Five Seniors Awarded Rockefeller Fellowship

Five seniors have been awarded the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Fellowship for a year of travel after graduation.

The 1997-98 recipients are Paul A. Foster '97 of Leverett House and Great Falls, Montana; Mary J. Hahn '97 of Winthrop House and West Nyack, N.Y.; Junne Kamihara '97 of Lowell House and Old Bethpage, N.Y.; Sidhartha R. Sinha '97 of Kirkland House and Tulsa, Ok.; and Emily A. Wang '97 of Leverett House and Houston, Tex.

The winners were chosen by interview from a pool of 11 finalists, selected from 39 candidates. House nomination is required for the College competition.

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Fellowships provide stipends of $12,000 for a year of "purposeful post-graduate travel in a foreign country for candidates at critical stages in their development who feel a need for new and broadening experience." Foster will spend a year in Chile. He said he plans to volunteer in an orphanage and work in its health care facility.

A biology concentrator, Foster said he sees this as an opportunity to reach a decision on medicine as a career.

Foster, a transfer student from the Air Force Academy, said he hopes that "a year away will give me some perspective to integrate the two experiences and hopefully find out what I want to do with the rest of my life."

"I have always been interested in Chile as a country and as a South American culture," Foster said.

He said he is interested in the country's dramatic political situation.

"I wanted to go to see how these democratic changes are taking place" in Chile, he said.

Foster also plans to study flamenco guitar.

Hahn will study music in Scotland. "I plan to play with folk musicians in various regions of Scotland learning the various techniques, rhythms and harmonic devices and to do some composing as well, using what I have learned," Hahn said.

Hahn studied at the Julliard pre-college program beginning in fifth grade, but she says she has not had the opportunity to play the violin at Harvard.

A social studies concentrator, Hahn said she believes that "folk music is a fundamental part in creat- ing and sustaining a community."

She said she decided to study in Scotland because it "has such a rich musical tradition that pervades everyday life."

Kamihara will travel to Tanzania to teach science in a secondary school and volunteer in a hospital for people with leprosy.

"I heard that Tanzania really needs teachers right now, and that is the resource they most need to develop," she said.

She said her trip would be an opportunity for adventure and personal growth. "The fellowship would open my eyes to the world around me," she said. A biochemical sciences concentrator, Kamihara plans to enter medical school after her travels.

Singh will spend a year in India, working in a medical clinic and living with the Banjara gypsies.

"I hope to gain better insight into the gypsy culture and myself through this experience," he said.

Singh is an economics concentrator but he said he hopes that his experience outside the classroom will help him select his career

She said she decided to study in Scotland because it "has such a rich musical tradition that pervades everyday life."

Kamihara will travel to Tanzania to teach science in a secondary school and volunteer in a hospital for people with leprosy.

"I heard that Tanzania really needs teachers right now, and that is the resource they most need to develop," she said.

She said her trip would be an opportunity for adventure and personal growth. "The fellowship would open my eyes to the world around me," she said. A biochemical sciences concentrator, Kamihara plans to enter medical school after her travels.

Singh will spend a year in India, working in a medical clinic and living with the Banjara gypsies.

"I hope to gain better insight into the gypsy culture and myself through this experience," he said.

Singh is an economics concentrator but he said he hopes that his experience outside the classroom will help him select his career