Middlebury College Students Receive Watson Fellowships


Two Middlebury College students have been awarded

Thomas J. Watson Fellowships for 1997-1998. The students, Maciej

Ceglowski ‘97 and Renee M. Kuriyan ‘97, were selected from the

largest nominee pool in five years in what the foundation called

“an unusually competitive year.” Sixty Watson Fellows

were chosen from 182 candidates. Each Watson Fellow will receive

$18,000 to travel and explore a topic of his or her own choosing

outside the United States.

Maciej Ceglowski, of North Conway, New Hampshire,

will study “Painting in Northern and Southern Light.”

Mr. Ceglowski, a studio art/Russian double major, plans to do

outdoor oil painting in Scotland, France and Morocco. “I’m

following the climate,” he explained. “Morocco is very

close to the equator and very bright.” He explains his project

as the “equivalent of a photo essay.” Describing how

he works, he said, “I absorb the landscape and then it grradually

becomes something totally different from my first impression.”

For instance, he feels that in Scotland, where he will spend the

summer, his early paintings will not resemble his later ones.

Mr. Ceglowski is delighted to have the opportunity to be a Watson

Fellow. “Getting a sabbatical to do painting is really precious,”

he said.

Renee Kuriyan, of Bridgewater, New Jersey, will research

“The Environmental Practices of Refugees” in Kenya,

Malawi and Mozambique. A joint environmental studies/anthropology

major, she came up with the idea when she studied human ecology

in Tanzania in her junior year with the School for International

Training. Flying over the Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania, she

noted mass deforestation. “I want to study the environmental

impact that the refugees have made,” she said. “There

is a link between refugees and the environment. Some of the camps

practice caring for the environment and studies have proven the

crime rates are lower in those camps. The refugees are proud to

have trees by their shelters.” Noting that there is more

to refugee camps than food, health and safety, Ms. Kuriyan will

look at fuel use and agriculture practices. “This is a great

opportunity,” she said. “I’m really excited to get involved

in the conservation movement in East Africa.”

The Watson Fellowship Program was started in 1968

by the children of Thomas J. Watson, R. Watson, the founder of

IBM, and his wife Jeannette K. Watson, to honor their parents’

long-standing interest in education and world affairs. The foundation

selects Watson Fellows based upon each nominee’s character, leadership

potential, willingness to immerse him or herself in new cultures,

and the creativity and personal significance of the project proposed.

“When we speak to prospective applicants for Watson Fellowships,

said William Moses, the foundation’s director, “we ask, ‘What

would you do if you could do anything for a year?’” Watson

Fellows take this advice seriously and often have creative, sometimes

whimsical, projects.