Archived Edition: April 12, 2006 | Back to Current	Jul 31, 2010

Students receive prestigious awards
Chris Richardson - MANAGING EDITOR

Central America. Singapore. Spain. Korea. These are just a few of the places that a handful of Williams seniors will explore next year with the aid of prestigious national and College-sponsored fellowships and grants.

Though no students won Rhodes or Marshall fellowships, one student, Kate Majzoub ’06, was awarded a Watson and six – Caroline Anderson ’06, Robin Kim ’06, Andrew Lee ’06, Kathryn Lewkowicz ’06, Janaki O’Brien ’06 and Mikella Robinson ’06 – received Fulbrights.

Lewkowicz found the motivation for her project, helping to teach English to elementary school children in Spain as part of a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, after participating in an immersion program in Granada, Spain and volunteering as a lunch lady in a school there. As a teaching assistant, she’ll work with small groups of students on aspects of English language and culture.

“I can’t wait to brainstorm games, media and language activities that will help my students gain confidence in speaking and understanding English.”

Lee, who will spend a year in Singapore researching that country’s dialysis care model and comparing it to the U.S. system, praised the College and the Dean’s office for the guidance they provided throughout the application process. “The whole process was very smooth, no hassles,” he said. “The fellowship met all of my needs and I’m confident I’m going to have a great time.”

The College also awarded Ben Brown ’06 the Class of 1945 Florence Chandler fellowship. Brown, a biology major, will travel to Bolivia, Peru and Guatemala to study the effects of human interaction on the surface of the Earth. Combining his interest in nature and ecology with a passion for film, he plans to produce a variety of documentary films to help connect local communities and grassroots organizations with more global activism groups.

Four juniors also won national awards. Alan Rodrigues ’07 was awarded a Truman Scholarship (given to those who plan to dedicate themselves to public service) and Merritt Edlin ’07, Brian Simanek ’07 and Daniel Suess ’07 won Goldwater Scholarships to support their future work in mathematics, engineering or the natural sciences.

Peter Grudin, assistant dean in charge of coordinating fellowship applications, said it was a strong performance for the College this year in terms of Fulbright and Goldwater winners and “on par” for Watson and Truman winners.

“That we did not win a Rhodes or a Marshall is the default for any school this size,” Grudin said. “We had good candidates, but these fellowships are extremely competitive.”

While the nature of the fellowship experience itself varies between awards, all should provide a strong basis for a lifetime of achievement. Rodrigues said he was thrilled to join the community of Truman Scholars, “a community of driven, intelligent individuals who will continue to push me to tread bold paths and dream wild dreams.”

Lewkowicz hopes her teaching experience will help shape her future teaching career and “offer me a unique perspective on the Spanish education system, on which I could draw as I develop my own philosophy of education.”

While she has ideas now about what she’d like to do, “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if my experiences next year sparked new passions that will direct my path in the future,” she said.

The College will announce the winners of a number of other school-sponsored post-graduate fellowships in the coming months.