Six Doctoral Students Receive Ford Fellowships
By Katya Hrichak
Six doctoral students have been selected to receive 2019 Ford Foundation Fellowships: Jorge Cartaya, Ryan Feathers, Breanna Leslie-Skye, Yoselinda Mendoza, and Kevin Quin received predoctoral competition fellowships, while Esmeralda Arrizon-Palomera received a dissertation competition fellowship. Honorable mentions were awarded to Jordan Garcia, Candice Limper, and Joseph Miranda.
The 2019 predoctoral fellowships will provide funding of $24,000 per year for three years to a total of 71 students and the opportunity to attend a Conference of Ford Fellows expense-free. The dissertation fellowship provides $25,000 in funding for one year to 38 students writing and defending their dissertations.
Feathers, a doctoral student in the field of biochemistry, molecular, and cell biology, is researching membrane trafficking using cryo-electron microscopy, a cutting-edge molecular imaging technique.
“Winning the fellowship signaled to me that a lot of people believe in my potential to have an impact on the scientific community through my research and efforts to increase diversity,” he said. “The fellowship will provide resources and financial security allowing me to maximize the efficiency of my time spent working towards my goals.”
For Mendoza, who is also a recipient of the Dean’s Excellence Fellowship and the Latina/o Studies Program Research Grant, the Ford funding supports her research into how Latina/o families of varying legal status experience housing insecurity.
“As the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college student, I am incredibly honored to have received the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship,” she said. “I am excited for the opportunity to form connections with a network of diverse and gifted scholars nationwide.”
The 2019 Ford Foundation Fellowship Program is administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and aims to increase the diversity of college and university faculties.
Katya Hrichak is a communications assistant in the Graduate School.