Student Fellowships
We identify and fully fund two or three BU students each summer (at least one from COM and at least one from SPH) as Pulitzer Fellows to participate on an international health reporting trip. Fellows have the opportunity to spend a few weeks in the Pulitzer Center’s Washington D.C. office before traveling to the field (likely to a developing country) to report on global health topics. Students have gone to Cuba, Haiti, Guyana, South Africa, El Salvador, Malawi, Mali Myanmar, Nepal, Tanzania, Turkey and Uganda.
2017 student fellows are Lauryn Claassen, Erica Andersen, Madeline Bishop, and Campbell Rawlins. View their profiles here.
Student Fellows Showcase
In October 2015, Kateri Donahoe (CAS ’15, SPH ’17) gave a riveting presentation on female genital cutting (FGC) in Mali. She discussed several of her stories, including a profile and photo essay of a traditional practitioner of FGC. Her work focused on the international issues surrounding the practice, such as the perils of anti-FGC activism and suspicion of American and European motives to end the practice, as well as the struggle of Malian migrants living outside of Mali and the cultural split they feel when they return home.
Read Donahoe’s pieces from her project, Cutting Ties: Mali’s Struggle Between Tradition and Women’s Health.
Fanta Cissé has worked as a magnambaga—a sexual guide for young newlyweds—for most of her life. Image by Kateri Donahoe. Mali, 2015.
Pankaj Khadka (COM Journalism ’16) was unable to connect from Nepal, where he spent the 2015 summer documenting the impact on Nepali villages when vast numbers of mass young adults migrate to foreign countries, especially the Gulf nations, for employment opportunities. The project explored how the villages were transforming as their future generations leave for a better tomorrow.
Read Khadka’s pieces from his project, Nepali Mass Migration: What’s Left Behind
Rajen Gurung, 50, owns one of the homes in Kala Bang that provides Homestay options for visitors. The villagers were initially reluctant to accept the idea of Homestay; however, the trend is becoming more popular as it provides another source of income among the residents in Kala Bang. The number of houses providing Homestay has doubled from 9 to 18 within the first year. Image by Pankaj Khadka. Nepal, 2015.
Claire Felter (Journalism and African studies ’15) skyped in from Minneapolis to discuss her work on water safety in Zanzibar, where she learned what preventative measures residents have designed to decrease the risks of drowning in the absence of government resources.
Read Felter’s pieces from her project, Water Safety in Zanzibar.
Panje Project instructors Hamisi and Ndungwi provide lessons on water safety before boys from Kilindi Primary School enter the water on their first day of training. Image by Claire Felter. Zanzibar, 2015.