Four L&S students receive Wisconsin Idea Fellowships

March 24th 2015 Simon Kuran
Awards, Students
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Four undergraduate students from the College of Letters & Science have been awarded 2015-16 Wisconsin Idea Undergraduate Fellowships by the Morgridge Center for Public Service.

Wisconsin Idea Fellowships are awarded annually to undergraduate student projects working to solve issues identified by local or global communities. Fellowships are awarded to semester-long or year-long projects designed by an undergraduate student (or group of students) in collaboration with a community organization and a UW-Madison faculty or academic staff member.

The L&S recipients (with majors in parentheses) are:

Alexandra Arriaga (Journalism and Latin American, Carribbean & Iberian Studies), for a project called "Narrativas del cruce: Female narratives of migration between the United States and Latin America."

Traditionally, the majority of migrants crossing the United States/ Mexican border have been male. But in recent years, the number of women who embark on this journey has risen. In an effort to research the unique struggles that women face in making the journey, this project will collaborate with existing organizations near the border in Arizona to gain access to the women’s stories. The project will conduct interviews and recordings with the end goal of composing a multimedia story collection.

Brenna O'Halloran (Geography, Environmental Studies and Biological Aspects of Conservation) and Lauren Feierstein (Geography and Biological Aspects of Conservation), for a project called "Linking Ecuadorian Teachers to the Latino Earth Partnership Environmental Education Program."The Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation works with communities in coastal Ecuador to improve environmental and science education. Many teachers in these communities lack formal science training.

This project will train teachers from three Ecuadorian elementary school in an environmental science curriculum that they can implement in their classrooms. The teachers will attend a workshop, receive help with teaching activities and receive lesson books in Spanish for future activities. The project also aims to lay a broad groundwork for the Madison-based Latino Earth Partnership to expand its work to Ecuador and provide science education workshops there annually.

Mackenzie Carlson (Gender & Women's Studies), for a project called "The Soap Project: Women’s Empowerment & Sanitation in Lweza, Uganda."On a previous trip to Lweza, Carlson and project partner Corinne Praska, a genetics student, had the opportunity to develop relationships in the community and learn about its needs. Women, in particular, expressed excitement for obtaining skills to make products that they could then sell to gain independence and economic stability. Local health care providers also expressed the need for better sanitation.

This project aims to tackle both issues by launching a soap-making training program in the village. The project also aims to promote youth development, further educational opportunities and stimulate the local economy. Additionally, the project will develop marketing strategies to build long-term structures for the production and sales of local-made soap.

Karma Chavez, an associate professor of communication arts, will serve as the faculty mentor for Arriaga's project. Heather Krug, a clinical associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, will serve as the faculty mentor for a concussion-focused project by kinesiology student Kristen Cassarini.

Overall, the Morgridge Center for Public Service selected six student projects to collectively receive more than $30,000. To read about all the projects, visit the Morgridge Center website.