Past Recipients
Summer 2011
Lucia Tapia served as the 2011 Harriman Fellow in the United States Embassy in Paris.
Tapia, a fourth year undergraduate at the University of California Santa Barbara, is double majoring in French and Communication, and minoring in Spanish. Lucia is a devoted volunteer at the Santa Barbara Habitat for Humanity, Santa Barbara FoodBank community outreach program, and a tutor for at-risk youth. Her future plans are to continue on to a master's degree in French at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and to pursue a career in diplomacy.
When asked what being awarded a Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship meant to her she stated, “Without the Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship, interning for the U.S. Department of State in Paris would be impossible. My dream to pursue a career in foreign affairs will now be one step closer to reality because I will now have the moral and financial support of those at the College of William & Mary.”
Elisabeth Ferland served as the 2011 Harriman Fellow in the United States Embassy in London.
Ferland is a recent graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, with a degree in Science, Technology and International Affairs. This is her first internship with the State Department, but she has taken full advantage of being in Washington D.C. with internships at the Senate, International Trade Commission, and Center for Strategic and International Studies. Following her internship she will finish her fifth year of an accelerated Masters Degree in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University and intends to go on to a career as a Foreign Service Officer.
When asked what being awarded a Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship meant to her she stated, “To me receiving the Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship is an incredible honor that comes with the expectation of great achievement; one I hope to live up to. This fellowship has reinforced my preexisting desire to work in the foreign service. Due to this fellowship I will always be motivated by the grace and dignity with which women, such as Ms. Harriman, have been able to truly succeed in the foreign service and gain the respect of their peers.”
Noura Elfarra served as the 2011 Harriman Fellow in the Office of the Secretary of State, Washington, D.C.
Elfarra, a rising senior at Stanford University, is majoring in Political Science with a focus on International Relations. This will be her second summer working in Washington, D.C.; in 2010 she served in the White House’s Office of Presidential Correspondence. She has demonstrated commitment to public service through her participation in Stanford in Government, Stanford’s South Asian cultural group Sanskriti, and the Stanford Project on Hunger (SPOON). During her senior year she will write an honors thesis through the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Upon graduation she intends to pursue a J.D. with an emphasis on constitutional and human rights law, before embarking on a career within the realm of foreign policy.
When asked what being awarded a Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship meant to her she stated, "I feel incredibly honored to have received the Harriman Fellowship. I hope that it will provide me with the means to explore the implications of diplomacy and global citizenship, as well as to better understand the responsibilities of a career in Foreign Service."
Summer 2010
Anne Buckle and Lindsay Hislop served as the 2010 Harriman Fellows in the United States Embassy in Paris.
Buckle, a junior at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, is majoring in International Communications and Relations with a focus on France and Western Europe. Buckle has won numerous awards for scholarship and leadership including Phi Beta Kappa – Epsilon Chapter, and serves regularly in her community as a volunteer violin teacher, teaching underprivileged K-12 students. Next year, she plans to study International Relations at the graduate level. Her ultimate career goal is to work as a Foreign Service Officer or in some other governmental capacity in France.
Hislop, a senior at the University of California, Santa Barbara is majoring in Biology. Having studied abroad in France and Ireland, she is an International Baccalaureate Program Diploma Recipient. Her community service includes service to Youth Leadership Jefferson County, a program designed to develop the leadership skills of local high school students. Upon graduation, Hislop hopes to attend graduate school before embarking on a career with the Foreign Service, ideally on the Environment, Science, Technology and Health Team.
Christopher Alvarez and Robert Kevin Thomson served as the 2010 Harriman Fellows in the United States Embassy in London.
Alvarez, a junior at Stanford University in California, is double majoring in International Relations and Economics. During his senior year he will apply for the co-terminal master’s degree program in Public Policy at Stanford. Alvarez is a longtime participant in the EPATT program which welcomes children from the underprivileged East Palo Alto community to work with student tutors. Eventually, he plans to seek a career in public service, as he is particularly interested in the work of the Treasury and State Departments.
Thomson is a senior at San Jose State University where he was on the dean’s list in spring 2010. A Global Studies major, this is his second State Department internship, having served in fall 2008 in the Office of the Secretary in Washington, D.C. A volunteer in his community since his high school days, his public service includes working with non-profits which serve the poor and homeless. Thomson will seek his master’s degree in Peace and Security Studies and ultimately a J.D. with emphasis in international law. Following that, he plans to pursue a career as a Foreign Service Officer tasked to the Consular Affairs office.
Benjamin Feibleman and Celine Cutter served as the 2010 Harriman Fellows in the Office of the Secretary of State, Washington, D.C.
Feibleman, a junior at Columbia University in New York City is majoring in Political Science with a concentration in International Politics and History. The only Harriman Fellow who has ever served in the U.S. armed forces, Feibleman earned the Iraq Campaign Medal for a tour in Iraq and a Meritorious Commendation for performance of duties during President Bush’s visit to Paris, France. A former marine, Feibleman has hoped to join the Foreign Service ever since his service as a Marine Security Guard. His plan is to take the Foreign Service Exam and apply to MPA programs at an Ivy League university.
Cutter, a junior at the University of California, Berkeley is majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies. She has won numerous awards for scholarship and leadership including the Sandy Ellis Cup for Outstanding Commitment to the Community in 2006. Cutter’s research projects in Berkeley and Kenya regarding the role of NGSs in combating HIV/AIDS with a focus on human rights and women’s empowerment. After graduation she plans to pursue a master’s degree in International Affairs and hopes her career path will lead her to the Foreign Service or another area of diplomacy.
Summer 2009
Margaret Looney, a junior at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, served as the 2009 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. A graduate of Vermilion Catholic High School, Margy spent a summer abroad studying in Ireland with LSU after her freshman year in college, and will study abroad in Morocco this coming fall. Her major is Mass Communication with a concentration in print journalism; her minor is International Studies with a concentration in Africa and the Middle East/Global Diplomacy. Margy has won numerous awards for scholarship and leadership and serves regularly in her community as a student worker at Volunteer Baton Rouge. Next year, she will complete her senior thesis conducting a pilot study of information gathering, mapping the networks of U.S. foreign correspondence in Rabat, Casablanca and Meknès. After graduation, Margaret plans to travel to Northern Africa or the Middle East with the Peace Corps or Voluntary Service Overseas before returning to the states for graduate school. During her time abroad, she hopes to become fluent in Arabic and French and eventually work in the U.S. State Department as a Public Diplomacy Officer.
"Receiving the Harriman Fellowship has set a solid foundation for the beginning of my career in the Foreign Service," says Margy. "This internship will provide an inside look at diplomacy in action and act as a keyhole to my future, which I will devote to promoting press freedom in developing countries."
Ayisha Arshad, a senior at Temple University in Philadelphia, served as the 2009 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. Having graduated in 2005 from Haverford Senior High School, Ayisha has excelled academically, making Dean's List for the last four semesters. Ayisha will graduate in December with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Journalism with her track focusing on print journalism. Ayisha recently interned at a Philadelphia public high school where she assisted in establishing the school's first official newspaper. She is also active in the university community through her leadership in the Muslim Students Association as well as serving as one of the conference chairs for the 2009 MSA National East Zone Conference. Ayisha has also continuously served in the Philadelphia community - tutoring, volunteering at a nursing home and an area hospital. After graduation, she plans to attend law school. She hopes to practice as a public interest lawyer and work in the international arena with the U.S. government or an international organization. She wishes to focus her career on shaping media relations and foreign policy and working on civil rights issues, particularly with the U.S., Middle East and South Asia.
"I'm honored to have received the Harriman Fellowship, which demonstrates that dedication to my studies as well as my commitment to public service will be rewarded," says Ayisha. "This internship will serve as the basis for my career goals by providing me with high exposure to foreign policy, a critical aspect of influencing U.S. relations with the international world."
Summer 2008
Matthew McGrath, from Vanderbilt University, served as the 2008 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. A graduate of Brookline High School in Brookline, Massachusetts, Matthew spent his junior semester abroad as an intern in the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. In 2005, he won the Senior Award for Outstanding Contribution, Seminar in Jewish Education and Leadership. Recent research, conducted with the Political Science Department at Vanderbilt, has focused on the political security of the Baltic Region.
Andrew Blasi, from the College of William and Mary, served as the 2008 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. In the Summer of 2007, Andrew served as an intern for the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe in Washington, D.C. He also served as a research intern for the Congressional Liaison Office of the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. In the near term, Andrew chose to pursue a State Department internship in London to see the diplomatic process firsthand, especially with one of America's greatest allies.
James Nadel, from Tufts University, served as the 2008 Harriman Fellow in Washington D.C. at the State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. Nadel is a graduate of Burlington High School in Vermont where he was selected Commencement Speaker for his graduating class. At Tufts, Nadel was a double major, studying International Relations and French.
Summer 2007
Sandra M. Scoseria-Katz, from Princeton University, was selected to serve as the 2007 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. A graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland, Sandra studied at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs with concentrations in European Politics and Society, French and German. Sandra studied abroad in Germany, at the Freie Universitaet in Berlin, and, with the support of the Max Kade Foundation, served as an intern at the Office of Congresswoman Ute Kumpf of Stuttgart at the Bundestag. Sandra also interned in the press department of the Kerry-Edwards Presidential Campaign and held a summer internship at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Zachary Schechter-Steinberg, from Wesleyan University, served as the 2007 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. Zachary, a history major, also played men's varsity soccer at Wesleyan, where their team am went to the 2nd round in the NCAA in 2005 and 2006. A graduate of Iowa City West High School, Zach was active on the debate team and lettered in varsity soccer where his team won the state tournament championship. Zach's public and community service activities include his internships with the Office of the Iowa City Public Defender and Senator Tom Harkin, as well as tutoring and a writing mentorship at Wesleyan. In addition, Zach was a cofounder of the Wesleyan University Chapter of the Roosevelt Institution and served Wesleyan as a residential advisor.
Michelle E. Zapiain, from Florida International University, served as the 2007 Harriman Fellow at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Michelle is a graduate of Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas where she was awarded a Presidential Scholarship, which brought her to study at FIU as a National Hispanic Scholar. Michelle is a double major, studying International Relations and Economics. In her community, she has been active as a tutor and with "Hands on Miami." Along with professors Patricia Price and Damian Fernandez at FIU, Michelle completed a study funded by the National Science Foundation titled "Comparative Civic and Place Engagement in Three Latino Enclave Neighborhoods in Transition." She was the founding President of the Undergraduate Economics Association at FIU.
Summer 2006
Jared Bennici, from the College of the Holy Cross, served as the 2006 Harriman Fellow at the State Department in Washington, DC. As a political science major at Holy Cross, Bennici authored several research papers on American foreign policy and on international relations. He was selected for the Holy Cross Washington Semester Program in the fall of 2005 and was awarded the Edward M. Vannicelli Thesis Award for his Washington Semester thesis, titled, "Why the Federal Government's Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed: 9/11 & Domestic Preparedness - The Missing Link."
Emiliano Reyes, from Fordham University, served as the 2006 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London, England. A business administration major, Reyes was selected a James Reynolds Scholar and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the Fordham Left Hook newspaper and served as the President of the Fordham College Democrats. He served as a scheduling assistant to former President Bill Clinton and the former office manager of the Pots/Pans Community Outreach Center in New York.
Kelly McClure, from Boston College, served as the 2006 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris, France. McClure majored in International Studies at Boston College, where she was selected to the Dean's list every semester. Her senior thesis project was a comparative study of Muslim immigrants in France and the Netherlands, specifically focusing on their processes of political integration and the implications for political theories of multicultural democracy. McClure volunteered as an English as a Second Language instructor and at the French Language and Cultural Center of Boston.
Summer 2005
Allison Biggs, from the College of William and Mary, served as the 2005 Harriman Fellow at the State Department in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Warren County High School in Front Royal, Virginia, Biggs was involved in a variety of organizations and honor societies at William and Mary including the Mortar Board Service and Leadership Honor Society, the Order of Omega Greek Leadership Honor Society, the Pi Sigma Alpha Government Honor Fraternity, Golden Key Honor Society and the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Fraternity. She served on the Student Alumni Council and as a tour guide and summer intern for the Office of Undergraduate Admission. She also served as the Student Assembly Deputy Secretary for Public Affairs and the Assistant Secretary to the Board of Visitors.
Joshua Boehm, from Yale, graduated from City High School in Iowa City, Iowa, where he was the Valedictorian, a National Merit Scholar, and an Iowa Governor's Scholar. During his time at Yale, Joshua served as a research assistant to both the Yale Department of Political Science and the Yale School of Management. Joshua volunteered as a tutor for America Reads at a local New Haven elementary school, meeting with underprivileged first graders for five to six hours per week.
David Peloquin, from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, served as the 2005 Harriman Foreign Service Fellow at the United State Embassy in Paris. A graduate of Lakeville Senior High School in Lakeville, Minnesota, David is an accomplished classical pianist as well as a choir member at the Northfield Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. David was named to the Carleton College DeanÂ's List in 2002-03 and in 2003-2004. He compiled a dossier in French on the artists of the Fluxus movement, as part of the Carleton Paris Program in the spring of 2004 and received an exemplary rating on his sophomore writing portfolio. David has also researched the privatization of state-owned enterprises in the Czech Republic for his Soviet Economic History class.
Summer 2004
Emily A. Godfrey, a sophomore at Stanford University, served as the 2004 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. A graduate of Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona, Emily is involved in a variety of activities, including Amnesty International, the Stanford Environmental Education Program and the Shakespeare Festival. She was the recipient of the Stanford University Presidential Award, the Kodak National Leadership Award and was named a Rogel Scholar. Emily interned for United States Congressman J.D. Hayworth, where she conducted research on rural education in American schools.
Lauren C. Manners, from Oklahoma State University, served as the 2004 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. A graduate of Ripley High School in Ripley, Oklahoma, Lauren volunteered for the Oklahoma Special Olympics and the Study Abroad Office at Oklahoma State. She also served as the president of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and as treasurer and vice president of Taking Care of Business, a business administration club. As a finance major with an international accounting concentration, Lauren researched the East Asian financial crisis and the risks of international finance, as well as completed a descriptive case study on the effects of monetary integration in the European Union stock markets.
Summer 2003
Laurie Ball, from Duke University, served as the 2003 Harriman Fellow at the Office of the Secretary of State in Washington, DC. A graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Massachusetts, Laurie's undergraduate work focused on public policy. While studying abroad at the School for International Training in Chile, she volunteered as a tutor and mentor. During the summer of 2001, Laurie interned for the Guatemala Human Rights Commission. Her academic research complimented her public service with a plan to examine the needs of Hispanic immigrant children in a local public school, entitled, "Educating Immigrant Children." For her work in Chile`, she received the Mellon Award for Undergraduate Research. At Duke University, she was named to the Dean's List with distinction.
Jonathan Bolls, from the College of William and Mary, served as the 2003 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. From West Palm Beach, Florida, Jonathan attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1999-2001, where he made the Dean's List. After transferring to the College of William and Mary in 2001, Jonathan worked as a Resident Advisor, served in the ROTC unit, was a member of the Mock Trial Team, and represented the United Kingdom at the Harvard National Model UN competition. As an Eagle Scout, he still remembers with pride his project to refurbish an historic African American Church in Clifton, Virginia.
Phyllis Maloney, from Harvard University, served as the 2003 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. A graduate of St. Bernard Preparatory School, in Cullman, Alabama, she led a group of Harvard students to her hometown in Alabama to renovate low-income housing, while also helping to "break down stereotypes on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line." At Harvard, she received the President's Student Service Award for her commitment to community service. Last summer she received the Kawamura Visiting Fellowship to Japan, and in the summer of 2001, Phyllis studied abroad in Paris. In continuing the legacy of Pamela Harriman, Phyllis envisions an "everyman's diplomacy," stressing the importance of cross-cultural dialogue, friendship, and understanding in which every American can participate.
Summer 2002
Katherine Linder, from Princeton University, served as the 2002 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. A graduate of St. Francis High School, Katherine served as an intern for the Business Council for the United Nations, co-authoring an article on Global Compact that was published in the U.N. Association's quarterly publication, The InterDependent. At Princeton, she aligned her activities with her work experience as UNICEF chair in the Model United Nation's Club, member of the Whig-Clisophic Society, officer for the Class of 2004, and Treasurer of Princeton''s Model Congress. Katherine has proven to be an equally active scholar, receiving the Washington Crossing Scholar, National Women's Political Caucus Award, National Merit finalist, and valedictorian of her high school class.
Adam S. Rein, from Yale University, served as the 2002 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. A graduate of the Crossroads School in Santa Monica California, Adam's service includes organizing a spring break service trip to Florida to work with Habitat for Humanity, providing weekly piano lessons for underprivileged children, and tutoring elementary school students in writing. As an Ethics, Politics, and Economics major, Adam wrote numerous research papers on subjects ranging from the potential of PayPal and E-Commerce, to Utilitarian Voting Methods, to an in depth study of the Machiavellian State and Campaign Finance Reform. Adam spent his junior term studying at Oxford University. At Yale he served as a teaching assistant in Management Science and was selected to co-edit the Yale Daily News.
Carlos Ramos-Mrosovsky, from Princeton University, served as the 2002 Harriman Fellow to the Department of State in Washington, D.C. A graduate of The New-Forest School in New York City, Carlos' service includes working in the Speechwriting Office of New York City Mayor Guiliani in 2001, as a research analyst for the Lazio New York Senatorial campaign in 2000, and for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1999. At Princeton, Carlos worked as editor and founder of the student run magazine American Foreign Policy; served as a regular columnist for the The Daily Princetonian; and was chairman and founder of the Princeton Committee Against Terrorism, a student activist group.
Summer 2001
Elizabeth Grimm, from the College of William and Mary, served as the 2001 Harriman Fellow at the United States embassy in Paris. A graduate of Franklin Regional Senior High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth entered William and Mary as a Monroe Scholar and was Awarded the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship." While at the College, Elizabeth served as a committee chair of the International Relations club, committee chair of the Bone Marrow Drive, Student Alumni Liaison Council, founding member of a Habitat for Humanity program in Pennsylvania, and a English tutor during her semester abroad at the University of Nancy II, while maintaining an outstanding academic performance. Her research projects included a summer internship examining the potential impact of closing Eastern State Hospital-the first public psychiatric hospital in the country.
Jennifer Shaloff, from the University of Maryland, served as the 2001 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London, England. Jennifer, a graduate of Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, worked with The Program for Survivors of Torture and Severe Trauma with the Center for Multicultural Human Services. Her experience includes an internship as a Research Assistant at the World Resources Institute, an internship for the Office of Congressman Sanford Bishop, and an internship with the Bureau of European Affairs, specifically with Nordic and Baltic Countries. At the University of Maryland, Jennifer's research combined international awareness with her curiosity in world health, including extensive involvement with Dr. Martin Heisler's paper, "The Conceptual and Empirical Attenuation of Loyalty," published in the Journal of the National Institute of Health, and her senior honors thesis on "Deconstructing the German and French Response to Jory Haider and the Freedom Party of Austria."
Stephanie Molnar, from Seton Hall University, served as the 2001 Harriman Fellow to the Department of State in Washington, DC. Stephanie, a graduate of Lacey Township High School on Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, was a double major in social and behavioral science and a triple minor in political science, Spanish, and criminal justice. She kept an equally challenging array of community service projects, serving as a volunteer in the DC Reads Tutorial Program, Madison Avenue Baptist Church Homeless Shelter, New York Cares Day of Service, and Seton Hall University Day of Service. For her efforts, Stephanie received the Seton Hall Servant Leader of the Century Award. A highlight of her undergraduate service record included a trip sponsored by DOVE for an international service project to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Summer 2000
Derek Smith, from Harvard University, served as the 2000 Harriman Fellow at the Office of the Secretary of State in Washington, DC. A graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, MD, Derek distinguished himself as one of the finest students in his class. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa and a recipient of the Keasbey Scholarship, Derek's leadership qualities extend beyond the classroom. Music director, arranger, and soloist for an a capella group, he founded and led a barbershop quartet, rowed on the Harvard Freshmen Crew Team and composed chamber music. He wrote his senior honors thesis on the proliferation of dual-use satellite systems.
Akash Desai, from the University of Rochester, served as the 2000 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in London. Akash, a graduate of Cortland High School in Cortland, NY, wrote his thesis on Indian-American political participation. He organized a number of community service projects, most notably the first National Gandhi Day of Service at the University of Rochester, and was on the school's debate team. His experience included an internship with the Department of State in the Bureau of European Affairs, and a semester serving as a research assistant in the House of Commons of the British Parliament.
Rachel Ziemba, from the University of Chicago, served as the 2000 Harriman Fellow at the United States Embassy in Paris. Rachel, a graduate of the Crofton House School in Vancouver, Canada, spent a winter at the University of Chicago's French Language and Western Civilization program in Tours, France studying French language, culture, and history. Rachel has prior experience with the Department of State as an intern in Toronto, where she did market research for American companies. At the University of Chicago, Rachel was a member of the Model United Nations group, plus United People, an outreach program that explains the purpose of the United Nations. Rachel tutored area children in Latin as a means of helping them with reading and writing and taught the fundamentals of art to fifth graders.
