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The International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) Global Citizenship Fellows Program brought together 11 students from nine Jesuit institutions across eight countries through a series of virtual dialogues leading up to an in-person study tour in Rome, Italy from May 31 to June 6, 2026. Through training workshops and cultural excursions around the city, the fellows explored the meaning of global citizenship, the power of dialogue across differences, and their shared values as students at Jesuit universities.
The Global Citizenship Fellows Program is an initiative of the IAJU’s Task Force on Global Citizenship and Democracy and based in the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Fellows are selected from the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project to experience comprehensive leadership development centered on dialogue, while further examining the role of global citizens through a Jesuit lens. Previous cohorts of the fellows program have traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, in 2022; Rome, Italy, in 2024; and Bogotá, Colombia in 2025. The curriculum project and the fellows program are led by Berkley Center Director Thomas Banchoff, Director of Student Programs Nick Scrimenti, Project Manager Jane Fitzpatrick, and Research Fellow Rev. Julio Giulietti, S.J.
Coming Together in a Divided World
In fall 2025, over 900 students from 32 Jesuit institutions in 18 countries participated in the Global Citizenship Curriculum Project. Following the work of Father Arturo Sosa, general superior of the Society of Jesus, and his call for “education for world citizenship” at the IAJU assembly in 2018, the curriculum project offers a course module as well as Global Student Dialogues to connect students from across the Jesuit network to discuss shared challenges and solutions.
Having completed the course module at their respective institutions, the 2025-2026 Global Citizenship Fellows cohort was selected from a broad pool of applicants to extend their work beyond the fall semester and apply those concepts in a structured fellowship setting.
Deacon Nkafu Carlson Lekeaka, a master’s degree student at Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya and Global Citizenship Fellow, felt empowered by the fellows program to engage with others who have differing opinions.
“I enjoyed participating in the Global Citizenship Fellows Program because it challenged me to see global citizenship not just as an idea, but as a way of engaging with others in a divided world. In our time, humanity is experiencing a turning point, and this program helped me understand the importance of…naming differences rather than avoiding them.”
From Bogotá to Rome
The 2025-2026 fellows were supported by alumni ambassador Katie Wojda from Loyola Chicago University, who was a member of the 2024-2025 cohort. Reflecting on her transition from a program participant in Bogotá to an alumni ambassador in Rome, Wojda shared how her experience came full circle:
“I was lucky enough to be in the 2025 cohort and go to Bogotá for the assembly, which was such a moving experience for all of us students. I think we all walked away feeling inspired by our Jesuit network. This year, in Rome, I got to see the project from a different angle as an alumni ambassador—it was amazing to see how this program attracts brilliant students year after year.”
While in Rome, the fellows visited the Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) office, the Jesuit Curia, the Vatican Museums, and more. They met with international leaders and attended a papal audience following the release of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”). Inspired by the encyclical, the influence of artificial intelligence and the importance of human connection became a significant theme for the fellows’ gatherings.
Berkley Center Director of Student Programs Nick Scrimenti led the fellows through a series of dialogue workshops, including activities developed by Georgetown’s In Your Shoes™ Research and Practice Center at the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics and training created by Resetting the Table designed to build the fellows’ skillset for navigating challenging conversations across difference.
“Seeing the fellows grow over the week confirmed for me that dialogue is a learned practice, not a talent you either have or don’t,” Scrimenti shared. “The students built real skills like active listening, asking the right questions, and the courage to continue even when topics get difficult, so that disagreement doesn’t end the conversation, it deepens it.”
Berkley Center Director Thomas Banchoff, co-chair of the IAJU Task Force on Global Citizenship, met virtually with the fellows while they were in Rome to support their work and emphasized the deeper purpose behind the trip.
“The study tour is an essential component of the global citizenship programs. Bringing students together from across the Jesuit network offers them the chance to connect with one another and learn from both their shared experiences and their differences to create a better world.”
The 2025-2026 IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program cohort consisted of: Timothy Ajay (Loyola College, Chennai), Henry Albrecht (SFS’28, Georgetown University), Elisa Andrews (Fordham University), Nkafu Carlson Lekeaka (Hekima University College), Aranza Marquéz Mora (Universidad Loyola, Spain), Agustina Giuliana Montenegro Martínez (Catholic University of Uruguay), Mariapaula Pérez López and Andrea Sánchez Alvarez (Iberoamericana Puebla University), Miguel Ángel Sánchez Novoa and Camilo Andrés Villegas Pulido (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana), and Thomas Ranzthine Santos (Ateneo de Manila University).
The IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program will continue in spring 2027. Students who participate in the Global Citizenship Curriculum Project during the fall 2026 semester are eligible to apply for the next iteration of the program. For more information, please visit the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project and the IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program websites.