Fellowships and Opportunities
I am fortunate to have been selected for fellowships, scholarships, grants, and opportunities that have changed my life and greatly contributed to my career trajectory and personal growth. It is difficult to ever fully express the gratitude that I feel toward these opportunities and the people who make them possible. I particularly recieved an immense amount of support and encouragement from Art Casciato, the Director of Distinguished Fellowships and Grants at Rutgers University, who always gave me solid and candid advice.
Photo Credit: Lee Ling
Henry Luce Scholarship
The Luce Scholars Program is a nationally competitive fellowship program launched by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974 to enhance the understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. Up to eighteen recipients each year are selected for a one-year internship, language, and cultural immersion exchange.
Applications are due in October of each year, and applicants must apply through their university.
For my Luce Year, I lived in Taipei, Taiwan, studied traditional Mandarin Chinese, and worked at ASUSTeK Computer Inc. I also had the incredible opportunity of being able to travel extensively around the region.
George J. Mitchell Scholarship Program
The Mitchell Scholarship Program, named to honor former US Senator George Mitchell's pivotal contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process, is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland, while recognizing and fostering intellectual achievement, leadership, and a commitment to community and public service. Up to twelve Mitchell Scholars are chosen each year.
With the support of the Mitchell, I completed a MSc in Creative Digital Media from the Dublin Institute of Technology, which was focused on mobile app design. I was awarded the degree distinction of first class honours.
Applications open in April of each year and are due for submission in September.
Teach for America
Teach for America is a national leadership program whose mission it is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence." Corps members commit to teaching for two years in an under-resourced school in the United States and do their best to affect positive change in the lives of their students by working with other teachers, corps members, TFA staff, school administrators, community members, and parents. The high-level goal of the program is to invest its corps members in its mission of creating equitable educational opportunities and to devote their careers toward this goal.
I was a member of TFA Miami-Dade and worked at Miami Northwestern Senior High School, where I taught intensive reading to the school's struggling readers and led the school's Reading Department.
Photo Credit: Monica Sellecchia
Programma Ponte
The Programma Ponte or "Bridge Program," initiated in 1997, is a summer study and immersion program in Rome, Italy. It is designed to give American students of Italian heritage first-hand experience with contemporary Italy through summer course work, visits to important Italian and European institutions, and direct contact with the Italian people. Participants establish lasting connections and develop their respective roles as bi-cultural ambassadors. The program is made possible through AIAE's collaboration with Federazione Nazionale dei Cavalieri del Lavoro and Instituto Superiore per la Comunicazioni e l'Opinione Pubblica (ISCOP), associated with the Universita' Angelicum, St. Thomas Aquinus. Classes are taken in Italian and English and proficiency in the Italian Language is expected.
Roughly 10 students are chosen for each cohort. Application are due in February of each year.
Ambassador Peter F. Secchia Voyage of Discovery Program
The Voyage of Discovery Program is a two-week, all-expenses paid trip for Italian American students who have never been to Italy but have a connection to their heritage. Its goal is to strengthen the Italian American identity by bonding young Italian-Americans to the country, culture, and heritage of Italy; to help them gain an understanding of their heritage and a pride in preserving that heritage for the next generation; and to understand the historical significance of Italy and the current contribution Italy is making to the US and the world. The trip includes educational lectures, service opportunities, meetings with government officials, business leaders and visits to government offices, international businesses, museums and other cultural attractions.
20-30 students are chosen for each summer cohort. Application are due in February of each year.
Photo Credit: The Daily Targum
Theta Delta Chi Scholarships and Awards
The Educational Foundation of Theta Delta Chi International Fraternity has a yearly scholarship program to recognize young men in its organization who uphold its tenets of scholarship, leadership, and service. In my time as a brother I recieved several scholarships, including the Davenport Scholarship, for my work with the fraternity and was named the organization's "Undergraduate of the Year."
Rutgers Aresty Research Grants
The Undergraduate Research Fellowships are intended to defray research costs for students conducting independent research projects under the guidance of a professor. Any advanced undergraduate researcher--typically juniors or seniors--at Rutgers-New Brunswick pursuing independent research projects with faculty guidance is eligible to apply.
The Aresty Research Fellowship allowed me to conduct ethnographic research in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at Rutgers University. This research became the focus of three years of independent research and the core of my Individualized Major and Capstone Honors Thesis. I spent one summer collecting data as a participant observer in an all male drum and bugle corps of 130 members as it toured the United States by charter bus.
Photo Credit: Rutgers University
Harriet and Robert Druskin Endowed Scholarship
The Druskin Scholarship is a partial-tuition award provided to incoming and continuing Rutgers students based on merit, financial need, and academic achievement.
Mr. and Mrs. Druskin are still involved with the scholarship program and every year host the Druskin Scholars at their home! They are terrific examples of what it means to give back to your alma mater and community and without their support through the Druskin, I would have had a more difficult time paying for my undergraduate degree.