The application process taught me more about myself than I realized. It allowed me to see the narrative that I am crafting with my studies and activities, as well as forcing me to realize how my involvements support my passions and future goals.

After spending a whole summer working on my essays, I walked into that interview only to have the panel tell me the essays didn’t sound like me or capture who I was in person. I was discouraged to hear this, but with only a week until the application was due, I sold my football ticket for that weekend and sat in a coffee shop all day on Saturday, re-writing my essays, this time from the heart. It turned out to be worth my time, because I ended up getting the fellowship many months later!

The semester in Paris was way outside my comfort zone, but it gave me the confidence to pursue whatever opportunities become available in any corner of the world. I plan to apply for everything I can and see what doors open up.

Applying for the Astronaut Scholarship forced me to take new perspectives on my research and where it fits in a national and global context. Besides boosting confidence in my work, the scholarship convinced me to pursue more fellowships and opened my career options.

I am extremely honored to have been awarded the Goldwater scholarship. It is gratifying to receive recognition for the hard work that I have put into my research over the past several years. The Fellowships Office provided constructive and targeted feedback on my application materials throughout the process to help give me the best chance of succeeding. It forced me to think critically about my long-term career aspirations. As a result, I now feel more confident about the steps I want to take when I graduate from Penn State.

As a fellow I am working on my dissertation research and also using the Senegalese National Archives to help me understand the colonial origins of the present-day bureaucracy. I hope to learn more about the ways in which the bureaucracy can shape public policy, and how the bureaucracy’s interactions with citizens help government stability and development.