Six Seniors Names Rockefeller Fellows

With projects ranging from documenting the personal stories of World War II survivors in France to researching how HIV/AIDS has affected the spread of tuberculosis in Botswana, six graduating seniors will travel abroad next year as recipients of the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Fellowships, the fellowship’s Administrative Board announced Monday.

The fellowships, in honor of Michael C. Rockefeller ’60, contribute $18,000 toward “a year of purposeful postgraduate immersion in a foreign culture for candidates at critical stages in their development who feel a compelling need for new and broadening experience,” according to a press release.

This year’s awardees are Ama R. Francis ’11; Benjamin H. French ’11; Laura Jaramillo ’11; Catherine C. Ntube ’11; Oliver D. Strand ’11; and Lauren M. White ’11.

Both Jaramillo and White, who had friends apply last year, decided to apply after attending an information session earlier in the semester.

“The Rockefeller sounded like a fantastic opportunity to see the world, take some time to think, grow, and hopefully figure out what the next steps are going to be,” Jarmillo said.

Jaramillo will spend the year in Vichy, France, collecting personal stories of people who lived through the German occupation. She said she hopes to create a portal to share the stories—both written and in film—so that they can be preserved for future generations.

White, will live in Buenos Aires, where she will explore art as “a vehicle of expression and upward mobility in distinct populations in the city.” She added that she also plans to make her own art to document her experience.

Another recipient of the award, French, will assist a doctor from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in his research to examine the HIV and tuberculosis co-epidemics in Botswana.

French, who has lived in South Africa for five years, said he wanted to combine his interests in sub-Saharan Africa and healthcare.

“I wanted to do something after graduating before possibly going to medical school,” he said. “The Rockefeller was the perfect fit.”

Thousands of miles away, Strand will focus on woodwork and carpentry in Japan, while Francis will work with a dance choreographer in Brazil. Ntube will explore spoken word poetry and art culture in Jamaica in terms of issues of identity and protest.

Most fellows chose to live in a country they have never been to. Jaramillo, who attended a bilingual French school while growing up, said it has always been her dream to live in France. Likewise, White has never been to South America and said she thought Buenos Aires would provide a great locale in which to carry out her proposal.

—Staff writer Jane Seo can be reached at janeseo@college.harvard.edu.