Global Studies major Elena Gerrera ’16 is a recipient of the USAID Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship, a program that attracts students who “want to work on the front lines of some of the most pressing global challenges of our times — poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and violent extremism.” The fellowship provides up to $90,000 in benefits over two years for graduate school, internships, and professional development activities, and serves as a unique pathway to the USAID Foreign Service.
Elena studied for a year in Denmark and spent last summer in Peru working with an indigenous cooperative farm. She has taught ESL to elementary students and adult learners in Austin, as well as taught at a school for special needs children. She has been admitted to Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She was also awarded a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship in Spain.