Marilyn Shapley is a fourth year International Studies and Literature major with a secondary focus on political science. At the American University in Cairo she is able to study policies and literature of the Middle East in preparation for a regional specialization in her planned career as a Foreign Service officer in the U.S. State Department. When visiting with Marilyn last summer, we learned of her great interest in Egyptology, her concern about the current situation of Sudanese refugees, and her eagerness to learn how to communicate thoughtfully in an international setting. A few weeks later she was ecstatic about her first visit to see pyramids, starting to teach English to refugees, discussing the Egyptian election with local students and practicing colloquial Arabic in the marketplace. Some of Marilyn’s courses deal with developing durable peace and stability in war-torn countries, Third World Literature and forced migration and refugee studies. When trying out for the Cairo Model UN club, she had to role play as Saudi Arabia and with two minutes to prepare had to defend her country’s record of religious freedom. Marilyn’s comment: “It was valuable to walk away and realize that there are two sides to every story, and the truth is never as cut and dry as we think.”
Tamami Komatsu (Italy, 2005-06)
Tamami Komatsu is spending her third year as a pre-med International Studies major studying Literature and Italian Studies at the University of Bologna. In accepting the scholarship, she wrote: “Thank you so very much for assisting me in my efforts to become a world citizen – I only wish I could express how much I really appreciate this act of benevolence.” Tamami is very excited about developing an international perspective, independence and a foundation for her later humanitarian work. She has a deep concern for the health crisis in Africa and eventually hopes to work for Doctors Without Borders. After a few weeks of intensive language training in Rome, Tamami wrote: “I miss home a lot more than I thought I would and Italy is lot different than I expected. I love how much I’m already learning and I already feel different than when I came.”
Jenna Carlsson (Senegal, 2005-06)
Jenna Carlsson, a third year student in Sociology with a minor in African Studies who was fluent in French and eager to immerse herself in a completely different culture, chose to study at the Université Gaston Berger in Saint-Louis, Senegal in a program administered by the University of Wisconsin. Jenna anticipated that a year in Senegal would help her to gain communication skills (in both French and Wolof), patience and a more worldly perspective. Before departing for orientation in Dakar in October, Jenna visited Davis on two occasions. We had a wonderful time getting acquainted and exchanging thoughts. This is one of the first observations she shared after arrival in Africa: “White Americans who believe race doesn’t matter should put themselves in a situation where 99% of the people around them are black. I would predict they would feel much more uncomfortable and different than they think they would. Yes, race does matter.”