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updated July 14, 2006
Twelve graduates of the Pomona College Class of 2006 have
received prestigious Fulbright Fellowships to pursue
research or teach around the globe, breaking Pomona’s all-time
record for Fulbrights received. Three
additional recent graduates from other class years also have received Fulbrights,
bringing this year's full total to 15.
The fellowships are awarded to college seniors based on
their leadership potential and their proposed project for
study or research. Designed to increase cultural
understanding between U.S. students and citizens of foreign
countries, the grants generally provide round-trip
transportation, language or orientation courses, book and
research allowances, and maintenance for the academic year,
based on living costs in the host country.
Among the Pomona College recipients, Kameelah Rasheed,
Joanna Schenke and Lyubov Tovbina were awarded
Fellowship Research Grants.
Kameelah Rasheed, an Africa/African diaspora-public
policy major from East Palo Alto, California, will travel to
South Africa to study the official vision of World Class
Johannesburg articulated through the Inner City Regeneration
Strategy (ICRS) as well as its implication for squatters.
She is particularly interested in how the post-apartheid
city of Johannesburg confronts the challenge of providing
decent housing for the urban poor and facilitating economic
growth in the inner city. Her future plans include pursuing
a masters degree in education and teaching credential in
preparation for teaching high school history in the inner
city. She later intends to pursue a masters degree in urban
studies/planning.
Joanna Schenke, an international relations and German
Studies double major from Houston, Texas, will study Turkish
immigration in Berlin, Germany. Part of her work will
include a case study based on her senior thesis on the
political agency of the Turkish migrant population in Berlin
after a recent naturalization reform law. In addition to the
regular Fulbright grant, Schenke was approved for a rider
program to the Fulbright that supports the study critical of
languages as identified by the U.S. State Department. As a
result, she will spend three months this summer in Turkey
for intensive language instruction in introductory
conversational Turkish. When she returns to the U.S., she
plans to apply to graduate school programs in immigration
policy, ethnic conflict or comparative politics.
Lyubov Tovbina, an economics major from Tucson,
Arizona, will travel to the city of Kazan in Tatarstan
Russia. In addition to enrolling in university courses on
economic development and post-Communist transition, she will
volunteer at the Kazan Innovation Fund, a Russian-run
nonprofit organization that manages microfinance and sex
trafficking prevention programs. As part of her work with
The Fund, she will maintain direct contact with foreign
organizations and help conduct sex trafficking
investigations with foreign partners. When she returns to
the U.S., Tovbina plans to obtain a masters degree in
international development and work at UNESCO or an
international non-governmental agency field office in
Eurasia. Tovbina is the founder and director of
HomeInAmerica, a program that facilitates the adaptation of
recent immigrants to American life.
Eight of Pomona College’s Class of 2006 Fulbright Fellows were awarded
grants to teach English in foreign countries.
• Ashley Craft, a philosophy and sociology double
major from Austin, Texas, teaching in South Korea;
• Adam Demaray, a Spanish major from Albuquerque, New
Mexico, teaching in Argentina;
• Jonathan Hung, a philosophy major from Chelmsford,
Massachusetts, teaching in South Korea;
• Tanya Koch, a religious studies major from San
Diego, California, will teach English in Thailand.
• Mitchell Laufer, a history and Spanish double major
from Beverly Hills, California, teaching in Spain;
• Rachel Monroe, an English major from
Richmond, Virginia, teaching in Morocco;
• Jennifer Reinsel, an environmental analysis major
from Bozeman, Montana, teaching in South Korea
• Dominika (Nika) Strzelecka, an environmental
analysis major from Atlanta, Georgia, teaching in South Korea; and
• Tamara Weiss, a theatre major from Wynnewood,
Pennsylvania, teaching in Indonesia.
In addition to the above recipients, Pomona College also had
two Fulbright alternates: Lauren Denny and Marisa
Diaz.
Among other recent graduates, Fulbrights also went to:
• Charles Cange '02, who will travel to Kuwait to
interview young adults suffering from various illnesses
related to the 1990 Iraqi invasion. His medical
anthropological approach will analyze the health impacts of
armed conflict, including cancers, asthmas, autisms and
stress syndromes. Through his research he will document
Kuwaitis’ expectations for treatment and compensation.
• Raketa Ouedraogo '05, who will be teaching in
Martinique
• Brian Palmer-Rubin '04, who will be
conducting research in MexicoThe Fulbright U.S. Student Program, founded in 1946 and
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, offers
opportunities for recent graduates, postgraduate candidates
and developing professionals and artists to conduct
career-launching study and research abroad. Over the
decades, the Fulbright Program has provided more than
250,000 students, scholars and professionals worldwide with
the opportunity to observe each others’ political, economic
and cultural institutions, exchange ideas and embark on
joint ventures or importance to the general welfare of the
world’s inhabitants.
Pomona College is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts
institutions, offering a comprehensive program in the arts,
humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its
hallmarks include small classes, close relationships between
students and faculty, and a range of opportunities for
student research. |
