The International Institute has announced the names of 41 U-M students who received nearly $170,000 in funding to participate in an internship abroad or conduct research overseas through the Individual Fellowship Program.
“Students today have fewer financial resources for overseas study making it more important than ever for universities to provide funding for internships and research abroad,” said Mark Tessler, director of the International Institute and vice provost for international affairs.
The highly competitive, merit-based program is open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a degree program at the university. Approximately 200 students applied for the prestigious competition, which awards individual fellowships of up to $5,000.
The year’s fellowship grantees and their research projects include:
• Ismail Fajrie Alatas, Indonesia — $5,000; examining the Hadrami diaspora in post-colonial Indonesia and identity formation among Indonesians embarking on religious pilgrimage to Hadramaut, Yemen.
• Nadia Baadj, The Netherlands — $3,000; researching the art and career of the Flemish painter Jan van Kessel I .
• Amanda Bednarz, Dominican Republic — $5,000; examining the role of local institutions in rural territorial development and enhancing adaptive capacity to climate change.
• Katie Behrmann, Germany — $2,700; interning at the Saxon Switzerland National Park working with children and environmentalism.
• Jeannine Bessette, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia — $5,000; investigating everyday urban forms and processes in colonial and modern-industrial cities across the Andes.
• Jennifer Bowles, Argentina — $5,000; examining strategies used by small farmers in northeast Argentina to combat neoliberal reform and rural exodus.
• David Boyle, United Kingdom — $5,000; analyzing archival and oral history research related to the Polish emigre community in England.
• Eric Brown, Cape Verde — $3,000; conducting linguistic research regarding Cape Verdean Creole and the ideological and public policy issues arising from its introduction into the school system.
• Sidney Brown, Senegal and Niger — $5,000; researching institutional support capacity and climate change adaptation in West Africa.
• Frank Castiglione, Turkey — $2,800; researching the role of nationalism in Turkish political debates regarding integration into the European Union.
• Jie Chen, China — $3,000; comparing linguistic acquisition between English- and Mandarin-speaking children.
• Yiwei Chen, China — $5,000; interning in the Mayoral Training Program and the China Energy Blueprint at the Joint U.S.-China Cooperation on Clean Energy.
• Marie Comiskey, Canada — $5,000; researching the translation of criminal law concepts into jury instructions.
• Madeline Fiore, Nicaragua — $5,000, evaluating household-level water intervention using bio-sand filters in Nicaraguan communities.
• Sarah Hamilton, Spain — $1,500; conducting archival research on the environmental legacy of the Franco dictatorship and examining the integration of European environmental norms in Spain.
• Jonathan Hill, Malawi — $5,000; researching issues of transportation and isolation in rural Malawi.
• Jeremy Johnson, Russia, Armenia and Georgia — $5,000; researching gender and literacy policies for minorities within Russia, Armenia and Georgia during the early Soviet period.
• Andrea Kussman, Switzerland — $5,000; interning at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
• Katherine Langer, South Africa — $3,000; examining the impact of the Civil Society Index, a diagnostic tool implemented in 53 countries to assess the state of civil society at the country level.
• Lani Leuthvilay, United Kingdom — $3,300; participating in a horticultural internship at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
• Kristin Maher, Switzerland — $5,000; interning at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
• Daniel Miller, France, Belgium and Switzerland — $4,800; examining European donor perspectives on biodiversity conservation and adaptive capacity regarding climate change in the “W” transboundary biosphere reserve.
• Joshua Monthei, Thailand — $3,500; examining the relationship between transportation planning and social inequity in Bangkok.
• Kristen Munnelly, South Africa — $3,500; researching social epidemiology of HIV/AIDS and integration of epidemiology with social science to develop behavior interventions.
• Massy Mutumba, Ghana — $5,000; interning with the CHARTER project studying the retention and motivation of health workers.
• Regev Nathansohn, Israel — $5,000; researching visual and oral memories of Jews and Palestinians in Haifa, Israel, with a focus on the concept of coexistence.
• Renaugh O’Leary, India — $5,000; interning with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative’s Delhi office.
• Susan Palazzo, Italy — $3,500; researching and excavating as part of the Pompeii Archaeological Research Project: Porta Stabia.
• Yasasuii Paruchuri, Ghana — $4,150; researching the effects of mercury use in small-scale gold mining in Bolgatanga.
• Tasha Rijke-Epstein, Madagascar — $5,000; researching the historical and socio-political significance of roads and transportation networks in Madagascar.
• Roberto Robles-Valencia, Spain — $5,000; examining Spanish nationalism through the analysis of cultural artifacts.
• Angeline Royall-Kahin, Zambia — $1,100; interning with the ischool.zm project in Lusaka.
• Lisa Smith, Bangladesh — $4,000; internship at the Grameen Bank in Dhaka.
• Darci Sprengel, Egypt — $4,500; working with the Egyptian Center for Culture and Art to conduct ethnographic interviews with rural music musicians living in Cairo.
• Jessica Steinberg, Democratic Republic of Congo — $5,000; researching timber revenues in Brazzaville.
• Klementina Sula, Switzerland — $5,000; interning with the Refugee and Migration Affairs Section at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva.
• Melanie Garcia Sympson, United Kingdom and France — $3,650; examining Roman de la rose manuscripts in London and Paris.
• Joseph Viscomi, Egypt and Italy — $3,000; conducting oral history research examining issues of masculinity among Egyptian men planning to migrate to Italy.
• Tamika Weerasingha, Sri Lanka — $5,000; focusing on research and advocating for housing rights through Habitat for Humanity internship.
• Anna Wieck, Spain — $3,000; interning in the publications department at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid.
• Jane Xiao, Cameroon — $4,300; interning with the Akum Health Center and the Community Partnerships Against AIDS Programme in Bamenda.
