Watson student awards, grants and prizes

Center for Middle East Studies Graduate Research Travel Award

• Imen Boussayoud, History
• Kate Creasey, History
• Frank Faverzani, History
• Patryk Imielski, Religious Studies
• Mohammad Geldi Geldi Nejad, Musicology and Ethnomusicology

Center for Middle East Studies Undergraduate Research Travel Award

• Genevieve Sychterz ’27, Archaeology

IAPA Conference Travel Grants

• Charlie Adams ’25, International and Public Affairs
  TMG Utility Forum: Predicting the Future, AI’s Role in the Utility Industry
• Charles Alaimo ’25, International and Public Affairs and Political Science
  China Open-Source Research Course for Rising China Specialists, AI+ Compute & Connectivity Summit
• Emma Brignall ’27, International and Public Affairs
  Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit
• Olha Burdeina ’27, International and Public Affairs and Political Science
  European Youth Event
• Lauren Cho ’25, International and Public Affairs
  2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference
• Morgan Glazier ’26, International and Public Affairs and Political Science
  Forum for American and Chinese Exchange at Stanford
• Benjamin Ringel ’26, International and Public Affairs and Political Science
  2024 APPAM: "Policymaking at the Federal, State, and Local Levels," 2025 HxA Conference
• Gabriela Venegas-Ramirez ’26, International and Public Affairs and Political Science
  2025 Global Development Forum

Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC)

• Aderinsola Aderoju ’26, International and Public Affairs
• Will Vogel ’26, International and Public Affairs and Political Science
• Hans Xu ’26, International and Public Affairs and Applied Mathematics-Economics

Saxena Summer Fellowship

• Arun Acharya ’25, Neuroscience and Business Economics
  Cognitive Function and PTSD in Bhutanese-Nepali Refugees: A Cross-Sectional Study
• Avani Ashtekar, Anthropology Ph.D. Candidate
  Altering Landscapes: Ethnographic Study of the Securitization of the India-Bangladesh Borderlands
• Helena J Bates ’28, Medical Student
  Examining the Prevalence of VIA-Positive, Pre-Cancerous Cervical Lesions in Cox’s Bazar
• Tara Dhaliwal, Religious Studies Ph.D. Candidate
  A Storied Landscape: Punjab in the 19th Century
• Lucas Joshi, Comparative Literature and Africana Studies Ph.D. Candidate
  'The Other Black Ocean' - On Gujarat and the Afterlives of Indian Ocean Slavery
• Leja Joe Mathew ’25, Political Science
  The impact of land reforms on inter-group relations
• Chandni Shyam, Sociology Ph.D. Candidate
  The Effect of Different Welfare Regimes on Women’s Fertility Choices in India

Saxena Winter Fellowship

• Tanvi Anand ’26, Sociology
  Brown Saviorism, Caste Reproduction, and Social Entrepreneurship
• Avani Ashtekar ’28, Anthropology
  Pushing the Archival Limits: India-Bangladesh Border in the State Archives
• Leja Joe Mathew ’25, Political Science
  Understanding the impact of land reforms on inter-group relations and social reforms
• Ria Modak ’27, History
  Performing the Nation: Musical Commemorations of August 15, 1947
• Radhika Moral, Anthropology Doctoral Candidate
  Hanging by a Thread: Ecological Shifts, Agrarian Transformations, and Heritage in Northeast India’s Silk Belt
• Shreya Singh ’26, Political Science
  Faces of the State: Local Embeddedness and Public Health in India
• Ria Talathi ’28, Medical Student
  Economic Inequalities in Breast Cancer Screening in India: A Community Engagement Approach
• Meena Venkataramanan, English Ph.D. Candidate
  Rethinking Windrush: Indo-Caribbean Oral Histories in the UK

Student Conference on U.S. Affairs (SCUSA)

• Charlotte Callendar ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Jackson DeBorde ’26, International and Public Affairs
• Miguel Valdovinos ’26, International and Public Affairs and Economics
• Hans Xu ’26, International and Public Affairs and Applied Mathematics-Economics

Watson Institute Language Study Grant

• Cecilia Bartin ’27, History
  Language Study in Taiwan
• Jimena Belledonne Yzasiga ’27, International and Public Affairs
  Society and Politics at Bielefeld University
• Emma Brignall ’27, International and Public Affairs
  CET Academic Programs
• Maria Mesadri Diniz ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Institute for Dutch Language Education
• Riki Doumbia ’26, Anthropology
  Wisma Bahasa
• Janya Kaur ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Punjabi Language Lessons
• Margaret Lorraine ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Humboldt Institut: German Language Study
• Maira Rojas-Tineo ’25, Latin American and Caribbean Studies
  Mapudungun Workshop

Watson Internship and Research Grant

• Yenee Berta ’26, International and Public Affairs
  The Intern Group in Medellín, Colombia
• Olha Burdeina ’27, International and Public Affairs
  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkey
• Joy Chen ’28, International and Public Affairs
  TCK Learning Centre, TCKN Yogyakarta in Hong Kong and Yogyakarta
• Julian Cohen ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts in Chicago, Illinois
• Isabella Collins ’26, International and Public Affairs
  US-Asia Institute in Washington D.C.
• Veronica Dickstein ’26, International and Public Affairs
  US Department of Justice in Washington D.C.
• Leah Freedman ’27, International and Public Affairs
  Rhode Island Public Defender's Office in Providence, Rhode Island
• Eva Kappas ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition in Washington D.C.
• Lavleen Madahar ’26, International and Public Affairs
  United States Commission on Civil Rights in Washington D.C.
• Blaine Maye ’27, International and Public Affairs
  Social Attraction Agency in Washington D.C.
• John Morgan ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington D.C.
• Hanna Rahman ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Tahirih Justice Center
• Dimitra Sofianou ’26, International and Public Affairs
  Niskanen Center in Washington D.C.

Watson Thesis Research Grant

• Sofia Bohorquez ’25, International and Public Affairs
  Race and Parent School Choice in Miami-Dade County
• Michelle Alas Molina ’25, International and Public Affairs
  The Right to the City: Participatory Democracy in the Global South
• Raima Islam ’25, International and Public Affairs
  Liberty or Lockup? The COMPAS Algorithms’ Impact on Trust in the U.S. Carceral System
• Tabitha Lynn ’25, International and Public Affairs
  Commodified Love: The Impact of Filipina Domestic Labor on Constructions of Motherhood and Adolescence

Honors in International and Public Affairs

• Charlie Adams ’25
• Michelle Alas Molina ’25
• Yeabfikir Ayele Alemayehu ’25
• Giovanna Alioto-Pier ’25
• Elysee Barakett ’25
• Charlotte Callender ’25
• Lauren Cho ’25
• Mira Echambadi ’25
• Peter Edelstein ’25
• Ayoola Fadahunsi ’25
• Mia Hamilton ’25
• Olivia Hanley ’25
• Lena Hansen ’25
• Emma Huang ’25
• Raima Islam ’25
• Tabitha Lynn ’25
• Quynh Mai ’25
• Isabella Mandell ’25
• Bianca Rosen ’25
• Lilly Roth-Shapiro ’25
• Daniel Salaru ’25
• Sabina Topol ’25

Academic Excellence Award

• Arjun Badami ’25 MPA
• Sophia Campbell ’25 MPA
• Luca Duclos-Orsello ’25 MPA
• Adriana Maria Gonzalez ’25 MPA
• Jiacheng “Jim” He ’25 MPA
• Nathan Hostert ’25 MPA
• Katie McPeak ’25 MPA
• Isabella Mendoza ’25 MPA
• Neha Valmiki ’25 MPA
• Michael Vogel ’25 MPA
• Evan Warren ’25 MPA
• Evan Williams ’25 MPA

Community Service Award

• Estela Westphalen ’25 MPA

Leadership Award

• Kuma Kumsa ’25 MPA

Policy in Action Project Award

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) team: Arjun Badami ’25 MPA, Phoebe Marwill ’25 MPA, Isabella Nadeau ’25 MPA

Academic Excellence in International and Public Affairs

• John Bellaire ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Sofia Bohorquez ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Julian Cronin ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Ayoola Fadahunsi ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Emma Gargiulo ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Mia Hamilton ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Alex Ivanchev ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Alexander Lee ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Samuel Levine ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Oscar Low ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Isabella Mandell ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Mira Mehta ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Marcos Montoya Andrade ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Jared Ong ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Catharine Paik ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Styliani Pipa ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Vivek Rajani ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Bianca Rosen ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Minh Spencer ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Kaila Sung ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Bryce Vist ’25, International and Public Affairs
• Yutong Wang ’25, International and Public Affairs

Noah Krieger ’93 Memorial Thesis Prize for Academic Excellence

• Elysee Barakett ’25, International and Public Affairs
  “Thank God for Mississippi: How Science of Reading Laws Diffused in Three States”
• Isabella Mandell ’25, International and Public Affairs
  “From Redlining and Busing to School Choice and Gentrification: Segregation by Design in Denver, Colorado”

Watson Institute Outstanding Thesis Prize

• Peter Edelstein ’25, International and Public Affairs
  “From Dependence to Dominance: How the Shale Revolution Rewired U.S. Foreign Policy in the Persian Gulf”
• Bianca Rosen ’25, International and Public Affairs
  “Tribes and Tribulations: Morocco and the Arab Spring”
• Daniel Salaru ’25, International and Public Affairs
  “The Specter of Empire: Passportization and the Russian Imperial Project, 1991-2022”