INST News

Dr. Serena Cosgrove, International Studies, “Centering Marginalized Women’s Voices in the Democratic Republic of Congo”

Read more here.

Dr. Nova Robinson, History/International Studies/Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, “Indexing the Routledge Global History of Feminism”

Read more here.

Hallie Evans - Naef Scholarship Recipient 2020-2021

Hallie had this to say about receiving this award:

Being a Naef Scholar is an incredible honor! The program is a valuable experience in community building as it connects me with a wonderful and sincere group of students. I am privileged to be able to come to know such passionate people and merge our skills and initiatives to help one another in our various endeavors for social justice.

Naef Scholars are among the university’s very finest students. Made possible by an endowment from the estate of Sue M. Naef, the Naef Scholars Program recognizes outstanding junior and senior students from diverse backgrounds in the undergraduate schools and programs of the University. 

Ariana Siddiqui Dennis -  Boren Scholarship Recipient

Ariana had this to say about her experience:  

As an Afghan American Muslim, studying abroad in Jordan was one of the closest opportunities I could have to visiting and living in a country with a culture similar to my own. The conflict Afghanistan has faced has produced innumerable problems for Afghans around the world, only one of which includes a sense of distance and disconnect for the diaspora communities. Being able to live in a Muslim majority country immersed in Arab culture that so closely parallels Afghan culture, allowed me to reconnect and learn more about my own identities. I formed a close community of people that I look forward to visiting again and again. 

Boren Scholarships fund study abroad for undergraduate students in world regions critical to US interests. 

Hope Tucker - Returned Peace Corps Volunteer - Indonesia

Hope Tucker is now a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) after serving in the West Java Province of Indonesia from September 2018-February 2020.  Hope had this to say about her experience: My favorite thing about my Peace Corps experience were my students. I taught English at an Islamic high school (grade 10-12) and the excitement to learn during each class is what motivated me to keep thinking of hands on and engaging activities to practice English. My main goal was to portray a more accurate vision of America to my students who mostly understood the United States through the lens of movies and social media platforms.

Rachel Adamek - Critical Language Scholarship Awardee

Rachel Adamek spent the summer studying Korean in Busan, South Korea as an awardee of the 2019 U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program. In 2019, Rachel was one of only 550 competitively selected American students representing 233 colleges and universities across the United States to receive a CLS award. The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. CLS scholars gain critical language and cultural skills in languages that are less commonly taught in U.S. schools, but are essential for America’s engagement with the world, contributing to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.

Dr. Marc McLeod receives 2020 Outstanding Teacher Award

Congratulations to Dr. Marc McLeod, the 2020 recipient of the Outstanding Teaching Award in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. McLeod personifies Seattle University’s commitment to educating students. He willingly takes on numerous independent studies and supports University initiatives such as the Tijuana project because he believes in the mission of Seattle University and cares about students. As one of his former students says, "Prof. McLeod was incredible. One of the best professors I have ever had. I will be highly recommending his courses even with the 8 am meeting time."

Dr. Serena Cosgrove receives Fulbright award to Guatemala  

Dr. Serena Cosgrove has been awarded a Fulbright award to teach and conduct research in Guatemala in 2021.

Pictured here with her co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Marina Tzul Tzul, in Santa María Chiquimula, Guatemala, Cosgrove plans to teach at the Rafael Landívar University in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and finish a research project with Dr. Tzul about Guatemalan women's leadership to end gender-based violence. The research project has involved multiple professors and students from Seattle University and the Rafael Landívar University over the past couple of years.

Students receive 2020 Noel J. Brown award

The International Studies Department’s Noel Brown Award is named in honor of Noel J. Brown, graduate of Seattle University and Yale University and retired director of the United Nations Environment Program. This award is presented to the graduating student with the highest GPA in the major. This year it is shared by Monica McKeown, Andrew Orita, and Natalie Ramos.

INST student, Michael Ninen, receives Fulbright assistantship award

Michael Ninen was awarded the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Mexico. He will be graduating with Majors in International Studies and Spanish, as well as a minor in Latin American Studies. Michael hopes to incorporate a culturally responsive pedagogy in the classroom to establish a common-ground learning environment that serves all types of learners. Upon returning to the United States, he would like to aim for a career with the foreign service as a public diplomacy officer.