Four alumni of the Berkley Center's Doyle Initiative undergraduate programs were awarded 2009-2010 Fulbright Fellowships. Joined by 10 other Georgetown students and graduates, Berkley Center alumni comprise almost one-third of the 14 total recipients.
Carolyn Barnett (SFS '09), Walter Scott Chahanovich (C '09), Alex Schank (C '08), and Laura Tulchin (C '09) participated in the Junior Year Abroad Network (JYAN), a program that connects students studying abroad as they share reflections on religion, politics, and society through published, web-based essays. More than 140 Georgetown students have participated in JYAN in 29 countries.
Walter Scott Chahanovich participated in the Undergraduate Fellows Program in 2006-2007, researching and writing the report "Secular and Religious Approaches to Global Development." The Undergraduate Fellows Program gives a select group of students the resources to conduct research and create policy recommendations around a specific issue.
These students will have the opportunity to put their skills and experiences to work for the Fulbright Program as they study and conduct research abroad on topics of their choosing. Their areas of study include the Arabic language in Egypt, interreligious dialogue and history in Jordan, and racial quotas in university admissions in Brazil.
"Working at the Berkley Center exposed me to a wide range of current research and activism going on related to religion and politics both in the U.S and abroad," said Carolyn Barnett, who will work at the Women and Memory Forum, a non-profit in Egypt. "It also gave me a passion for doing the kind of work that I am continuing as I work with the Women and Memory Forum: promoting research and expanding access to educational resources on topics that have been neglected."
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, and is the largest international exchange program worldwide. The program offers study, research, and teaching opportunities to promote understanding and learning between cultures. Georgetown students were selected for the Fulbright Program based on their academic achievement and leadership ability.
JYAN and the Undergraduate Fellows Program are housed within the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. Created in the office of Georgetown's President, John J. DeGioia, The Center promotes interreligious dialogue and peace-building activities worldwide.
