2021 & 2021.5 Cohort

head shot of Hannah Bensen '21

Hannah Bensen ‘21 is restless, a writer, and a sister. She is from Wisconsin, USA. She is majoring in Environmental Policy. She speaks English and a little Spanish. She is interested in writing, reading, journaling, outdoors, skiing, being social, and traveling. She has a twin sister.

headshot of Bochu Ding '21

Bochu Ding ‘21 is spontaneous, a listener, and open. He is from the USA and China. He is majoring in Economics and Sociology/Anthropology. He speaks English, Chinese, and French. He is interested in storytelling, writing, rowing, graphic design, and will try anything once. He was named after a famous horse tamer.

head shot of Hadjara Gado '21

Hadjara Gado ‘21 is adventurous, African, and a learner. She is from Niger and majoring in Math. She speaks French, English, Hausa, and Songhai. She is interested in debating, adventures, volunteering, and traveling. She has been to Bosnia.

head shot of Sam Kamau ’21

Sam Kamau ’21 is a dreamer, believer, and achiever. He is from Nairobi/Nyeri, Kenya. He is majoring in Computer Science and Economics. He speaks Swahili, Kikuyu, and English. He is interested in African development, reading, and technological innovation. “Crisps, not chips!”

headshot of Trishabelle Manzano ’21

Trishabelle Manzano ’21 is forgiving, a Go-getter, and ambitious. She is from the Phillipines and Los Angeles, USA. She is majoring in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry. She speaks English and Tagalog. She is interested in social justice, meaningful friendships, and Netflix. She has 2 birthdays.

head shot of Francoise Niyigena '21

Francoise Niyigena ‘21 is empathetic, compassionate, and reflective. She is from Rwanda and is majoring in n\Neuroscience and Psychology. She speaks English and Kinyarwanda. She is interested in learning, exploring, asking questions, community service, and playing with kids. She wants to have 30 children (adopted).

oscar psychas

Oscar Psychas ‘21 is a brother, sponge, and shake-it-up-er. He is a citizen of Finland and the USA and from Gainesville, Florida. He is majoring in Environmental Studies/Geography and speaks English, Finnish, and French. He is interested in empowering youth as environmental leaders, armchair and regular traveling, and getting out in the woods. Oscar once bought a pangolin from a poacher and freed it in the forest.

headshot of Monique Santoso ’21

Monique Santoso ’21 is passionate, blessed, and honest. She is from Indonesia and majoring in Psychology. She speaks English, Indonesian, and basic Czech. She is interested in hiking, surfing, scubadiving, writing, and theater. She is an INFJ.

2022 & 2022.5 Cohort 

headshot of Hawa Adam ‘22

Hawa Adam ‘22 is driven, thoughtful, and fun. She is from Mombasa, Kenya and grew up in Burlington, Vermont. She is majoring in Black Studies and speaks Mai Mai, English, and a little Arabic. She is interested in dance, spoken word, and event planning. Her first name means Eve and her last name is Adam. Together she makes up both Eve and Adam.

 

headshot of Hannah Ennis ‘22.5

Hannah Ennis ‘22.5 is curious, inspired, and wholehearted. Hannah grew up in Worcester, MA, USA, and is passionate about justice, movement, community, and connecting with both new people and old friends. As a little kid, Hannah did acrobatics with the dream of running away and joining a traveling circus.

head shot of Yardena Gerwin ‘22

Yardena Gerwin ‘22 is passionate, persistent, and community. She is from New York, USA. She speaks English and Hebrew. She is interested in reading, family, broadway shows, cooking, community work, and gender empowerment. She loves baking sourdough and rye bread.

 

 

headshot of Isabel Linhares ‘22

Isabel Linhares ‘22 is resourceful, experimental, determined, and unconventional. She is from Tustin, California, USA. She speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish. She is majoring in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MBBC). She is interested in

art in all its forms, baking, writing music, amateur figure skating, the outdoors, reading, and working to address healthcare inequality. She was in a girl band in middle school, on vocals and bass guitar.

 

head shot of Cheko Mkocheko '22

Cheko Mkocheko ‘22 is curious, chatty, and enthusiastic. He is from Tanzania and is majoring in Computer Science and Economics. He speaks Kiswahili, English, Mandarin, and French. He is interested in running, business, plays, cooking, and international films. Until 2012, he spoke only one language: Kiswahili.

 

headshot of Cecilia Needham ‘22.5

Cecilia Needham ‘22.5 is compassionate, curious, and capable. She is from Denver, Colorado, USA. She is majoring in International and Global Studies. She speaks English and is currently learning Spanish and Haitian Creole. She is interested in nonprofit work, skiing, photography, Haiti, and hiking. Cecilia has held a koala!

 

head shot of Assadou Nzigamasabo '22

Assadou Nzigamasabo ‘22 is thoughtful, imaginative, and attentive. He is from Rwanda and majoring in computer science. He speaks  Kinyarwanda and English and is interested in machine learning, agriculture, social justice, and education. His name means Lion and his zodiac sign is Leo.

 

head shot of Mai Thuong ‘22

Mai Thuong ‘22 is spontaneous, humble, and listening. She is from Vietnam. She is majoring in French and Dance. She speaks Vietnamese, English, French, and Chinese (spoken, not written). She is interested in hiking in the mountains, swimming naked in the sea, dance, and speaking French. During her gap year she did not use toilet paper for 2 months while living in Nepal to save money.

 

2023 & 2023.5 Cohort 

Photo of Abdul Hack Anas Abubakari

Abdul Hack Anas Abubakari ‘23 (most people call him Abdul), is from the former Gold Coast, Ghana. He is majoring in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with a minor in Global Health.

Photo of Rena Gao

Rena Gao ‘23 is always excited to get uncomfortable trying new things and growing. She is from Chengdu, China but has been studying in Europe and USA since age 15. She is passionate about the transformative power of creativity, connection, and vulnerability through alternative education. She hopes to learn and grow by designing and running a summer camp on these topics in China, jumping through a multitude of logistical hoops!

Photo of Molly Grazioso

Molly Grazioso ‘23 is an Anthropology and Architectural Studies major and Global Health minor from New Jersey. She is fascinated by the intersection of health equity and design. Her fellowship project aims to investigate the impact of fast fashion on global health and make sustainable fashion more accessible to the Middlebury community.

Photo of Rain Ji

Rain Ji ‘23 is an International and Global Studies Major who’s studying about the Middle East and North Africa. She is interested in looking for ways to increase news literacy among students in her hometown Beijing. Rain hopes to offer students insights into the often-mysterious newsrooms with her experiences working for The Campus

Photo of Shuyi Lin

Shuyi Lin ‘23 is passionate, adventurous, and persistent. She is from Fuzhou, a small city in the southeastern part of China. She majors in Environmental Studies-Chemistry. She can speak Chinese and English. She is interested in wildlife photography, boxing, and musicals. She has once followed a family of gibbons by foot for an entire day in Yunnan. 

Photo of Heiu Nguyen

Hieu Nguyen ‘23: People living in rural areas often go to the hospital when their illnesses become lethal because they live far away from a central hospital. As a Fellow, Hieu plans to launch a telehealth program which brings modern virtual care platform to provide medical diagnosis for people living in rural Kenya.

Photo of Steven Shi '23

Steven Shi ‘23 is a listener, and doer. He is from Beijing, China. He is majoring in Computer Science. He speaks English and Chinese. He is interested in acting, snowboarding, playing basketball, and traveling. He is currently working on a project aims to improve educational outcomes in rural China.

Photo of Patrick Wachira ’23

Patrick K. Wachira ’23 is reflective, ambitious, a believer, and a dreamer. He is from Murang’a/Nairobi, Kenya, and is majoring in International and Global studies. He speaks Swahili, Kikuyu, Italian (somehow), German and English. He is interested in rethinking identity, the moon, walks and stories. He is trying to write a novella (he’s read too many).