Albany, NY resident a candidate for the Watson Fellowship

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Katie Schuff (Photo by Union College)

SCHENECTADY, NY (02/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Katie Schuff of Albany, N.Y. was recently named as one of Union College's candidates for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program offers a one-year grant to graduating college students "of unusual promise" to study independently outside the United States. The stipend for individual award winners is $25,000.

Schuff's project is titled "Inspiring Students with Stories of Resilience." 

"Sometimes we all need an extra push, a dose of motivation from something outside of ourselves," says Schuff, who plans a career as a teacher and would like to collect narratives from people of different cultures and backgrounds as a lesson in overcoming adversity. "Resilience plays a critical role in education," she says. "Stories of resilience are empowering and humbling." Schuff's Watson year would take her to Panama, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Chile.

Schuff, a senior, is majoring in math.

"The Watson Fellowship is an extraordinary opportunity for our students and a great privilege for us," said visual arts professor David Ogawa, chair of Union's Watson Fellowship Committee. "It makes it possible for students to explore the passions they have developed here at Union."

At Union, Schuff also lives in Symposium House and participates in Democracy Matters. 

Candidates for the Watson Fellowship will find out the results of the selection process in mid-March.