June 3, 2010
UW Bonderman fellows explore far reaches of the globe by means of unusual fellowship
Ask a Bonderman travel fellow where she is going — or where he has been — and settle in for a fascinating conversation. You’ll get a long list of exotic places from Papua New Guinea to Bosnia to Iceland to Botswana, along with invaluable travel tips. You’ll learn how to lock your backpack to your bed at night to prevent theft and what to do if your credit card is swiped.
Each year, seven undergraduate students and seven UW graduate students are awarded Bonderman Travel Fellowships — worth $20,000 each. The catch? Each student must travel solo for eight months, to at least six countries in at least two regions of the world. Students are not permitted to pursue academic study, projects or research. Their charge is to simply travel, learn, explore and grow.
Collectively, the 2010 Bonderman Fellows will travel to Ethiopia, Egypt, Papua New Guinea, Japan, China, El Salvador, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Morocco, South Korea, Panama, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Eritrea, Somalia, Belize, Haiti, Cambodia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Iceland, and other countries and regions. Their interests include learning about maternity and birthing practices, how large groups of people have been displaced because of conflict, approaches to environmental conservation, international business landscapes, places of cultural convergence, the role of libraries and fire rituals.
Since UW alumnus David Bonderman established the fellowships in 1995, 151 UW students — 52 graduate and 99 undergraduate students — have been named Bonderman Fellows. UW graduate students, undergraduate students in the Honors Program and in UW Tacoma’s Global Honors Program are eligible to apply. The application process includes an essay and interview with a selection committee, comprised of University faculty and staff and former Bonderman Fellows.
The committee seeks students who demonstrate integrity, the capacity for vision and leadership, and potential for humane and effective participation in the global community. Candidates should demonstrate initiative, commitment and creativity.
The purpose of the fellowship is to push the fellows outside of their comfort zones, said Brook Kelly, Honors Program adviser and 2003 Bonderman Fellow who chairs the selection committee. Fellows are encouraged “to go into cultures where they are the ‘others,’ where they are the strangers,” she said.
“Certainly you meet people along the way, and you may want to travel with them for a little bit,” advises Helene Obradovich, the UW Graduate School’s director of fellowships and awards. “It is imperative for you to go out there alone. We want you to be conscious that all this experience is about you and your growth as an individual.”
When they travel, Bonderman Fellows stay in tents, hostels and budget hotels, and they couch-surf — crashing on sofas and in spare bedrooms of people they’ve recently met. Often they stay with families, sharing meals and conversations.
The fellows keep in regular contact with the UW staff, letting them know how and where they are. At some point in nearly every fellow’s journey, he or she gets lonely or depressed. The staff encourages them to resist the urge to pack bags and come home.
“Sometimes we give the advice of ‘go find yourself a fancy hotel with air conditioning and cable TV, and you will feel better in two days. I promise,'” Kelly said.
In preparation for their travels, fellows create itineraries and make travel plans in consultation with UW staff and former fellows. They follow advice such as buy the best backpack, get your vaccinations as soon as you can, renew your passport, pack extremely light and buy supplies wherever you go — but, by all means, take lots of underwear.
While fellows are not pursuing their studies on the travels, they are exploring interests they have, which often relate to their areas of study or career plans.
Anna Kramer, who is earning her master’s degree in teaching, teaches in a culturally diverse area of Seattle, and she wants to familiarize herself with the places which her students and their families identify with culturally and historically. To do that, she will travel to the countries where most of her students have roots: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Western and American Samoa, the Philippines and Indonesia. By becoming better acquainted with her students’ cultural traditions, she will be better equipped to engage them in the classroom.
“As I travel, I will explore the nature of the communities’ relationships with the ecosystems in which they live, as well as strive to better understand how the unique biological communities and natural resources in each place shape the daily lives of the people living there,” she said.
To read details about each of the Bonderman fellows and their travel plans, click here.
