Travel Fellowships

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Fellowships fund purposeful activity—all over the world! Travel fellowships are available to both undergraduates and graduates, can fund structured opportunities or “build your own adventure” independent projects, can be open to citizens of any nation and applicants from any major, and can fund research, language study, graduate study, teaching, and service… to name just a few! Where could a fellowship take you?

“CLS gave me the opportunity to study abroad (for free!), earn credits that I could transfer to Wellesley, access to a network of program alumni, and the space to learn so much about myself.”

The Mary Elvira Stevens Traveling Fellowship truly embodies Wellesley’s spirit of life-long education for women in its unique requirement that it should fund independent travel to unfamiliar territory for up to one full year. This stipulation inspires courage, imagination, tolerance, and curiosity from the nascent idea of the proposal throughout the process and during the grant year.

Abigail Rothberg ’01, Mary Elvira Stevens Fellow (2019-2020)

At some point in 2018, I realized I had to stop thinking of my professional life and what brought me joy as two distinct parts of my life. I needed what I did professionally to reflect who I am: a person passionate about social justice, and also someone who is silly and loves to laugh, someone imperfect and impatient, someone who loves staring at art, and someone who literally loves getting her hands dirty.

“Throughout my time at Wellesley, the advisors at Career Education were instrumental in helping me navigate the labyrinth of academia and pointing me toward resources and opportunities that would help me achieve my goals.”

“I want to make ethics accessible to people. Whatever form it takes, I want to bring ethical inquiry into the everyday, and the Watson will ground me in that work.”

“Crafting a proposal is a very introspective process. I was challenged to understand my motivations and interest in death and dying, then explain how those have informed my life’s course. From this, I gained a deeper sense of myself, academically and personally, which was rewarding in and of itself.”

“I’m excited to see how my beliefs will change, and how my project will evolve when my presumptions are questioned.”

“Being offered the Watson Fellowship is similar to someone tapping you on the shoulder, looking you straight in the eyes, and saying, ‘You've shown me a small glimpse of that which you love, and while I’m not here to answer the questions you have, I can give you the time and space to chase them until next year’s horizon.’”

“I am most excited about meeting and learning from people all over the world, and observing and hearing about their connections to land and food. Everybody needs food, but everyone's experiences and perspectives are different. I can't really imagine where this year will take me, but I know it will be transformative.”

“For me, the Watson was not about a year-long adventure but about learning to see the possibilities available in the world and realizing that I am capable of pursuing any of them I want.”

“I’m glad I decided to pursue Fulbright. It gave me an opportunity to share my unique experience as an immigrant and first-generation college student, not only with my Chinese colleagues, but also with other international students at Northwest University, who rarely meet Chinese Americans.“ 

“I am so thrilled that I will be able to learn directly from women leaders in crucial environmental projects in a diverse array of Latin American countries that I otherwise could not have ever imagined visiting.”

Killam Fellowships Program (students)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

The Killam Fellowships Program, administered by Fulbright Canada, allows undergraduate students from Canada and the United States to participate in a program of binational residential exchange. Killam Fellows spend either one semester or a full academic year as an exchange student in the host country. Students can apply either to the direct exchange program, which is limited to certain participating university partners, or to the open competition, allowing for participation from (and to) any accredited degree-granting college or university in either country.

“I see the printshop as a place for all things: teaching, learning, experimentation, creation, expression, collaboration, communication, and inspiration.”

“[There are] a lot of different conceptions of the ocean, and a lot of exciting and creative solutions that are happening all over the world.”

“It was a wonderful new experience to visit community health care centers and NGOs. I was able to speak with community health workers who provide appropriate and equitable care as trusted members of their community.”

“By living in vegan communities and exploring their foodscapes, I hope to understand the lived experiences of being vegan across cultures and find ways to adapt veganism to various cultural contexts and customs.”