Fellowships Support Student Aspirations
As the Class of 2025 looks ahead to graduation and beyond, the work of several outstanding students has been recognized with highly competitive national and international fellowships. These awards—which include the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, Samuel Huntington Public Service Award, and Keasbey Memorial Foundation Scholarship—are oriented around leadership development and offer their recipients the opportunity to pursue an independent project, public service, or advanced studies around the world.
Badr, a double major in Neuroscience and Behavior and East Asian Studies, builds on her work as the co-president of Wesleyan Refugee Project. She plans to investigate how displaced populations navigate healthcare systems across different regions and circumstances.
“The Watson [Fellowship] is a really unprecedented opportunity to explore the world in such a unique way,” Badr said. “I was really interested in looking at healthcare and displaced communities—such as refugees and asylum seekers—but that problem is so big that it's impossible to fully understand it in one sector. I really liked that the Watson would allow me to explore that in whatever ways that I saw fit.”
Badr’s research will compare how factors such as local infrastructure and institutional support shape medical access in six countries: Jordan, Greece, Nepal, the Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Detar Cheung, a dance and College of Social Studies double major, brings a lifelong passion for dance and animal studies to her project, which will explore interspecies partnerships and choreography of human-horse relationships across Costa Rica, Ghana, Mongolia, and Portugal. A previous recipient of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and a Wesleyan Summer Grant, she builds on the work of her senior thesis, continuing to investigate how bodies communicate across species through shared motion, cultural traditions, and terrain.
“My proposal started as a list of questions I want to ask people about their relationships with horses and how they understand movement and creative expression to inform those partnerships,” Detar Cheung said. “What is so exciting to me about the Watson Fellowship is the unique opportunity to devote myself to, and immerse myself within, the experience and practice of my project in so many distinct geographic and cultural contexts.”
Sheriff will use his Keasbey Scholarship to pursue a Master of Philosophy in American History at Cambridge University. Having recently completed his senior thesis on the 1859 Pig War—a tense U.S.-British boundary dispute in the Pacific Northwest—Sheriff sees his upcoming studies in the U.K. as the perfect opportunity to explore lingering questions from his research. As a Keasbey Scholar, he’ll gain access to critical archives and primary sources otherwise difficult for an American student to access. After Cambridge, he plans on pursuing a doctorate and a career in academia.
Sheriff credits his academic growth and trajectory to the profound mentorship he has received throughout his time in CSS.
“The classes of my thesis advisor, Professor William Pinch, sparked my interest in studying empires at their peripheries, and whenever I write, I can hear the voices of so many of my wonderful CSS mentors in my head,” Sheriff said. “They have made me an infinitely better writer and thinker than when I arrived at Wesleyan, and I will be eternally grateful for the chance to have learned from them. As I tell prospective students, I could not have asked for a better education than the one I have received at Wesleyan.”
For Kimojino, this opportunity will allow her to continue the work of the Nailepu Foundation, a non-profit that Kimojino co-founded in 2022. The Nailepu Foundation provides academic support, mentorship, and practical skills to young women in Kimojino’s native Narok County, Kenya. The foundation received early support from the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship and a Davis Projects for Peace grant.
"I applied for this fellowship because I care so deeply about the girls in my community. I’ve seen the pain they carry—pain that most people never talk about,” Kimojino said. “When I started the Nailepu Foundation, I thought education was the biggest barrier. And it is, in many ways. But as I spent more time listening to the girls, hearing their stories, I realized that what’s holding many of them back is the trauma they’ve been through and the silence around it."
During the fellowship, Kimojino aims to develop community-wide healing programs, implement mental health support structures, and train local leaders to sustain her work long term. She will also be starting graduate studies in education policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I want to bring what I’ve learned on the ground into bigger conversations about what fairness and access really look like in education systems. I don’t want to design policies from a distance—I want them to reflect real stories, real pain, and real strength,” Kimojino said. “This fellowship is the bridge between where I’ve been and where I’m going. It gives me the chance to stay rooted in my community while growing into the kind of leader and advocate I hope to become.”
Each of these students expressed deep appreciation for the support of Associate Director for Fellowships Erica Kowsz, as well as various departments across campus, including the Fries Center for Global Studies and Patricelli Center.
“There is a really great match between fellowships and the Wesleyan approach to education. We have the open curriculum, which really leaves it up to students to define their own educational journey,” Kowsz said. “That’s an advantage with many of these fellowships—carving out your own area, your own sort field of study, your own passion project or your own topic that you are developing your experience and expertise in helps you to stand out in a fellowship competition.”
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship allows students a 12-month period to pursue original projects on the topic of their deepest interest outside of the United States. Rather than typical academic research, Watson Fellows explore their topic through open-ended exploration, in collaboration with organizations and individuals around the world. This year, Wesleyan celebrates two Watson Fellows, Maryam Badr ’25 and Malia Detar Cheung ’25, who join only 35 others selected nationwide.Badr, a double major in Neuroscience and Behavior and East Asian Studies, builds on her work as the co-president of Wesleyan Refugee Project. She plans to investigate how displaced populations navigate healthcare systems across different regions and circumstances.
“The Watson [Fellowship] is a really unprecedented opportunity to explore the world in such a unique way,” Badr said. “I was really interested in looking at healthcare and displaced communities—such as refugees and asylum seekers—but that problem is so big that it's impossible to fully understand it in one sector. I really liked that the Watson would allow me to explore that in whatever ways that I saw fit.”
Badr’s research will compare how factors such as local infrastructure and institutional support shape medical access in six countries: Jordan, Greece, Nepal, the Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Detar Cheung, a dance and College of Social Studies double major, brings a lifelong passion for dance and animal studies to her project, which will explore interspecies partnerships and choreography of human-horse relationships across Costa Rica, Ghana, Mongolia, and Portugal. A previous recipient of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and a Wesleyan Summer Grant, she builds on the work of her senior thesis, continuing to investigate how bodies communicate across species through shared motion, cultural traditions, and terrain.
“My proposal started as a list of questions I want to ask people about their relationships with horses and how they understand movement and creative expression to inform those partnerships,” Detar Cheung said. “What is so exciting to me about the Watson Fellowship is the unique opportunity to devote myself to, and immerse myself within, the experience and practice of my project in so many distinct geographic and cultural contexts.”
Keasbey Memorial Foundation Scholarship
Every three years, Wesleyan seniors can apply for the Keasbey Memorial Scholarship, which funds American students interested in pursuing an additional undergraduate or graduate degree in select universities in the United Kingdom. This year, History and College of Social Studies (CSS) double-major Ben Sheriff ’25 was named one of two Keasbey Scholars, the first from Wesleyan since 2016.Sheriff will use his Keasbey Scholarship to pursue a Master of Philosophy in American History at Cambridge University. Having recently completed his senior thesis on the 1859 Pig War—a tense U.S.-British boundary dispute in the Pacific Northwest—Sheriff sees his upcoming studies in the U.K. as the perfect opportunity to explore lingering questions from his research. As a Keasbey Scholar, he’ll gain access to critical archives and primary sources otherwise difficult for an American student to access. After Cambridge, he plans on pursuing a doctorate and a career in academia.
Sheriff credits his academic growth and trajectory to the profound mentorship he has received throughout his time in CSS.
“The classes of my thesis advisor, Professor William Pinch, sparked my interest in studying empires at their peripheries, and whenever I write, I can hear the voices of so many of my wonderful CSS mentors in my head,” Sheriff said. “They have made me an infinitely better writer and thinker than when I arrived at Wesleyan, and I will be eternally grateful for the chance to have learned from them. As I tell prospective students, I could not have asked for a better education than the one I have received at Wesleyan.”
Samuel P. Huntington Public Service Award
Diana Naiyanoi Kimojino '25, economics major, has been named one of only three recipients nationally of the highly competitive Samuel P. Huntington Public Service Award, becoming Wesleyan's first honoree since 2012. Established in 1989 to honor public service advocate and former director of Harvard's Center for International Affairs Samuel Huntington, the award enables graduating seniors to pursue year-long public service projects worldwide.For Kimojino, this opportunity will allow her to continue the work of the Nailepu Foundation, a non-profit that Kimojino co-founded in 2022. The Nailepu Foundation provides academic support, mentorship, and practical skills to young women in Kimojino’s native Narok County, Kenya. The foundation received early support from the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship and a Davis Projects for Peace grant.
"I applied for this fellowship because I care so deeply about the girls in my community. I’ve seen the pain they carry—pain that most people never talk about,” Kimojino said. “When I started the Nailepu Foundation, I thought education was the biggest barrier. And it is, in many ways. But as I spent more time listening to the girls, hearing their stories, I realized that what’s holding many of them back is the trauma they’ve been through and the silence around it."
During the fellowship, Kimojino aims to develop community-wide healing programs, implement mental health support structures, and train local leaders to sustain her work long term. She will also be starting graduate studies in education policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I want to bring what I’ve learned on the ground into bigger conversations about what fairness and access really look like in education systems. I don’t want to design policies from a distance—I want them to reflect real stories, real pain, and real strength,” Kimojino said. “This fellowship is the bridge between where I’ve been and where I’m going. It gives me the chance to stay rooted in my community while growing into the kind of leader and advocate I hope to become.”
Each of these students expressed deep appreciation for the support of Associate Director for Fellowships Erica Kowsz, as well as various departments across campus, including the Fries Center for Global Studies and Patricelli Center.
“There is a really great match between fellowships and the Wesleyan approach to education. We have the open curriculum, which really leaves it up to students to define their own educational journey,” Kowsz said. “That’s an advantage with many of these fellowships—carving out your own area, your own sort field of study, your own passion project or your own topic that you are developing your experience and expertise in helps you to stand out in a fellowship competition.”
