47 U-M Students to Spend Summer Abroad

ANN ARBOR, MICH., June 6, 2011–The University of Michigan International Institute (II) announced today that it has awarded nearly $170,000 to 47 U-M students through its Individual Fellowship program. Students will travel abroad during the summer months to conduct research or participate in an internship.

“Many students arrive at U-M with a keen interest in international affairs and a desire to learn about other parts of the world,” said Ken Kollman, International Institute director. “The II is committed to providing them with the opportunity to augment their education through an international experience.”

Students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds apply for the program each year, representing the humanities, social and natural sciences, medicine, law, architecture, and business. This year’s projects range in scope from examining obesity in teenagers in Chile to analyzing political participation in China.

The highly competitive, merit-based program is open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in a degree program at the University of Michigan. More than 200 students applied for the prestigious competition, which awards individual fellowships of up to $5,000.
Kate Saetang a master’s student in the School of Public Policy will be working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Geneva, Switzerland. IOM is an intergovernmental and multilateral agency that provides services and policy advice to governments and migrants.

“I applied to the II Individual Fellowship to acquire funding for an international internship,” said Saetang. “International jobs and internships are difficult to come by and even more difficult to finance. However, international experience is increasingly important in today’s world. The II Individual Fellowship made the possibility of working abroad much more feasible.”

In mid-June, a handful of fellowship recipients will begin writing about their research and internship experiences on the International Institute’s blog at www.iimichigan.wordpress.com.

The year’s fellowship grantees, degrees and areas of study they are pursuing, and their research projects and internships include:

Erika Almenara, Ph.D., Romance Languages and Literatures, Peru, Chile, and Argentina - $2,700
The Transfer of Trauma from Pregnant Women to Their Daughters

Elizabeth Barrios, Ph.D., Romance Languages and Literatures, Venezuela - $4,500
Experiencing the Past Today: Reenactments and Fictionalizations of History

Marcela Benitez, Ph.D., Anthropology and Psychology, Ethiopia - $1,400
Vocal Displays as Signals of Male Quality in Wild Primates

Cindy Bick, M.Sc., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, England - $4,000
Differential Survival Among Tahitian Tree Snails During A Mass Extinction Event

Mary Birkett, B.A., Anthropology, Japan - $2,000
“Cute” Aesthetics: Reconstructing Japanese Public Space with Kawaii Mascots

Alexander Brown, B.A., German and French, Germany - $3,500
Musikfestspiele Saar – Saarbrücken

Emily Carroll, B.B.A., Business, Germany - $1,500
Business internship

Adriana Chira, Ph.D., Anthropology and History, Cuba - $3,500
Moving Rights: Migration and Rights Consciousness in the 19th c. Caribbean

Zachary Cofran, Ph.D., Anthropology, Georgia - $2,400
Paleontological research and education in Georgia

Danya Ayehlet Cooper, M.L.A., Landscape Architecture, Turkey - $5,000
Landscape architecture internship in Istanbul

Christopher Crachiola, B.A., Public Policy, Japan - $4,000
Internship with Koz Moz International

Alexander Farivar, M.P.P., Public Policy, The Netherlands - $5,000
Democratic Effects of Internet Diffusion

Alyssa Francini, B.A., Sociology, Philippines - $3,750
Internship in schools for the deaf

George Göddard, B.B.A., Business, Germany - $4,000
Business internship

Catherine Guido, M.U.P, Urban and Regional Planning, Germany - $5,000
Urban planning and design internship

John Guittar, Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Ecuador - $4,000
A New Approach to Understanding Tropical Forest Response to Climate Change

James Hammond, B.S., History, Uganda - $3,000
Mulago Hospital: The Social History of Biomedicine in Uganda

Alysa Handelsman, Ph.D., Anthropology, Ecuador - $4,500
Children in Motion—Institutions and the Street in Guayaquil

Russell Harty, B.S., Mathematics, South Africa - $2,500
Improving HIV Patient Treatment with the SOZO System

Nicholas Ho, M. Arch., Architecture, China - $4,500
Disappearing and Emerging Urbanism in Beijing's Urban and Rural Villages

Vanessa Hoyos, M.S., Nursing, Chile - $3,500
Biological and Psychosocial Determinants of Obesity in Adolescents

Conrad Kickert, Ph.D., Architecture, The Netherlands - $5,000
Active Spaces - Attractive Spaces (The Hague Research)

Dana Kornberg, Ph.D., Sociology, India - $3,500
Defining the Sanitary City: Contests over Solid Waste in Delhi, India

Michelle Lam, M.U.P., Urban and Regional Planning, Germany - $3,000
Does Dessau Provide a New Model & Prototype for Planning Shrinking Cities?

Elyse Leonard, B.A., Political Science, Norway - $900
Data analyst and researcher at Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO)

Jing Lu, M.P.H., Epidemiology, Ghana - $1,500
Patterns of Social Resources and Malaria Risk in Ghanaian Children

Aisulu Masylkanova, J.D., Law, Italy - $3,000
Legal internship with UN World Food Programme

Liana May, M.S., Conservation Ecology, Tanzania - $1,700
Assessment of Tree Recruitment and Diversity under Different Land Uses

Sara Neill, M.D., Medicine, Ghana - $5,000
Barriers of Access to Safe Second Trimester Abortion Services in Ghana

Christoph Nolte, Ph.D., Resource Policy & Behavior, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil - $4,500
Evaluating Carbon, Biodiversity, and Livelihood Impacts of Biodiversity Projects

David O'Connor, M.S., Natural Resources and Environment, Kenya - $5,000
Effect of Lions & Lion-human Conflict on Pathogen Prevalence

Matthew Parelman, J.D. and M.A., Law and Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies, Russia - $4,500
Legal internship with American Bar Association in Moscow

Courtney Ritter, Ph.D., Screen Arts and Cultures, Italy - $4,500
Italy’s New Bell Towers: Television Antennas and Postwar Reconstruction

Ashley Rockenbach, Ph.D., History, Uganda - $3,500
Towards a Social History of Rwandan Refugees in a Ugandan Borderland

Devon Rupley, M.D., Medicine, Ghana - $5,000
Barriers of Access to Safe Second Trimester Abortion Services in Ghana

Kamolchanok (Kate) Saetang, M.P.P., Public Policy, Switzerland - $1,800
Internship with the International Organization for Migration

Guillermo Sanhueza, Ph.D., Social Work and Sociology, Chile - $3,500
Factors Behind Prisoners’ Rehabilitation: Exploring the Case of Chile

Joshua Shapero, Ph.D., Anthropology, Peru - $4,500
Social Space and Spatial Language among Ancash Quechua Speakers

Jasleen Singh, M.S.W., Social Work, India - $4,000
Study of Female Feticide in Punjab and Gender Normative Behavior

Galina Stefadu, B.A., History of Art, France - $4,000
Spectacle and the Appropriation of Montmartrois Culture at the Moulin Rouge

Rodrigo Toromoreno, Ph.D., Romance Languages and Literatures, Ecuador - $3,000
Picturing the Amazon: Landscape Literature and the Colonial Imagination

Gabriel VanLoozen, B.A., Political Science and History, Germany - $3,000
Internship with the Center for Distance Studies

Ethan Wampler, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Germany - $4,000
Engineering internship

Maria Wathen, Ph.D., Social Work and Sociology, Russia - $4,500
Social Capital Building through Civil Society Organizations: Russia

Emily White, M.F.A., Art and Design, The Netherlands and Indonesia - $2,000
Art Old and New: The Netherlands and Indonesia

Colin Yee, B.S., Anthropology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Liberia - $2,400
Health Through Accompaniment in Rural Liberia

Qingjie Zeng, Ph.D., Political Science, China - $3,500
Explaining Political Participation in China

University of Michigan International Institute
The University of Michigan International Institute houses 18 centers and programs focused on world regions and global themes. The institute develops and supports international teaching, research, and public affairs programs to promote global understanding across the campus and to build connections with intellectuals and institutions worldwide. For more information, visit www.ii.umich.edu.

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