ALONG THE WALK YENCHING SCHOLAR Ana Stambolic ’21 was named last spring as a 2021 Yenching Scholar and was awarded a full fellowship to pursue an interdisciplinary master’s degree in China studies at Yenching Academy of Peking University in China. Yenching Academy offers scholars a wide array of humanities and social sciences courses about China and aims to build bridges between China and the rest of the world. “Receiving this fellowship means a great deal to me because it will allow me to continue broadening my horizons culturally and intellectually,” said Stambolic, who graduated summa cum laude with majors in political science and human rights studies. “Because Yenching Academy is focused on interdisciplinary research Fulbright grant and collaborative work among an international cohort, it will allow me to deeply engage with my Esther Appiah ’21 was selected to travel to Côte d’Ivoire in January research interests in international relations and global governance.” 2022 through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) pro- Hailing from the city of Užice (Sevojno) in the gram. The ETA program places Fulbright grant recipients in class- Republic of Serbia, Stambolic was attracted to rooms in foreign countries to provide assistance to local English Trinity by the college’s urban location and its teachers while serving as cultural ambassadors for the United States. academic and co-curricular offerings. “I wanted Appiah earned a B.A. in international studies with a concentration to attend a school that is located in a city and in African studies and minor in religious studies with a specializa- complete internships and fellowships while tion in African religions. She was involved in The African Students studying at Trinity,” she said. “Moreover, I was Association (TASA) and Do Shakara, the African dance team, certain that I wanted to pursue a human rights during her time at Trinity. “I’m all about Africa; my goal is to visit major, and Trinity is the ifrst [liberal arts] school all 54 countries in the continent. I already visited six, thanks to in the U.S. that started offering this major.” Before coming to Hartford, Stambolic graduated from UWC Trinity,” said Appiah, a native of Ghana. “My love for and desire to Robert Bosch College, a United World Colleges make change in Africa is so real because I had to leave to ifnd the international boarding school in Germany. opportunities that I have here, so I want to provide those opportu- While at Trinity, Stambolic conducted research nities without the need for students to depart from home in order with the Political Science Department, served as to receive quality education.” an international student mentor and as a Big Sister Equitable education is one of Appiah’s passions. She has taught in the college’s Big Sister-Little Sister program, middle school students from underrepresented communities at and worked in several campus oiffces. She studied Breakthrough Cincinnati, a summer program in Ohio, and sixth- for a year at Oxford University’s Mansifeld College grade English in South Africa with a program called One Heart and completed internships at the Embassy of the Source. She also spent one semester studying away in Ghana and Republic of Serbia in Washington, D.C., and the Hartford oiffce of U.S. Rep. John Larson. another in Senegal. In addition, Stambolic is a recipient Appiah said that her ultimate career goal is to start a school of the Trinity College Class of 1922 system that focuses on restorative education, mindfulness, healing Award for outstanding work in trauma, and teaching students how to identify and reconcile their her academic ifeld and of a Davis triggers. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities for students in sub- Project for Peace grant. Saharan Africa geared toward healing trauma, community building, When considering the and college readiness. I want to make more of these programs avail- possibilities for graduate studies able on the continent,” she said. atfer completing her bachelor’s Anne Lundberg, Trinity’s director of fellowships and adviser for degree this spring, Stambolic, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, noted, “Esther was a strong who is interested in a career in international relations and diplomacy, candidate due to her teaching experience, her study-abroad expe- was drawn to Yenching Academy’s emphasis riences in Ghana and Senegal, and her interests in ethnicity and on multiculturalism, interdisciplinary research, cross-cultural education. … She speaks Akan and French, along with and international cooperation. “I consider these English, and will thrive in a multilingual country like Côte d’Ivoire. things essential in responding to some of the most In short, Esther ifts the Fulbright proifle of a cultural ambassador for pressing challenges of the 21st century—the U.S.- the U.S. perfectly.” China relationship in particular,” she said. FALL 2021 7