she taught weekly course review sessions for students in the entry-level Jackson School courses. These experiences have honed her leadership skills and increased her interest in taking on greater leadership roles in the future.

After finishing her undergraduate degree, Sarah intends to get a masters and possibly doctorate degree in water science, policy and management. She wants to become a leader in the field of global environmental politics, with the research skills and depth of knowledge needed to participate in scholarly dialogue at the highest level. Professionally, she would like to pursue work in environmental policy consulting within the agencies of the federal government. She believes that environmental justice is social justice, and that we must seek widespread policy reforms that honor and preserve the natural world.

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Mohammad Nasir, Nominee

International Studies: Asia major

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Helen Olsen, Nominee

Public Heath and Geography major, African Studies and Global Health minor

Hi! My name is Helen Olsen and I am a double major in the Department of Geography and the School of Public Health. I work as an Undergraduate Research Assistant with Professors Victoria Lawson & Sarah Elwood. My research interests lie in exploring the intersections of health, development, and women’s studies both at home and abroad. After graduating from the University of Washington, I hope to attend graduate school in the UK and pursue both an MSc in Global Health and an MSc in Forced Migration & Refugee Studies. The combination of these two degrees would allow me to continue to develop some of the research relationships I’ve built during my time at the UW, as well as deepen my understanding of the social determinants of health and well-being.

At the end of my two years at Oxford, I will return home with her two MSc degrees and, undoubtedly, a new way of thinking about and interacting with the world as a whole. Once I return to the United States, I will continue my academic studies by entering a concurrent MD/PhD program. Blending the practice of field-based medicine with social science research within the academy will allow me to serve the vulnerable populations I study while, simultaneously, conducting mixed methods research on women, health and the experience of trauma. I intend to be both an academic and a global advocate for women’s health access and the importance of training Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and Midwives in culturally competent care provision in post-conflict zones. My time studying at Oxford will certainly help shape me into the global leader I will become.

This summer, I will continue to gain experience in field-based maternal health research by traveling to Uttarakhand, India with the JSIS program on Environment & Development in the Indian Himalaya. During my time in India, I will intern with the Central Himalayan Rural Action Group (CHIRAG) and study the impact of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) on access to maternal health care options. Outside of school, I am an active outdoorswoman – hiking, kayaking and snowboarding. During my time at The Colorado College, I developed a passion for the outdoors that continues to this day. I also enjoy baking pies in my tiny over during my spare time!

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Samar Surface, Nominee

English major

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Wan Fong Wu, Finalist

Landscape Architecture major, Urban Design & Planning minor

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Nicholas Crown, Nominee

History and Italian Studies major

A native of Seattle,. I am a History and Italian Studies major with a passion for teaching,the legal system and trial advocacy. Shortly after arriving on campus, I co-founded the university’s nationally-recognized mock trial program, which strives to provide hands-on legal education and an intellectually stimulating, competitive outlet for UW undergrads. In December of 2010 I co-hosted a mock trial tournament at the UW School of Law, drawing 20 teams from a dozen universities across the country. I also volunteer with the UW Dream Project, Teen Feed, and a local high school mock trial program. I will study Italian literature at the University of Bologna during the Fall of 2011, after which I plan to pursue a MA in history. Ultimately, I hope to apply any skills I have to a career as a teacher and as an attorney.

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Kevin Depner, Nominee

English and Biology major

Because I’d always loved literature, I had planned on studying English at the University and aspired to write fiction. However, at UW, I became fascinated by biology and decided to combine my interests and pursue two degrees: a BA in English and a BS in Biology, with the hopes of becoming a scientific writer.

Upon my arrival at University, I also began working in Dr. Merrill Mille’s molecular biology lab. We study the movement of cells during vertebrate development. I’ve presented my research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, and am currently contributing to a paper we hope to submit for publication. I’ve learned that scientific research is n collaborative process, and that communication IS enormously important to scientific progress.

Having also worked with a local non-profit that provides support for adults with mental illness, I became interested in mental health, and in the unique medical problems facing underserved and marginalized communities.

I’m applying for these scholarships to come closer to my ultimate goal of being a physician and author. Medical science is intrinsically fascinating, and I’d like to use my talents not only to heal individual patients, but also to chronicle the history and progress of science for the general population. In an age of exponentially increasing information, I hope to serve society by bridging the sea of jargon that lies at the cutting edge of science. I’d also like to write about the interface of medicine and society. and the problems facing traditionally underserved populations. In the U K, I hope to study the philosophy and communication of science and medicine, before pursuing a medical degree. I am also interested in participating in biomedical research in the UK to remain involved in the global scientific community.

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Evan Easton-Calabria, Nominee

German Language and Literature major

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Byron Gray, Nominee

Senior, Political Science, Law Societies & Justice, Asian Studies (South Asia) major, South Asian Languages & Literature (Hindi) minor

Byron Gray is a triple major in the departments of Political Science; Law, Societies, & Justice; and Asian Studies with a minor in South Asian Languages & Literature. Although Gray’s research explores a diverse range of topics – including religious politics, nationalism, political violence, human rights, and law – his inquiries are united by an underlying interest in how people conceptualize the world and how these conceptualizations shape political and social struggles. His work is regionally focused on South Asia and attempts to combine a rigorous understanding of social theory with in situ empirical work. In the summer and fall of 2010 Gray spent seven months in India dedicated to language training in Hindi and research for an honors thesis through the Jackson School of International Studies, which explores how family law has become a site of political struggle for different social and religious groups in post-colonial India. As part of this research, Gray interviewed activists and politicians from the Indian Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Muslim, & Parsee communities. Following graduation he plans to pursue a PhD in either Political Science or Sociology. His aim is to become a professor focused on the political structuring of South Asian society.

In addition to his studies, Gray is a second year tutor at the Political Science/Law, Societies, &
Justice/International Studies Writing Center, and is Managing Editor for this year’s Orator Undergraduate Journal of Political Science. He is also a member of the newly formed Undergraduate Research Leader program, which seeks to facilitate outreach to undergraduates interested in becoming involved in the research process. Outside of class, Gray likes reading modern literature such as that of Kafka and Borges, and also enjoys science fiction films that play with philosophical themes such as Blade Runner or Tarkovsky’s Stalker. He is also an avid fan of video games.

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Sara Hefny, Nominee

Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations major

Sara Hefny is a senior in the Near Eastern Studies department with a focus in Languages and Civilizations. For the past two years she has worked with the Ottoman Texts Archive Project as an undergraduate researcher with the Svoboda Diary Project, translating and researching the history of a set of 19th century Iraqi diaries. In her research, she was struck by the migratory trends of the various ethnic communities in the Middle East and how they were affected by the political standing of the Ottoman Empire.

Sara has taken this research to Rome, Italy for the 2011-2012 year as a Fritz Fellow where she is researching the migration trends of Arab populations to Italy and the subsequent changes in Italian migration policy as a result of the recent influx of refugees fleeing political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Following graduation and return from Rome, she hopes to go onto graduate school at Oxford University to study forced migration and comparative European Union migration policy.

In addition to her studies, Sara is an avid volleyball player and coach, having coached at Seattle’s Cascade Volleyball Club and Shorewood High School, her alma mater. She is a member of Washington’s Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and is a recipient of the University of Washington’s Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Scholarship for her work with the Svoboda Diary Project. In her free time she enjoys belly dancing, experimenting in the kitchen and trivia nights with her friends.

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Matthew King, Nominee

History and Latin major, Music minor

Motivated by my experiences as a child and a college student, I have decided to pursue a career as a secondary school social studies teacher. As a youth, my passion for history was spurred not only by reading books, but also by classic adventure movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Armed with a passion for history and the vast reserves of historical knowledge at the University of Washington, I set out to become a well rounded historian by studying fields as varied as the European Middle Ages, the Middle East, and American History. Although much of my college life has been devoted to the study of history, nonetheless I have developed other interests that have motivated me towards a career in public education: working as a section leader in the Husky Marching Band, leading United Nations simulations at the WASMUN conference, and coaching youth tennis. When I think of becoming a teacher, I approach it through these various lenses: as an academician, a coach, a musician, an athlete, and an advisor.

By effectively combining my knowledge of history with my leadership skills, I hope to light in teenagers the same fire for history that has consumed me. However, my studies thus far would leave my teaching capabilities incomplete. My hope is that through this scholarship I can go to the sources in order to later leverage them as a teacher. Studying in England and examining the artifacts that I have read about for years would not only be personally stimulating, but it would also increase my potential as a teacher. It would allow me to more authoritatively show students the intricacies of working with primary sources and allow them access to a wide array of historical material. These hands on experiences would further my goal of presenting history as a humanizing study and would allow students to make intimate, personal connections with the past.

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Andrew Lewis, Nominee

History and Political Science (International Security) major

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Dustin Neighly, Nominee

History major, Latin minor

Dustin Neighly is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar majoring in History with honours and minoring in Latin. His studies focus on the changing social, political and economic structures of Medieval England. He believes that tracing these changes will help grant insight into the foundation of today’s social-democracies. Dustin recently completed a research project investigating William the Conqueror’s appropriation and modification of Anglo-Saxon methods of governance. His current research project involves reconstructing twelfth and thirteenth century English peasant worldviews through the lens of ecclesiastical literature.

Dustin hopes to earn a Master’s degree in medieval studies and medieval history, continuing on to a PhD centered on Anglo-Norman and Angevin England. He intends to become an educator and help future leaders develop a better understanding of the medieval foundations of the modern world. In addition to his studies, Dustin enjoys dancing with fire, meditating, and practicing kung fu.

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Sasha Prevost, Nominee

Asian Languages & Literature and Comparative Religion major

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Cameron Turtle, Alternate

Bioengineering major, Mathematics minor

Cameron is a senior Honors student majoring in Bioengeering with a minor in Mathematics. In Dr. Michael Regnier’s lab, Cameron studies the mechanisms of cardiac function and dysfunction in order to design innovative therapeutics including gene and cell therapies, which may restore heart function after damage or disease. Cameron is currently investigating the potential of a novel regulatory protein variant to treat cardiomyopathy and is also exploring the mechanism by which cell therapy improves heart function following a hear attack. His lab efforts aim to replace symptomatic pharmaceutical treatments for chronic illness with therapies that target the root case of disease. Cameron is grateful for research support provided by the National Science foundation, American Heart Association, Mary Gates Foundation, Amgen Scholars Program, and Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Program.

Outside of the lab, Cameron enjoys education and leadership opportunities related to global health. these interests led him to help found the student-run organization called “Bioengineers Without Borders” that is dedicated to providing low-cost bioengineering solutions to health problems in developing nations. Currently, Cameron leads the group on the development of a suite of medical diagnostic instruments that run of mobile devices. This summer, Cameron will expand his global health experience through an exploration seminar in Nepal.

After graduation, Cameron will pursue a PhD in Bioengieering and a career in medical research at either a university or private biotech company. His eventual goal is to lead a lab that develops novel medical technologies capable of reducing health inequalities and improving global health outcomes.

Outside of academics, Cameron is an avid runner and competes in various intramural athletics. He grew up in Canada and Eastern Washington, spent multiple summers working on a wheat farm, and was once selected as “Dawg Pack Fan of the Game” during the 2008-2009 men’s basketball season.

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Matthew Becker, Nominee

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Jesse Burk-Rafel, Finalist

Bioengineering major

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Brianna Craft, Nominee

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Reece Johnson, Nominee

Political Science and Philosophy major

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Geoffrey Morgan, Nominee

Civil & Environmental Engineering and International Studies major

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Rita Sodt, Nominee

Computer Engineering major

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Andrew Ishizuka, Nominee

Biochemistry and Chemistry major

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Matthew Richardson, Nominee

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Jay Singh, Alternate

Political Science and Law, Societies & Justice major

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Jessica Aws, Nominee

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Emily Cimber, Nominee

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William Mari, Nominee

History and Journalism major

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Steven Margitan, Nominee

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Elizabeth Thelen, Finalist

Asian Language & Literature and Comparative History of Ideas major

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Pavan Vaswani, Alternate

Computer Science, BioChemistry, and Neurobiology major

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Angelena Crown, Nominee

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Jeffrey Eaton, Scholar

From the Marshall Scholars Profile: Jeff Eaton, of Seattle, Washington, will graduate from the University of Washington in June 2008 with a Master’s Degree in Statistics, Bachelor’s Degrees in Mathematics and Sociology, and a Minor in Music. Eaton intends to pursue a PhD in Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College in London. His research interests are in mathematical modeling of HIV and other disease epidemics and collection and utilization of demographic data. As an undergraduate, Eaton’s research created a mathematical model of potential male circumcision HIV intervention scenarios. He also spent a year working at the Agincourt Health and Population Unit, a rural demographic surveillance site in the northeastern region of South Africa.

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Graham Griffiths, Finalist

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Elizabeth Green, Nominee

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Holly Lange, Nominee

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Ji Yoon Shin, Nominee

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Owen Biesel, Alternate

Mathematics major

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Joshua Fincher, Nominee

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Charles Johnson, Finalist

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Derek Schreck, Nominee

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Erin Corrales-Diaz, Nominee

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Lesley Everett, Nominee

Biochemistry major

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Kristi Govella, Nominee

Political Science and Japanese major

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Eliana Hechter, selected but declined

Mathematics major

Eliana graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 2006 with a degree in mathematics. She entered the UW at age 14 through the Robinson Center’s Early Entrance Program, was a student in the University Honors Program, and graduated when she was 18 years old.

As an undergraduate, she studied creative writing in Rome with the Honors Program, conducted research at Friday Harbor Laboratories, participated in the Mathematics Department’s highly selective Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program, was a teaching assistant for honors accelerated advanced calculus (a course she took as a freshman), and was an involved student in the Honors Program community.

Eliana’s undergraduate honors and awards include UW and national recognition. Her UW awards include a Dean’s Medal in the natural sciences, a Phelps Fellowship, NASA Space Grant Scholarship, and a Best Graduating Senior Award from the Department of Mathematics. Nationally, Eliana received a Goldwater Scholarship and was a 2006 Rhodes Scholar—at the time she was the second-youngest person to ever receive the Rhodes. She was also selected for a Marshall Scholarship but declined in order to accept the Rhodes.

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Hannah Janeway, Nominee

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Alison Johnston, Nominee

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Sariah Khormaee, Scholar (also received the Marshall-NIH Partnership Scholarship)

Neurobiology and Biochemistry major

Sariah Khormaee will graduate in June 2006 from the University of Washington in Neurobiology and Biochemistry. While at the UW, Sariah has been active in research with Dr. Kristin Swanson on developing mathematical models of glioma growth, and is currently working with Dr. Tueng Shen and Dr. Buddy Ratner on generating corneal epithelial layers for corneal repair. She plans to pursue a PhD in Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge with the long term goal of increasing the efficiency of neural interaction with implanted devices as a physician-researcher. In addition to science, Sariah enjoys running, canoeing and playing the harp.

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Joshua Proctor, Nominee

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Jonathan Su, Finalist

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Kathleen Belew, Nominee

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Chris Dougherty, Nominee

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Elizabeth Gray, Finalist

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Jared Silvia, Nominee

Chemistry and Biochemistry major

Jared Silvia is a Richland resident who is a senior at the University of Washington. He began working on research with a faculty member as a freshman. He plans to continue on for a doctorate and eventually to become a university professor. He was awarded the Churchill Scholarship to study at Cambridge University.

Outside of class, he performs on alto saxophone in the UW Concert Band and also participates in outdoor activities.

Jennifer Devine, Scholar

Geography and International Studies major

Jennifer Devine is a Geography & International Studies major, specializing in Gender and Developmental Studies. She will graduate June 2004. Jennifer plans to study Gender and Development Studies at the London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar or at University College Dublin as a Mitchell Scholar.

Jennifer is a 2002 graduate of the NEW Leadership Institute through the Center for Women & Democracy and was an intern for the Center during the 2002 academic year. During February 2003, she became the first student representative to participate with the Center on the “Women’s Mission” to Havana, Cuba. She is the co-founder and chair of the Executive Board of the NEW Leadership Alumnae Association. Jennifer is a research assistant for Lucy Jarosz and Victoria Lawson, Geography, investigating poverty, inequality and economic restructuring within rural poor communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Jennifer is a Martin Family Honors, a James Hall & Rose Glazier, and a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. As a Rotary Scholar, Jennifer studies Geography and International Relations at the University of Seville in Spain during the 2000 academic year.

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Erin Earl, Nominee

Music, Piano Performance, Computer Science major and Mathematics minor

Erin Earl graduated June 2003 with degrees in Music, Piano Performance, Computer Science, and a minor in Mathematics. She was awarded the 2003 Deans Medallist in the Arts. As a Marshall or Rhodes Scholar, she plans to study Music, Performance and History at Oxford University.

Erin began full-time study at the UW at age 14, through the Robinson Center for Young Scholars Early Entrance Program. During her time at the UW, she has participated in numerous activities. Erin was a volunteer in the Do-It project and was a Teaching Assistant for Computer Science courses. As a Mary Gates Research Scholar, Erin worked with Richard Ladner, Professor in Computer Science, using data compression techniques to analyze Bach. That led to her selection as a finalist in the 2003 Computing Research Association Outstanding Undergraduate of the Year.

A student of Bela Siki and Robin McCabe, professors in the UW School of Music, Erin has performed in various concerts on campus including master classes, keyboard debut series concerts, School of Music showcase recitals, and solo junior and senior recitals. In 2002, she won the School of Music’s annual Concerto Competition, which led to the performance of the Rachmaninoff second piano concerto with the University Symphony. Erin begins graduate studies in Piano Performance at the University of Indiana Bloomington in the fall 2003.

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Rian Jensen, Nominee

International Studies major

Rian Jensen in an International Studies major. He will graduate June 2004. Rian plans to study Political Theory at Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar.

Rian has held a number of internships and volunteer position during his academic career. This includes an internship at the United Nation and the Fulbright Commission in Nicosia, Cyprus, and summer internships at the National Center for APEC and The National Bureau of Asian Research. In addition, Rian helped to coordinate research programs as a research assistant with Urgent Africa and supervised the 2003 conference for the Washington State Model United Nations. Rian is currently the assistant to the Vice President for The National Bureau of Asian Research, an organization he has work with for over four years.

This fall Rian will travel to Albania as a U.S. State Department intern to conduct political analysis for the U.S. Embassy in Tirana. This will provide an opportunity to gather additional resources essential for his honors thesis for the Jackson School of International Studies. Rian is an avid reader and has traveled for study to Japan, Cyprus, Lebanon, and South Korea.

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Allyssa Lamb, Nominee

Allyssa Lamb is a Classics and Biblical & Ancient Near Eastern Studies major. She expects to graduate in June 2004. Allyssa plans to study Egyptology at Oxford University as a Marshall or Rhodes Scholar.

Allyssa is a three-times Jim Greenfield Scholar in Classics and has twice been a Chester William Fritz Scholar in the Humanities. During spring 2002, she participated in the Classics Department’s Rome Spring Seminar studying Roman art and architecture in its historical and ideological context. Summer 2003 will find Allyssa working as a research assistant for Sarah Culpepper Stroup, Professor in the Classics Department, at the archaeological site of Tel Dor, Israel, a prominent ancient port city and cultural crossroad.

Fascinated since childhood by ancient history, Allyssa is especially interested in the blending of religious and literary traditions that occurred in Egypt during the Hellenistic Age. Her future plans include teaching at the college level and focusing her research on the “Hellenization” of the Near East.

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Daniel McCloy, Nominee

Philosophy and Neurobiology major

Dan McCloy holds degrees in Philosophy and Neurobiology from the University of Washington. He is employed by Silverstein-Thomas & Associates, a small marketing communications consulting firm in Freemont, where he works as a graphic artist, editor, and speechwriter. His proposed course of study under the Marshall Fellowship would see him at the University of London and the University of Edinburgh, studying computational linguistics, speech parsing, computer vision and cognitive modeling.

Dan’s other interests and pursuits are quite diverse. He has been, at times, a songwriter, poet, sculptor, dancer, essayist, and silversmith. He has cultivated writing and reasoning skills as a mathematics and philosophy tutor, and cultivates tomatoes and collard greens as a gardener. His most current interests include the stratagems of chess, acoustic theory, philosophy of mind, yoga, and tree climbing.

Dan is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and Golden Key International Honor Society. He was a winner of the 2000 Phi Beta Kappa scholarship for his essay “The Influences of the Liberal Arts on Technology.” He has been recognized by the UW Philosophy Department as Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar (2001) and Outstanding Graduating Senior (2002) and by friends and acquaintances as a patient listener and a skilled cook.

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Matthew Mitchell, Nominee

History and Business Administration major

Matthew Mitchell graduated June 2003 with degrees in History and Business Administration. He plans to study Early Modern History at Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar or at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Matthew entered the UW as a Mary Gates Scholar. He has been involved in leadership and philanthropic activities through the Kappa Alpha Order and the University Presbyterian Church. Through the Church mission programs, Matthew served in projects in the Seattle as well as other areas of the United States, which included Los Angeles, California and Jackson, Mississippi. During the summer of 2002, he assisted the Presbyterian Church of Ireland by working with youth in its summer program for children in Dublin and Portlaoise in the Republic of Ireland, and Belfast, in Northern Ireland.

Matthew was a research assistant for Christopher Jones, professor in the Jackson School for International Studies. He researched the history of African American involvement in the Armed Forces as a part of the US’s commitment to democracy during the Cold War. Matthew intends to study the period of the Reformation in the English-speaking world with a view towards becoming a professor of European history. His honors’ thesis, “From Pulpit to Plantation: The Ethics of Slavery and the Silence of the Presbyterian Clergy, 1800-1865”, won the UW History Department’s Thomas M. Power Prize for the best undergraduate paper of 2003. Matthew was named one of the department’s two outstanding graduating seniors.

Matthew enjoys literature and traveling, and plays the acoustic guitar and rugby football.

Allison Van, Nominee

Biology and Community & Environmental Planning major

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David Moilanen, Alternate

Physics, Chemistry, and Russian major

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Gretchen Kiefer, Nominee

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Paul Vronsky, Scholar

Economics major

From the Marshall Scholars profile page: Paul Vronsky was born in Poland and grew up in Auburn, Washington where he attended Thomas Jefferson High School. He is a senior at the University of Washington, majoring in Economics. Outside of the classroom, Paul plays the tuba, baritone and sousaphone and is an active volunteer in a wide range of activities from tutoring students to working at food banks. He is hoping to earn an MPhil in Economics and later hopes to pursue a career in public policy.

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Ryan Eney, Nominee

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Matt Alexander, Finalist

Psychology major, Public Health & Community Medicine minor

From the Mitchell Scholars’ profile page: Matt Alexander is the co-founder and CEO of Suyo, a social enterprise that formalizes property rights for low-income families through innovations in technology and microfinance partnerships. Matt has been building social impact companies in Latin America for over fifteen years. He is the founder and chairman of Ahmsa, an organization that alleviates poverty by fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in marginalized communities in Colombia. After founding Ahmsa, Matt served as Mercy Corps’ Regional Program Manager for Latin America, spearheading a regional strategy focused on land conflict resolution and property formalization for indigenous and low-income communities. Matt’s ideas for combining technology and property rights earned him recognition as an Echoing Green Fellow, Ashoka Changemaker, Harvard Innovation Lab Resident, American Express Emerging Innovator and Agora Accelerator Entrepreneur. Matt is a 2003 Mitchell Scholar. He received a Master’s Degree in Peace & Conflict Studies from the University of Ulster. Having spent time working with refugees on the border between Colombia and Ecuador, Matt wanted to study how other countries transitioned from armed conflict to peaceful dialogue. Matt obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.

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Elizabeth Angell, selected but declined

A Bainbridge Island native, Elizabeth Angell was an early entry student at the University of Washington who double-majored in International Studies and History. At Oxford, she studied modern history and earned a Masters in Philosophy in Middle East studies. She was particularly interested in modern Turkish history and the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state. After Oxford, Angell lived and worked in Turkey, and attended the American Research Institute in Turkey. When she returned to the U.S. she started working for Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation created by George Soros that aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. Eventually, Angell plans to get a Ph.D. in International Studies or History and teach.

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Joy Crosby, Nominee

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Rory O’Sullivan, Nominee

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Lael Weiss, Nominee

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Emma Brunskill, selected but declined

After growing up in Seattle, Emma Brunskill came to the University of Washington as an early entry student at age 15. She triple-majored in physics, computer science, and engineering. The honors student was also a Goldwater Scholar, a Mary Gate’s Scholar, and an Anderson’s Scholar. She earned a degree in neuroscience at Oxford University and the rowed on Magdalen College’s crew team. Emma spent a summer in Rwanda where she helped an international program place computers in schools. She then went on to graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she majored in computer science, studying artificial intelligence and machine learning.

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Adrian Fehr, Nominee

Physics and Mathematics major

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Dawn Hewett, Finalist

International Studies (Latin American), and Political Science major

From the Mitchell Scholars’ profile page: Dawn works at Quinn Emanuel as Counsel in the international arbitration group, where she represents investors in international investment disputes. Dawn served in the Obama Administration as the Deputy General Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for the U.S. Department of Commerce. At Commerce, she handled a broad range of legal issues including anticorruption, commercial rule of law, appellate litigation, trade and investment, export controls, digital economy, responsible business conduct, cybersecurity, and privacy. Before entering government, Dawn was an attorney at Arnold & Porter LLP where she was member of the firm’s international arbitration, litigation, global anticorruption, and white collar practice groups and on the firm’s Pro Bono Immigration Committee. Dawn is a 2002 Mitchell Scholar. She received an M.Phil in Ethnic and Racial Studies from Trinity. While studying in Ireland Dawn interned with the human rights organization Front Line Defenders, helping to organize a conference at Dublin Castle attended by delegates from 77 countries. Following her studies in Ireland, Dawn attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Yale Law School and worked on post-conflict issues in Sierra Leone, the D.R.C. and Cambodia. Dawn obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.

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Melinda Hough, Nominee

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Conor Kleweno, Nominee

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Mike Macpherson, Nominee

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Chris Vanderwerker, Nominee

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Rafael Ramirez, Scholar

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Stacy Waters, Scholar

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Victor Mair, Scholar

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Emily Bascom

I am a graduating Senior pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Informatics with a specialization in Human-Computer Interaction and a minor in Entrepreneurship. My interests include how information is created and disseminated and the world of misinformation and disinformation.

In my time at the University of Washington, I have engaged in many research projects at the UW Information School, UW Medical Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital on topics ranging from microphone security to medical informatics. I am also the Accommodation and Nutrition Director for the Husky Ski Team.

I was drawn to continuing my education in Europe because of the European Union’s progressive data security regulation and how these regulations bind companies from tech giants to start-ups. I hope to have the opportunity to engage with these communities while earning a Master’s in Human Computer Interaction in Ireland or Scotland before returning to the United States to apply my knowledge in industry.

Emily’s near and longer term goals: I will be graduating from the University of Washington in March and hope to continue my education in Dublin, Ireland or Edinburgh, Scotland. Following this, I hope to either obtain a PhD or work in industry.

Emily’s tips for future applicants: My tips for future students who are interested in applying for this scholarship and really any scholarship is to start early and do your research! Just like for a job interview, the more information you have about the scholarship mission and review criteria, the more successful you will be at navigating the application process and having a chance of earning the scholarship. Having as much time to do this research as possible is helpful, but it will also allow for you to iterate on your application materials, making you as strong of a candidate as possible!

Elizabeth Peterson

2022 grad, Near Eastern Studies major

Vanessa Zelenović

I am finishing my fourth-year at UW. In addition to studying nonstop and working, I spend a lot of my time writing, reading, playing with my dog, and cooking. I was motivated to apply to this scholarship because I felt that it would align with my long-term goal of becoming a diplomat. I would be able to gain my graduate education abroad and become accustomed to immersing myself in a foreign culture.

Vanessa’s near and longer term goals: My short-term goals are to graduate with my BA and then go to graduate school. My long-term goals are to become an American foreign service officer.

Vanessa’s tips for future applicants: Start months in advance.

Sacha Moufarrej, Nominee

I am currently a senior in the UW Honors Program, majoring in neuroscience and minoring in music. I conduct research on pediatric chronic pain at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and am currently working on a meta-analysis on the prevalence of chronic pain in young adults. Raised in a Lebanese-American household, I grew up in the midst of the sociopolitical issues plaguing Lebanon and its neighbors, and have witnessed the physical and mental trauma experienced in war-torn and displaced communities. I have volunteered as a tutor in Lebanon at SOS Children’s Villages, an international organization dedicated to providing homes, families, and other resources to abandoned or orphaned children, some of whom, within the Lebanese village of Bhersaf, are victims of the Syrian refugee crisis. I have also performed as a pianist and singer at fundraiser concerts in the Bay Area for SOS.

Through these experiences, I have developed an interest in studying disease patterns and health risks and disparities in vulnerable communities, with a specific focus on displaced, homeless, and refugee populations. Although I plan on pursuing medical school and becoming a physician, I also want to be able to play a role in informing public health policy through research. To do so, I hope to pursue graduate studies in medical anthropology and public health to develop a better understanding of the epidemiology of various diseases affecting different populations and to develop a strong foundation in health care policy, in order to identify key strategies for health care reform for systemically neglected displaced and migrant populations.

With the US and the UK being prominent global leaders and hubs of immigration, it is vital to have collaboration between the two nations in developing effective, people-focused domestic and foreign policies. However, these countries greatly differ in their approaches to public and global health. Pursuing graduate study in medical anthropology and global health in the UK, where many institutions have become leading proponents of public health reform, would allow me to widen my perspective on public health at an international level.

Sacha’s tips for future applicants
Do a lot of research on programs and scholarships that are available to you, and reach out to professors and advisers! UW has so many resources and people who provide a great support system during all stages of the application process.

Jordan Brown, Nominee

I am an early entrance student at the University of Washington pursuing a degree in mathematics. I hope to become a research mathematician. My current research is focused on recent developments in type theory and the foundations of mathematics. The expansion of the use of computers in formal mathematical proofs is of great interest to me, and I hope to ascertain the extent to which type theory can be used not only to create programs which can check the validity of proofs, but which can independently generate mathematical proofs.

I come from Seattle, Washington and I have been interested in mathematics since I was very young. For the past few years, I have volunteered with the eMode Learning Foundation, teaching mathematics in Mount Baker and Rainier Beach to elementary- and middle-school students. I enjoy sharing my love of mathematics with people from my community, many of whom receive a very poor mathematical education in school.

Although I spend most of my time doing mathematics, I also act and play the clarinet. I love libraries and have visited nearly every branch in the Seattle Public Library system. One of my favorite activities is reading mathematical papers in German, both because I enjoy the mathematics and because I enjoy reading German. While I am far from fluent in German, I am rather adept in reading mathematical writing in German. This is convenient, as much of the literature on the foundations of mathematics in the twentieth century was written in German. Many other academic subjects interest me, and I have spent significant amounts of time reading about ethics, epistemology, psychology, physics, history, and sociology. My favorite authors of fiction are Paul Auster and James Baldwin.

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Daniel O’Connell, Nominee

I was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1997, and moved to the United States just before I turned 10. Ever since that time, poetry has been of central importance in my life, not solely as a base art form or a technical pursuit, but as a tactic for managing and accepting the limitations of a human life. Poetry, as it seems to me, is the art of a moment at length, the elaboration and preservation of some instant of perception. There seems to be no form better suited to bottling such a thing, a nostalgia or a joy or a grief or a fear or a confusion, such that those who consume it later are then subject to the very same feeling. This can be the poet themselves, too, for memory fades and distorts over great time, and aside from those of us born with flawless or all-retaining memories, there’s a need for strategies to retain what we cherish. Far more of your life will be in the past than the present; the majority of experience is an amalgam of the sliver of the present, on the one hand, and the far greater tract of all memories to date, on the other. Effective poetry, it must be said, cannot rely on earnest feeling alone. Technique is a necessity; polished and intentional and egalitarian technique. If I really want to become the best poet I possibly can, to affect myself and others, I must commit to an intense and sustained study. As more and more of my efforts continue to center around the craft, a scholarship to facilitate my continued studies would be invaluable, not only to myself, I hope, but to everyone whom I might convince of their stake in poetry. I believe everyone has already, on some level, been the beneficiary of poetry, some phrasing or metaphor that’s remained with them unerring from whenever they heard it; to be shown that its name is poetry is all that remains for them.

Daniel’s tips for future applicants
Start your applications as early as possible! Make sure that you given yourself as much time as you possibly can to draft, re-read, edit, re-start, etc., because otherwise you’ll run the risk of forgetting something important, or missing glaring errors, or rushing your work, and on something as potentially important as these applications, it isn’t worth it.

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Jessica Johnson, Nominee

Jessica is a 5th year student majoring in Bioengineering at the University of Washington. She has been involved in research since her freshman year, spanning topics from heart disease, to HIV, to her current project on spinal cord injuries. Presently, she is working under Dr. Saigal in the Department of Neurosurgery. Her research focuses on reducing the inflammatory response that occurs after a spinal cord injury by using polymers with encapsulated steroids. Spending time in the clinic shadowing Dr. Saigal has inspired her to pursue a Medical Degree, while still maintaining a research career. She is specifically hoping to become a rheumatologist where she hopes to help patients with complicated auto-immune conditions. Studying and pursuing research abroad would help set the foundation for her research career, while allowing her to also spend time in a different healthcare setting.

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2012 – 2013

Kelsey Barrett, Nominee

Global Health: General Track major

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Geoffrey Morgan, Nominee

Civil & Environmental Engineering and International Studies major

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Bradford Baker, Nominee

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Hannah Janeway, Nominee

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Lindsay Schola, Nominee

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Erin Anderson, Nominee

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Lindsay Scola, Nominee

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Claire Suni, Nominee

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Jennifer Devine, Nominee

Geography and International Studies major

Jennifer Devine is a Geography & International Studies major, specializing in Gender and Developmental Studies. She will graduate June 2004. Jennifer plans to study Gender and Development Studies at the London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar or at University College Dublin as a Mitchell Scholar.
Jennifer is a 2002 graduate of the NEW Leadership Institute through the Center for Women & Democracy and was an intern for the Center during the 2002 academic year. During February 2003, she became the first student representative to participate with the Center on the “Women’s Mission” to Havana, Cuba. She is the co-founder and chair of the Executive Board of the NEW Leadership Alumnae Association. Jennifer is a research assistant for Lucy Jarosz and Victoria Lawson, Geography, investigating poverty, inequality and economic restructuring within rural poor communities in the Pacific Northwest.
Jennifer is a Martin Family Honors, a James Hall & Rose Glazier, and a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. As a Rotary Scholar, Jennifer studies Geography and International Relations at the University of Seville in Spain during the 2000 academic year.

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David Roberts, Nominee

Business Administration and Political Science major

David Roberts graduated June 2003 with degrees in Business Administration and Political Science. He plans to study Comparative Ethnic Conflict at Queen’s University of Belfast as a Mitchell Scholar or Development Studies at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

David grew up in the Seattle area entering the UW in autumn 1998. He quickly became drawn into many leadership activities; leading a divestment campaign at the UW targeting corporate impediments, election to the ASUW student government, to developing common sense solutions to flight global warming. David served two years as the director of EMPOWER, a very successful outreach program. EMPOWER assists Seattle area high school students from underrepresented communities with higher education and admission preparation.

David’s involvement opened doors to many opportunities including being an official observer at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in The Hague, Netherlands. He also garnered several awards. David was the 2001 Homecoming King, was selected as a Harry S. Truman Finalist, and was selected for the 2003 HUB Hall of Fame Student Activities, the highest UW award for student involvement.

David plans to continue his education eventually pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Geography and sees himself eventually returning to the academy to teach and do research.

Allison Van, Nominee

Biology and Community & Environmental Planning major

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Gretchen Kiefer, Nominee

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Jasmin Weaver, Scholar

Community & Environmental Planning (CEP), Philosophy, and Political Science major

From the Mitchell Scholars’ profile page: Jasmin Weaver is the Executive VP for Civic Ventures, working to bring about change in Seattle, Washington. Prior to that, she served for several years as Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations for the city of Seattle, where Jasmin and her colleagues coordinated and facilitated the interactions of city representatives, such as the Mayor and City Council Members, with other governments, be they international, state, federal or tribal. Jasmin is a 2004 Mitchell Scholar. She received a Master’s Degree in Equality Studies from UCD. During her scholarship year, Jasmin wanted to research the experience of women in politics and thanks to the US-Ireland Alliance had the opportunity to interview Tánaiste Mary Harney (Deputy Prime Minister) as well as participating in a healthcare research project run by her office. Studying equality in society cemented Jasmin’s desire to be involved in public service. On her return to the US, she completed a Master’s Degree in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Jasmin obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.

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Matt Alexander, Scholar

Psychology major, Public Health & Community Medicine minor

From the Mitchell Scholars’ profile page: Matt Alexander is the co-founder and CEO of Suyo, a social enterprise that formalizes property rights for low-income families through innovations in technology and microfinance partnerships. Matt has been building social impact companies in Latin America for over fifteen years. He is the founder and chairman of Ahmsa, an organization that alleviates poverty by fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in marginalized communities in Colombia. After founding Ahmsa, Matt served as Mercy Corps’ Regional Program Manager for Latin America, spearheading a regional strategy focused on land conflict resolution and property formalization for indigenous and low-income communities. Matt’s ideas for combining technology and property rights earned him recognition as an Echoing Green Fellow, Ashoka Changemaker, Harvard Innovation Lab Resident, American Express Emerging Innovator and Agora Accelerator Entrepreneur. Matt is a 2003 Mitchell Scholar. He received a Master’s Degree in Peace & Conflict Studies from the University of Ulster. Having spent time working with refugees on the border between Colombia and Ecuador, Matt wanted to study how other countries transitioned from armed conflict to peaceful dialogue. Matt obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.

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Elizabeth Angell, selected but declined

A Bainbridge Island native, Elizabeth Angell was an early entry student at the University of Washington who double-majored in International Studies and History. At Oxford, she studied modern history and earned a Masters in Philosophy in Middle East studies. She was particularly interested in modern Turkish history and the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state. After Oxford, Angell lived and worked in Turkey, and attended the American Research Institute in Turkey. When she returned to the U.S. she started working for Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation created by George Soros that aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. Eventually, Angell plans to get a Ph.D. in International Studies or History and teach.

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Rory O’Sullivan, Nominee

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Lael Weiss, Nominee

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Dawn Hewett, Scholar

International Studies Latin American Studies, and Political Science major

From the Mitchell Scholars’ profile page: Dawn works at Quinn Emanuel as Counsel in the international arbitration group, where she represents investors in international investment disputes. Dawn served in the Obama Administration as the Deputy General Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for the U.S. Department of Commerce. At Commerce, she handled a broad range of legal issues including anticorruption, commercial rule of law, appellate litigation, trade and investment, export controls, digital economy, responsible business conduct, cybersecurity, and privacy. Before entering government, Dawn was an attorney at Arnold & Porter LLP where she was member of the firm’s international arbitration, litigation, global anticorruption, and white collar practice groups and on the firm’s Pro Bono Immigration Committee. Dawn is a 2002 Mitchell Scholar. She received an M.Phil in Ethnic and Racial Studies from Trinity. While studying in Ireland Dawn interned with the human rights organization Front Line Defenders, helping to organize a conference at Dublin Castle attended by delegates from 77 countries. Following her studies in Ireland, Dawn attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Yale Law School and worked on post-conflict issues in Sierra Leone, the D.R.C. and Cambodia. Dawn obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle.

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Conor Kleweno, Nominee

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2019 UW PPIA Fellows:

Asia Tamaami

My name is Asia Tamaami and I am a current Junior at the University of Washington studying American Ethnic Studies and Education, Communities & Organizations with a minor in Human Rights. Reflecting on my own communities and upbringing in a Somali-Oromo refugee immigrant family, I recognize the ways in which anti-immigrant policies have negatively impacted immigrant and refugee communities access to high-quality social services. As such, my career goals are rooted in advocating for immigrant rights issues to ensure that immigrant populations have access to social services in education, healthcare, legal rights, and economic security. With this in mind, I hope to attend law school upon graduating to pursue a career in public interest law. Overall, I am passionate about serving underrepresented and under-served communities and this mirrors the work that I have been involved in. Currently, I work as a Legal Intern at the CAIR-WA, where I assist the legal department in several projects that highlight distinct civil rights issues that range from citizenship and immigration delays to securing the rights of Muslims to practice their religion freely in the public sphere, schools, places of employment, prisons, and other institutions. Additionally, I also serve as a Student Ambassador on campus through Multicultural Outreach and Recruitment, where I help mentor and assist underrepresented students of color with the college admissions process. Aside from my academic and career interests, I am also passionate about traveling and have had the opportunity to study abroad twice during my time at UW and I have been to South Korea, Italy, Canada, Norway, United Kingdom, Portugal, Netherlands, and France.

Asia’s tips for future PPIA applicants:
I would definitely recommend future students to start their application process early and familiarize themselves with the application. I made the mistake of starting my application a month before the deadline and it was extremely overwhelming because the application process for PPIA is very demanding. I would also recommend future applicants to reach out to past PPIA fellows to understand what a successful application looks like. I would not have been able to submit a successful application without the support of my friend, Liem who had previously been accepted as PPIA fellow.

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Iman Mustafa

My name is Iman Mustafa and I am currently a junior at the University of Washington studying Law, Societies and Justice with a minor in English. I am a first-generation college student and the daughter to Ethiopian immigrants. My passion for choosing this path of education is to one day shape public policy around issues of bias in our criminal justice system, more specifically in their use of punishment. I am passionate about working to dismantle mass incarceration because of how it is disproportionately affecting people of color. I am currently conducting research on the school-to-prison pipeline and plan to present my work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium this year. After interning at the United States Attorney’s Office for a year, I knew that I wanted to work in the legal field and serve people through public interest law. I plan to pursue a joint degree in public policy and law to create representation for people of color in policy but also to create representation for their voices. I am actively involved on campus through my work with the Black Pre-Law Student Association (BLSA) by serving as the Philanthropy Chair. I am also a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated and serve on the board as well. Through completing higher education, I aim to become an advocate for people of color by reforming the criminal justice system.

Iman’s tips for future PPIA applicants:
Put your best self forward and don’t limit yourself because you don’t think you can do it.

2018 UW PPIA Fellows:

Hannah Jolibois

My name is Hannah Jolibois, I am a first generation college student double-majoring in Public Health and International Studies. I was born and raised in Washington just South of Tacoma. I’m interested in the intersections between major issues such as climate change, health, poverty, development and economics. In particular, I’m curious about how these issues are being addressed globally and what might be learned and applied within our state to tackle similar problems. I applied to the PPIA program because I see policy as a point of contention and a point of change in the world today, and one tool that can be used to build a more equitable future. Beyond this, the Junior Summer Institute offers an opportunity to connect with a community that is focused on improving people’s lives and society and tackling the big issues (health care, poverty, the environment, and globalization). But more importantly rather than just discussing these issues this program seeks to give students a toolbox to think about these issues and enact change; from teaching data analysis, economics and statistics to evaluate policy to interacting with community leaders and government officials. After graduation I intend to do a year of service with AmeriCorps and then pursue a MPA or a MPP with an intention of entering the policy sphere on the state level.

Dylan Tran

Dylan was born and raised on the Hilltop and Eastside of Tacoma, Washington. He is the son of Southeast Asian refugees and an undergraduate at the University of Washington studying Education and American Ethnic Studies. Passionate about educational equity and disrupting systematic oppression, he currently works over 30 hours a week as a Student Ambassador at the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity, Legal Assistant under UW Student Legal Services, Legislative Coordinator at the Southeast Asian American Education Coalition, and Organizing Intern under OCA – Greater Seattle. Continually advocating for Southeast Asian visibility through disaggregation of data while at the same time supporting students of color pursue higher education, Dylan’s goal is to rewrite narratives of survival into stories of resilience. He hopes that one day he can return to the neighborhood he grew up in as an educator and policy writer, continuing the work of empowering youth as the next generation of scholars and leaders.