Fellowships at Mount Holyoke celebrates 2026 recipients

James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program

For students with a serious career interest in the area of international affairs to work as research assistants to Carnegie’s senior scholars

• Coco (Qi) Chen ’26 — Finalist for the Asia Program

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)

For highly qualified graduating seniors and recent graduates to pursue a postgraduate degree at a German university

• Ciara Duff ’26 — While an incredibly exciting opportunity, Ciara declined the award in order to accept an equally exciting research position with the National Science Foundation Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates program at The University of Texas at El Paso, studying how Arctic ecosystems are responding to climate change. Ciara traveled to the Alaska North Slope this summer to sample tundra soils for a laboratory incubation experiment, with the goal of understanding soil microbial responses to warming and shifts in biogeochemical cycles.

Projects for Peace

For students at partner universities to design grassroots projects around the world that promote peace and address root causes of conflict

• Oluwafadeyemi Testimony Akinkuolie-Ibidapo ’27 — In response to severe food insecurity in her hometown of Idimu, Lagos State, Oluwafadeyemi created Betty’s Table of Hope, a biweekly food pantry that expands a seasonal food relief program into consistent, year-round support for vulnerable families.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

For students to pursue graduate study, independent research or teaching English abroad

Alternates

• Vanessa Farkas ’25 — Alternate for the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Ph.D. Award

Semifinalists

• Sarah B. ’25 — Semifinalist for the Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to Portugal
• Hailee Pitschke ’25 — Semifinalist for the Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to Türkiye
• Lilje Stratton ’25 — Semifinalist for the Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to New Zealand

Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs

For emerging leaders to work and lead across different sectors by equipping them with knowledge, skills, and networks to accelerate positive change

• Carolina Loayza ’26 — St. Louis cohort

Critical Language Scholarship

For American college students to learn languages of strategic importance to America’s national security and economic prosperity through a summer study abroad program

• Thandiwe-Wanjiru Delgado-Kinyatti ’27 — Swahili
• Johanna Doyle ’26 — Russian (alternate)

DAAD RISE

For current sophomores and juniors majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, earth sciences or engineering to participate in a three-month, funded research internship in Germany

• Read about this year’s recipients: Genevieve Breen ’27, Puja Chakraborty ’27, Brynn Graham ’27, Cloe Hinck ’28, Cristina Lopez Mendoza ’27, Bhargavi Patil ’27 and Oanh Hoang Vo ’27
• Minh-An Bui ’27 — Declined in order to accept a research offer at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Govern for America

For emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds to work in key positions in government to address our nation’s biggest challenges

• Zha Zha Purvis ’24 — Finalist

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

For students to pursue a graduate degree from Stanford University

• Lucy Anderson ’23 — Finalist

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

For graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions

• Lucy Anderson ’23 — Funds will support a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Stanford University
• Ines Belkhodja ’25 — Funds will support a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin
• Rachel Kang ’23 — Funds will support a Ph.D. program at Stanford University’s Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine
• Tali Szulanski ’26 — Funds will support a Ph.D. in ecology at UC Davis

Honorable mentions

• Noor Aftab ’21 — Astronomy and Astrophysics, Columbia University
• Anonymous — Chemistry of Life Processes, California Institute of Technology

Princeton in Africa

For young professionals to develop their leadership and contribute to organizations working in a variety of sectors on the African continent

• Zha Zha Purvis ’24 — Finalist

Schwarzman Scholars Program

For a one-year residential master’s degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China

• Weijing Liu ’22