Whitties Earn Prestigious Fellowships & Grants

Dozens of Whitman College students and alumni will embark on opportunities in the U.S. and abroad

Each year, dozens of Whitman College students and alumni earn competitive grants, fellowships and scholarships that support their academic, research and career goals on and beyond campus. With the guidance of the Fellowships and Grants team in the Career and Community Engagement Center, these Whitties have been recognized for their achievements in academics, leadership and community engagement.

“We are proud of all the students and alumni who demonstrated courage and initiative by applying for fellowships and grants this year,” says Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants. “These recipients are truly forces to be reckoned with, and I’m excited to see how they will draw on their Whitman experiences and these incredible fellowship opportunities to build ethical and meaningful lives of purpose.”

Highlighted below are students and alumni who were awarded fellowships and grants during the 2024–2025 academic year.

Purposeful Exploration

Thomas J. Watson Fellowship

The Watson Fellowship allows recent college graduates to conduct yearlong independent research abroad, expanding their worldviews while making a lasting impact on the communities they visit.

Kenzie Bay ’25 (“Community Empowerment Through Emergency Care,” Nepal, Tanzania, Thailand)

Bassett Traveling Fellowship

The new Bassett Traveling Fellowship offers Whitman College students a unique opportunity to pursue meaningful experiences abroad immediately after graduation. Modeled after the Watson Fellowship, the Bassett Traveling Fellowship honors the academic excellence, global curiosity and creative vision of Whitman students.

Allegria Iteka ’25 (“Resilience in Black Diasporic Communities,” Brazil, Canada)
Terence Mahlatini ’25 (“Tech and Culture,” Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe)

Research

Future Investigators in NASA Earth & Space Science & Technology (FINESST) Award

The FINESST Award is a competitive research grant for graduate students pursuing degrees in Earth and space sciences. Recipients design and conduct research projects aligned with NASA’s science, technology and exploration goals.

Fiona Bennitt ’17 (Civil and Environmental Engineering)

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)

The purpose of the NSF GRFP is to help ensure the quality, vitality and strength of the scientific and engineering workforce in the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in fields within the NSF’s mission.

Recipients:

Kyra Arnett ’16 (Computer, Information Science and Engineering—Human Computer Interaction)
Willa Johnson ’19 (Geosciences—Marine Biology)
Annie Stefanides ’18 (Geosciences—Chemical Oceanography)

Honorable mentions:

Elizabeth Huang ’25 (Geosciences—Geobiology)
Cello Lockwood ’19 (Social Sciences—Public Policy)
Nicole Schaub ’06 (Social Sciences—Science Policy)
Spencer Van Koevering ’21 (Computer/Information Science/Engineering—Formal Methods, Verification and Programming Languages)

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Portraits of MinhThu Tran ’26 and Shahin Hamzeh ’27 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEUs), Summer Undergraduate Research Programs (SURPs) and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) are competitive summer research programs for undergraduate students interested in STEM-focused fields. These programs are sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and various universities and laboratories. Each student is associated with a specific research project and works closely with faculty and other researchers.

John Bannon ’27 (NSF REU, Princeton Center for Complex Materials)
Meztli Mariscal Del Toro ’26 (NSF REU, University of Washington, Friday Harbor Lab)
Aidan Durant ’27 (NSF REU, University of Notre Dame Center for Computer Assisted Synthesis)
Shahin Hamzeh ’27 (SURF, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science)
Jayson Leem ’27 (NSF REU, University of Washington, Friday Harbor Lab)
Larissa Pforte ’26 (SURP, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center)
Jackson Schroeder ’26 (USDA REEU, Washington State University, Agriculture in Changing Climate)
Sybella Ssewakiryanga ’26 (SURP, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center)
MinhThu Tran ’26 (SURF, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science)
Vee Edwards ’26 (NSF REU, University of Minnesota Lando/Center for Sustainable Polymers)

Expanding Discovery in Economics+ Summer Institute

The EDE+ Summer Institute is a nine-week program in Washington, D.C., and Chicago designed to enhance research skills and technical expertise among undergraduate students interested in economics and quantitative social sciences.

Ananya Mehrotra ’27 (Economics)

Scholarship

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

Portrait of Nicola Myers '26 The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is awarded to college sophomores and juniors pursuing careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering.

Nicola Myers ’26 (Chemistry)
Vee Edwards ’26 (Chemistry)

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

The U.S. Department of State’s Gilman International Scholarship enables students to study or intern abroad, gaining proficiency in diverse languages and skills that are critical to national security and economic prosperity.

Kaela Babasin ’27 (CIEE: Prague—Central Europe Studies)
Joao Garcia ’27 (University College Dublin Partnership)
Basil Shevtsov ’26 (IES: Granada—Liberal Arts and Language)
Camryn Zoeller ’26 (SFS: Australia—Rainforest to Reef)

Service & Leadership

Projects for Peace Award

Portraits of Sunita Nepali ’27 and Sol Tran ’27 Projects for Peace is a global program that partners with educational institutions to identify and support young peacebuilders. Recipients receive grants to develop innovative, community-centered and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues, typically implemented between May and August.

Sunita Nepali ’27 and Sol Tran ’27 (“Gyanko Pul, Computer Literacy Project for Nepali Students,” Nepal)

Yale Conservation Scholars Early Leadership Initiative

The Yale Conservation Scholars Early Leadership Initiative is a two-year summer program for undergraduate students interested in careers within the environmental sector; students spend their first summer pursuing an environmental research project and the second summer interning with an environmental organization.

Maysi Marvin ’27 (Art-Environmental Studies)

Teaching

Fulbright U.S. Student Program Awards

Fulbright Awards support individually designed graduate study, research, arts projects or English teaching assistantships. Recipients participate in cultural exchange and gain a deeper appreciation of diverse viewpoints, beliefs and practices. To date, over 100 Whitman students and alumni have received a Fulbright Award.

Finalists:

Sophia Bianco ’25 (English Teaching Assistantship, Spain)
Finn Leahy ’25 (English Teaching Assistantship, Germany)
Rosa Woolsey ’23 (English Teaching Assistantship, Cambodia)

Semifinalist:

Annie Means ’22 (Graduate Study, Casten Family Foundation Award at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy)

Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program

The JET Program places approximately 1,000 U.S. citizens in schools and local government offices across Japan to serve as assistant language teachers or coordinators for international relations. The program promotes cultural exchange and mutual understanding between individuals of both nations.

Lillian Angus ’24 (Japanese)

North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP)

NALCAP sends more than 2,000 American and Canadian participants to Spain each year to serve as language teaching assistants, sharing their native knowledge of the English or French language and North American culture in Spanish public K–12 schools.

Chloe Collins ’25 (Psychology)
Piper Rylander ’25 (Biology)

Summerbridge Hong Kong

Summerbridge Hong Kong recruits passionate young educators from the U.S. and other countries to serve as student teachers. Recipients teach, learn and engage in cross-cultural exchange within a supportive, English-immersion environment.

Mavie Pham ’25 (Sociology)

Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)

Through TAPIF, the French Ministry of Education and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy offer approximately 1,500 English language teaching assistantships in French primary and secondary schools as well as in various French teaching colleges in all regions of France and the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion.

Keziah Eckert ’25 (English and French and Francophone Studies)

U.S. Teaching Assistantship (USTA) Program in Austrian Secondary Schools

Portrait of Finn Leahy '25 The USTA Program places approximately 150–300 U.S. citizens in Austrian secondary schools to assist in English; the program promotes cross-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding between individuals of both nations.

Finn Leahy ’25 (German Studies and Politics)

Explore Your Opportunities

For more information about fellowship and grant opportunities and how the application process works, contact Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants, or Jenny Stratton, Administrative Assistant for Fellowships and Grants.