International Studies Undergraduate Award Winners: Marshall Scholar and Inaugural Wolff Fellow

Lydia Nyachieo, Marshall Scholar

In December, Lydia Nyachieo (International Studies, Philosophy; certificates in African Studies, French) was announced as a 2022 recipient of a Marshall Scholarship. Established in 1953, the Marshall Scholarship Program gives high achieving U.S. students the opportunity to study at the graduate level at any university in the United Kingdom. The program was created to honor the ideals of the Marshall Plan and to foster appreciation of the U.K. among future U.S. leaders. Up to 50 scholarships are awarded each year; there are 41 winners in the 2022 class of Marshall Scholars. Nyachieo intends to use the scholarship to earn a master’s degree in international development through the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. “Its master’s program covers a broad field of issues that I’m most interested in: poverty and inequality, governance and management, the global political economy, and the environment,” Nyachieo says. “I also like how the Global Development Institute takes a critical, inclusive and action-oriented look at global development, where development isn’t the ‘Global North’ helping or teaching the ‘Global South,’ but rather seeing how all countries can improve in ways that contribute toward a more equitable and sustainable world.” Nyachieo was also a recipient of the Newman Family Scholarship, awarded to promising female-identifying International Studies majors. She also is an editor for the Wisconsin International Review and is a PEOPLE scholar. Read more about Nyachieo’s journey here. Claire James, Wolff Fellow Claire James (International Studies, Economics; certificates in European Studies, French) has been selected as the inaugural fellow for The College of Letters & Science’s Wolff Fellowship, which provides $45,000 to an L&S senior “to pursue their passions without limits.” The fellowship emphasizes both academic accomplishment and community service. “This summer, James will work on English language programming in Nagasaki, Japan, and then move to Seoul, South Korea to teach English to high-school students planning to study at U.S. colleges. This expands on her experiences volunteering with Madison’s Open Doors for Refugees, where she has helped English-language learners at Madison College practice conversation.” Owing to her fascination with the intersections of economics, poverty, and geography, the second half of James’ trip will focus on field research. In January, she will volunteer with the Associated Center for Agro-Based Development (ACADES) in Lilongwe, Malawi, which is a partner in UW–Madison’s Project Malawi. James will contribute to ACADES’ initiatives that work to empower smallholder farmers. Later that spring, she’ll volunteer with the Sehgal Foundation in Gurugram, India, which supports a wide range of community-led initiatives. James will work on a project examining gender roles in agriculture. The final leg of the journey will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where James will attend an intensive language academic in Spanish. James is also scholar in the Wisconsin International Scholars Program and is an editor for the Journal for Undergraduate International Studies. Read more about James’ journey here.