The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington is delighted to announce the winners of our Summer 2017 and Autumn 2017 Stroum Center for Jewish Studies Opportunity Grants. For undergraduate students, the primary goal of the Opportunity Grants is to support undergraduate engagement with Jewish Studies through UW-approved study abroad experiences and accredited domestic academic opportunities. For graduate students, the Opportunity Grants are intended to support research, conference attendance, and further study in topics related to Jewish Studies domestically or abroad.

The latest Opportunity Grant winners represent the diverse departments, disciplines, and backgrounds of Jewish Studies students at UW. All of the winners are required to write blog posts about their experiences, so keep your eye out for future postings!

The next round of grant applications to fund opportunities for Winter 2018 and Spring 2018 is due October 16, 2017. Find out more here.

Opportunity Grant Winners

Anastasia Alexandros

Anastasia Alexandros is a graduate student in Comparative Religion at the Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies. This summer, she will attend The Hebrew University-Rothberg International School in Jerusalem to study Biblical Hebrew to help advance her studies in Judaism and Early Christianity by allowing her to read primary sources in the original.

Stormy Allen

Stormy Allen, a third year student intending to major in Business with a focus in Finance and minor in Jewish Studies, Mathematics, and Dance, received an Opportunity Grant to study Modern Hebrew at Tel Aviv University this summer to support her work in Jewish Studies.

Anat Goldman

Anat Goldman, a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Program in Near and Middle East Studies presented a paper at the Association for Study of Nationalities 22nd World Convention on commemorative acts and state cults in Israel and Turkey. The paper stems from two chapters of her dissertation, which explores the formation and transformation of commemorative acts and state cults in Israel and Turkey, focusing on Israeli Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron) and Ataturk Memorial Day (On Kasım or November 10).

Denise Grollmus

Denise Grollmus, a PhD candidate in English at UW, will present in May at the “World Literatures and the New Totalitarianism” conference in London. The conference is a forum for scholars to discuss the role of art, literature, and the humanities in addressing recent shifts in global politics. Denise will deliver a paper that considers the social conditions that have allowed for the rise of anti-Semitism, racism, ethno-nationalism, and anti-intellectualism across the globe, and “how scholars, writers, artists, and intellectuals have responded to this new articulation of a familiar form of social power.”

Michael Peterson

Michael Peterson is in his third year at UW. He intends to major in chemistry, biology, or biochemistry and minor in Jewish Studies. He will be taking Intensive Elementary Modern Hebrew at UW over the summer quarter to support his work in Jewish Studies. Besides helping him work toward a Jewish Studies minor, he notes that learning Hebrew will help him work toward his career goal of working in Israel’s high-impact biotech research and manufacturing industry.

Sara Podwall is a third-year creative writing major at UW. She will study abroad at Tel Aviv University in the Autumn of 2017 with a focus on writing and Israeli literature. Sara will also participate in a summer ulpan (immersive Hebrew study) there.

Jessica Schwartz

Jessica Schwartz expects to graduate from UW in December 2017 with a B.S. in Computer Science with a specialization in Data Science. She will participate this summer in the Israel Tech Challenge program, a ten-week program that includes education seminars and a computer science internship in Tel Aviv.

Tess Seltzer

Tess Seltzer is a second-year student who is majoring in Medical Anthropology & Global Health on the Pre-Prosthetics & Orthotics Track. She will be studying at Tel Aviv University in their five-month “Voyage to Medicine” exploration into the Israeli medical system. After completing ulpan (immersive Hebrew study), she will enroll in Hebrew as well as six medical classes ranging from Sports Medicine to Clinical Research and Psychology.

The Stroum Center congratulates all of these award winners and wishes everyone safe travels and fruitful academic explorations!

Links for Further Exploration

Read articles by former winners of Jewish Studies Opportunity Grants, who have traveled to Prague, Jordan, Israel, the Black Sea, and elsewhere.
Learn more about our Winter 2016/Spring 2017 and our Summer/Autumn 2016 Opportunity Grant Winners.
Interested in applying for an Opportunity Grant? Read more about the application process here. The next round of applications to fund opportunities for Winter 2018 and Spring 2018 is due October 16, 2017.

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⇒ Learn more about the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, our Sephardic Studies Program, or our Israel Studies Program.

Note: The opinions expressed by faculty and students in our publications reflect the views of the individual writer only and not those of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies.