Congratulations to two of our Sociology Majors! Saige Hawthorne (on right) and Havana McElvaine (on left) both received Bonderman Travel Fellowships for next year. As Bonderman Fellows, Saige and Havana are provided stipends for a minimum of 8 months of travel with the only mandate being that they visit at least two regions of the globe. The Fellows are meant to travel alone and experience the world outside of formal schooling; i.e. they are not pursuing any specific research or project at this point and they are note enrolled in exchange programs of foreign universities. The Bonderman is designed to foster curiosity through independent global exploration.
Saige will be traveling and observing race relations in South Africa and Brazil and looking at what it means to be a feminist in more religiously conservative places such as Egypt. She is thrilled at the opportunity to challenge her beliefs and gain a greater, more personal, understanding of the world. Her travel plans also include Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Peru, Argentina, Ghana, and Jordan.
Havana will be traveling to Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Chile, Brazil, Liberia, Nigeria, India and Sri Lanka. As a student athlete, Havana has always appreciated the impact and strength of collaboration/teamwork and hopes the Bonderman will let her explore principles of unity in new ways and challenge herself to find community and teamwork in different contexts. Her solo journey will trace places impacted by the African diaspora and transatlantic slave trade, with the goal of seeking deeper understanding of her own identity, blackness, history, and privilege.
A great set of experiences awaits them both.