Academic Honors and Fellowships
2008 Boren Fellowship Recipients (Graduate)
Shauna Dillavou – Program: Masters of Planning
2008 Critical Language Scholarship Recipients
Eric Christensen studied Russian in Tomsk, Russia.
Rebecca Loewenstein studied Chinese in Harbin, China.
Zlatina Sandalska studied Russian in Tomsk, Russia.
Meher Talib studied Arabic in Tangier, Morocco.
Michelle Ward studied Korean in Suwon, South Korea.
2008 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant Recipients
Ainsley Breault will complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication with a minor in Cinema-Television. She will spend a year New Zealand exploring the role of music in maintaining the Maori population at the forefront of New Zealand society. Ainsley will focus on two major Maori music events and present her results by creating two 30-minute rockumentary-style digital videos.
Marina Brenden will complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Political Science. She will spend a year as an English Teaching Assistant in Korea. In addition to serving as a teaching assistant, Marina hopes to partake in organizations that focus on addressing issues such as human right, poverty, and political accountability in South Korea.
Bonny Chan will complete her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Cultural Competence in Medicine. She will spend a year in Taiwan examining the cultural attributions of schizophrenia through family intervention and education programs in Taipei. Bonny is specifically interested in the relationship between the perception of mental illness and the traditional beliefs and values of the Taiwanese people.
Christen Farr received her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and French with a minor in Arabic and Middle East Studies. She will spend a year in Tunisia studying how employment in a foreign firm affects women’s outlook concerning gender, family, community, and employment outside of the home.
Olivia Gonzalez will complete her juris doctor in law. While working as an English Teaching Assistant in Spain, she plans to utilize her understanding of the American legal system in addition to her passion regarding immigration and cultural diversity as part of her classroom instruction. Olivia would also like to focus her studies on international law, particularly examining Spain’s role.
Michelle Hawks will receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Preventive Medicine with a minor in Psychology. Michelle will spend a year in Nicaragua exploring the health literacy of women related to the screening and treatment of cervical cancer. She is particularly interested in discovering the various social networks women use as a means of support and gathering information in order to improve public health.
Micah Kawaguchi-Ailetcher will receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. She will spend a year in New Zealand exploring the relationship between social activism in Pacific Islander communities and Pacific Islander television in Auckland. Micah is particularly interested in examining social issue themes that are prevalent in Pacific Islander television shows.
Danielle Mascareñas will receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Spanish. She will spend her year in Spain studying the micromechanics of the airway smooth muscle cell and their role in lung cancer and asthma. Danielle plans to use innovative techniques such as traction microscopy to further understand cytoskeletal dynamics.
Duyen Nguyen will receive her Masters degree in Economics. She will spend a year in Vietnam examining the firm’s decision to go public and its implications in the financial market. Duyen is particularly interested in how firms react to the regime shift that has increased regulation and required mandatory disclosure of information.
Nisha Parekh received her Bachelor of Arts and Masters degree in International Relations with a minor in Spanish. Nisha will spend her year in Brazil examining the work card system utilized in the Brazilian labor market. Specifically she will focus on how the system serves as a means of discrimination particularly against nonwhite Brazilians of low socioeconomic status.
Adriana Resendez will receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies and Ethnicity with a minor in Psychology and Law. She will spend her year in Guatemala examining the role of The Historical Clarification Commission in restoring human rights for Mayan women after the civil war.
Hans Schroots will receive his Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering. He will spend a year in Germany researching noise emission computer programming as well as aerodynamic load calculations focusing on magnetic levitation transportation technology.
Lana Shamma will receive her Masters degree in Public Diplomacy. She will spend a year in Jordan examining the film-related partnerships created between Jordan and the United States utilized to promote Public Diplomacy between both countries. Lana is particularly interested in how programs focusing on cultural diplomacy impact Jordanian society.
Meher Talib will receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations. She will spend a year in Tunisia exploring how the music scene reflects the local culture and Western influences. Specifically Maher is interested in any tensions that exist as a result of merging the two cultures and whether the change in music also mirrors the change in society.
Jack Tseng is currently working on his Ph.D. in Biology. He will spend the year in China conducting a comparative study of Chinese and North American extinct carnivores to understand the ecological changes that occurred as a result of the climate change.
Benjamin Uchiyama is currently working on his Ph.D. in History. He will spend a year in Japan studying how the Japanese mass media promoted empire-building and the national mobilization project during the 1930s and early 1940s. He is interested in examining the complexities and tensions of state-society relations in wartime Japan by focusing on technological innovations, mass consumption, and the evolution of media genres within the context of the total war system.
Candace Weddle is currently working on her Ph.D. in Art History. She will spend her year in Turkey conducting research on “The Sensory Experience of Cult in Late Antique Asia Minor”, specifically the Roman imperial cult in the 1st-4th centuries A.D.
2008 Goldwater Scholarship Recipients
Sonya Merritt Hanson – Major: Biophysics, Minor: Screenwriting
Dallas Shujing Shi –Major: Biological Sciences, Minor: Public Health
2008 Rhodes Scholars
Reed Doucette will complete his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Business. His research includes a focus on optimizing the efficiency of solar cells. Reed was a member of the men’s varsity basketball team for four years and last year helped them reach the NCAA sweet sixteen. He will be pursuing his Masters of Science in engineering science at Oxford University. Reed is USC’s ninth Rhodes Scholar.
2008 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship Recipients
Elizabeth Dahill will receive her bachelor of arts degree in History and Political Science. She has applied for a Masters degree in Political Science at the University of Ghana in Accra Ghana. Along with her academic studies, Elizabeth plans to participate in projects done supported by Rotarians in Ghana such as micro credit and immunization programs, as well as speak to Rotary Clubs.
Laura Wong completed her bachelor’s degree at USC in Biological Sciences and Music in August 2007. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at the University of Hong Kong supported by a Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship. Laura studies infectious epidemiology and computer-modeling which simulates transmission of influenza in the Hong Kong community. She aspires to work towards developing policy for vaccine-preventable diseases.