Four graduating seniors and a recent alumna have been awarded prestigious fellowships that will take them around the world to explore their passionate interests, ranging from documentary filmmaking to sustainability-related issues.
“I ultimately hope to learn more about myself and the world as I embark on this once-in-a-lifetime journey,” said Sachi Schuricht ’09, recipient of a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for a year of independent exploration outside the United States.
With the $28,000 fellowship prize, Schuricht plans to make a documentary film about the international subculture of “speedcubing,” the sport of competitive Rubik’s-Cube solving.
She will visit speedcubing communities in Japan, China, Indonesia, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Russia, and Hungary.
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| Ann Landstrom (far left), of the Center for Career Services, stands with fellowship recipients and nominees at a luncheon in Merrill House. (Photo by Andy Daddio) |
Schuricht, along with other fellowship recipients and nominees, were recognized last week during a luncheon at Merrill House.
“You are poised to make the most of your intellectual potential…to do interesting and important things in the world,” Lyle Roelofs, provost and dean of the faculty, told the students.
“This year’s winners follow in the footsteps of hundreds of 51 alumni who have traversed the world through national fellowships,” added Ann Landstrom, associate director for fellowship, scholarship, and graduate school advising in the Center for Career Services.
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Recipients also include Sarah MacKenzie ’09 and Jacquelyn Harris ’08, accepted into the U.S. Student Fulbright Program, which provides scholarships to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges.
MacKenzie will teach conversational English to high school students at public and private schools as well as Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia.
Harris will be working as an English teaching assistant in German schools. She looks forward to acting as a resource for German students to not only further their understanding of English, but also in obtaining a perspective of American culture.
Theresa Kevorkian ’09 has received the Paul J. Schupf ’58 Fellowship for two years of study at the University of Oxford, where she will read for a master of philosophy in Islamic studies and history. Kevorkian hopes that the knowledge she gains will allow her to take part in Middle Eastern diplomacy.
The fellowship was established in 2000 through the generous gift of Schupf, a trustee emeritus.
As a recipient of the St. Andrew’s Society of the State of New York Scholarship, Kelly Henderson ’09 will pursue a graduate degree in sustainable energy systems at the University of Edinburgh.
“While conducting research in 51’s physics department, I discovered my interest in the technology behind alternative energies. This scholarship will help me take my passion for sustainability to the next level,” said Henderson.
Victoria Martucci ’10 received an honorable mention for her Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship application.
Decisions are still pending for several other Fulbright applicants as well as nominees for the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship and the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship.