Arish Mudra Rakshasa ’19 has been selected as one of just 41 undergraduates from around the country to receive the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 2019.

The Neuroscience and Biochemistry major from India will receive $30,000 in support of a year of independent study and travel to continue his campaign to eradicate HIV/AIDS. He is the 38th Earlhamite chosen for the award since 1981.

"My professional aspiration is to work at the intersection of science and society, as a science diplomat striving to unite science and government in the struggle to end HIV/AIDS," Mudra Rakshasa says. "I hope to lead intergovernmental organizations such as the World Health Organization as a scientist and diplomat in order to bring together people, communities, and nations in these efforts."

Enter the Watson. During the 2019-20 academic year, Mudra Rakshasa will travel to Australia, South Africa, Spain, Chile and France, to gain a break from the microscopic view of HIV and look at the impact that the disease has on the holistic human condition.

Olga Galperin ’15 explored how environments facilitate and inform the expression of female identity through music as part of her Watson Fellowship. Her project was entitled “Girl Power: Music of Matriarchal Societies.”

“My Watson Fellowship application arose out of my interest in gender and improvisation and my senior thesis,” Galperin, a Music and Psychology double-major said in 2015.

At Earlham, Galperin created and convened Music House, a themed friendship house off-campus, whose mission is to provide a communal creative space for Earlham students.

Liam Cutler '13, a Politics major from Iowa, traveled to France, Greece, Turkey, Thailand and Argentina to research his project entitled “Gayborhood Watch: An Inquiry Into Queer Localities.” As an undergraduate, Liam interned at London’s Equal Rights Trust and worked at Georgia Equality, where he wrote the first published guide for transgender and genderqueer voters.

Wilmer Chavarria '13, a self-designed cinematographic arts major from Nicaragua, studied “No Budget Films: Exploring Local Independent Filmmaking in Europe and Latin America.” Chavarria traveled to Chile, El Salvador, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands to meet with directors and artists working on independent films in their communities.

Cheyenne Stewart '14, a Biology major, project was titled, “Parto Humanizado (Humanized Birth): Exploring the Birth Justice Movement in the Americas.” She studied in
 Chile, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Trinidad-Tobago, and the Bahamas.