2020 Fellowship and Scholarship Awardees

The Josef Korbel School of International Studies is pleased to acknowledge the extraordinary accomplishments of our students. An impressive number – 22 students – have received prestigious fellowship and scholarship awards this year, a particularly competitive and challenging year given the broad impacts of COVID-19.

“The numbers of awardees and the great variety of awards granted to Korbel students this year is really impressive,” says Rae Ann Bories-Easley, director of career and professional development at the Korbel School. “These awards are great career-launchers and set the grantees on a notable trajectory in their fields. Also inspiring is the commitment that Korbel School faculty and staff have made to mentoring these students and assisting them with their award-winning fellowship applications.”

BOREN FELLOWSHIPS

Boren Fellowships provide up to $30,000 to U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency.

Asabea Amaniampong
2nd year M.A. Global Finance, Trade, Economic Integration Candidate

Asabea will participate in an intensive summer domestic Twi language learning program and will then spend six months studying Twi in Accra, Ghana.

Catherine Galley
2nd year dual-degree M.A. International Studies/Masters Social Work Candidate

Catherine Galley is currently an alternate.  If selected, she will spend a year studying the Bosnian language in Sarajevo, BiH.  While there, she will intern with the Post-Conflict Research Center and take language courses at the International University of Sarajevo.

Aela Nash
1st year dual-degree M.A. International Studies/Masters Social Work Candidate

Aela will spend six months studying Swahili through intensive language programming, three months domestically and three months at the MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation in Arusha, Tanzania. After completing her dual degree in International Studies and Social Work, she intends on working in the federal government on humanitarian policy in Sub-Saharan Africa.  

BOREN SCHOLARSHIPS

Boren Scholarships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Boren Scholars commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

Hannah Cooper
2nd year B.A. International Studies candidate

Hannah Cooper will be studying Japanese and will take degree-relevant courses at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.

Maya Sandlin
2nd year B.A. International Studies candidate

Maya Sandlin was selected to learn Swahili in Arusha, Tanzania.

THE BREAKTHROUGH INSTITUTE’S GENERATION FELLOWSHIP

The Breakthrough Institute created the highly competitive Generation Fellowship. Fellows work to find solutions to significant challenges in the areas of energy, the economy, and environment.

Maya Anthony
B.A. Public Policy and B.A. Sociolegal Studies, March 2020

Maya Anthony will be spending the summer completing a remote fellowship with the Oakland based think tank, The Breakthrough Institute. As a Generation Fellow, Maya will have the opportunity to engage in an intellectually intensive course and work with policy staff to produce a final project on a clean energy policy topic.

CRITICAL LANGUAGE SCHOLARSHIP

The CLS Program is a fully funded overseas language and cultural immersion program with the goal of broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries.  Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the CLS program was canceled for the summer 2020.

Stephen Reszetylo
1st year M.A. International Studies candidate

Stephen Reszetylo was selected as an alternate to study Azerbaijani in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Raisa Wells
1st year M.A. Conflict Resolution candidate

Raisa Wells was selected to study Russian.

Alyssa Zinn
2nd year B.A. International Studies, B.S. Computer Science candidate

Alyssa Zinn was selected for an intensive Arabic language study in Tangier, Morocco. 

FOREIGN AFFAIRS IT FELLOWSHIP (FAIT)

The FAIT Fellowship, funded by the United States Department of State, provides students in IT-related fields with tuition assistance, as well as mentorship and professional development, to launch their careers in the Foreign Service as Information Management Specialists.  The academic funding supports the final years of college or a two-year master’s degree program, in an IT-related field. Plus, the fellowship provides two valuable internship experiences (one in Washington, D.C. and one abroad), professional development, and personalized mentoring.  After successfully completing the program fellows launch their career with an appointment in the Foreign Service as an Information Management Specialist with a minimum five-year commitment.

Alyssa Zinn
2nd year B.A. International Studies, B.S. Computer Science candidate

Alyssa Zinn is an alternate and will be notified in the coming months if she has an appointment. 

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP

With the support of the U.S. government and through bi-national partnerships with foreign governments, the Fulbright Scholarship Program sponsors U.S. and foreign participants for exchanges in all areas of endeavor to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. 

Rizpah Bellard
2nd year M.A. International Studies Candidate

Rizpah Bellard will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Colombia.

Sarah Birkhaeuser
B.A. International Studies/Spanish, August 2019 

Sarah Birkhaeuser serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Argentina.

Cate Daniels
4th year B.A. International Studies candidate 

Cate Daniels will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Thailand.

HAROLD W. ROSENTHAL FELLOWSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The Rosenthal Fellowship offers selected international affairs and public policy graduate students the opportunity to spend a summer in a professional internship position with a member of the U.S. Congress or in a government agency and participate in several professional networking events.

Haylie Castor
1std year M.A. International Security Candidate

Haylie Castor will intern at the Department of Homeland Security Headquarters, Office of Intelligence & Analysis in Washington D.C. where she will work in the functional areas of Intelligence Analysis, Intelligence Operations, Mission Readiness, Information Technology, and Data Science. The I&A Internship Program is designed to provide the experience and skills needed to produce capable and well-rounded Homeland Security intelligence professionals.

JOHN S. MCCAIN STRATEGIC DEFENSE FELLOWS PROGRAM

The John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellows Program is a one-year civilian fellowship program designed to provide leadership development for the commencement of a career track toward senior leadership in the Department of Defense. It includes rotations in the Office of the Secretary of Defense or an Office of the Secretary of a Military Department, challenging opportunities to flourish into problem solvers, strategic thinkers and future leaders and mentorship by Department of Defense senior leaders.

Anonymous
2nd year M.A. Global Finance, Trade and Economic Integration Candidate

NNSA GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

National Nuclear Security Administration Fellows receive specialized training and professional development opportunities, while also directly supporting NNSA’s global nuclear mission. The 12-month salaried and benefitted placements align with their backgrounds and interests.

Mike Knutzen - 2nd year M.A. International Security Candidate
Mike declined this offer to pursue opportunities as a Presidential Management Fellow.

PRESIDENTIAL MANAGEMENT FELLOWS PROGRAM

The Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) program is a competitive flagship leadership development program at the entry level for recent Master’s and Ph.D. graduates interested in public service. In addition to the salary and benefits, fellows receive formal classroom training on leadership, management, and policy, challenging work assignments, feedback, and at least one 4-6 month developmental assignment with the potential for accelerated promotions within the U.S. government.

Philip Davis
2nd year M.A. International Security Candidate

Phillip R. Davis II has accepted a position with the U.S. Department of State.  He will serve as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in Washington, DC. 

Joseph Engels
2nd year M.A. International Security Candidate

Joe has accepted a PMF position with NIH in Raleigh, North Carolina working for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Amber Hunt
2nd year M.A. International Security Candidate

Amber is pursuing positions focused on international affairs and security through the PMF talent management system.

Mike Knutzen
2nd year M.A. International Security Candidate

Mike Knutzen is eager to travel to Washington D.C. as a Presidential Management Fellow, where he plans to work on issues related to Health Security and Biotechnology applied to the security domain.

Lindsey Posmanick
2nd year M.A. International Human Rights Candidate

Lindsey is currently a finalist for positions at several different agencies. She was also the recipient of the Boren Fellowship in 2018 for language study in South Korea.

URBAN LEADERS FELLOWSHIP

The Urban Leaders Fellowship (ULF) program is a seven-week paid summer fellowship for early- to mid-career professionals. The fellows work in ten cities in the U.S., building leadership experience in policy and practice and changing communities.

Giulia Bova
1st year M.A. International Development Candidate

As a fellow with ULF, Giulia will spend 3-4 weeks working at both a partner organization and then work on social justice legislation in Denver with other fellows and elected officials.