Photo Credit: Tran Mau Tri Tam

The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington is delighted to announce the winners of our Winter and Spring 2019 Opportunity Grants.

For undergraduate students, the primary goal of the Opportunity Grants is to support undergraduate engagement with Jewish Studies through study abroad experiences and accredited academic opportunities in the US. For graduate students, the Opportunity Grants are intended to support research, conference attendance, and courses in topics related to Jewish Studies, either domestically or abroad.

The latest Opportunity Grant winners represent the diverse departments, disciplines, and backgrounds of Jewish Studies students at the University of Washington. All of the winners will be writing about their experiences for our website, so keep an eye out for their reflections.

Want to apply for the next round? The deadline for experiences taking place in summer or autumn 2019 or is March 6, 2019. Find out more here.

Winter/Spring 2019 Opportunity Grant winners

Portrait of Graham Harper smiling, in tie and formal jacket, with trees in the backgroundGraham Harper is an M.A. student at the Henry M. Jackson School of International School focusing on peace, violence and security in the Middle East, international law, and counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. With the support of a Stroum Center Opportunity Grant, Graham will participate in a study abroad program focused on conflict resolution and counterterrorism in partnership with the International Institute for Counterterrorism in Israel. By participating in the program, he hopes that he will gain valuable first-hand insight into the region as well as cultivate professional ties he can utilize for further research and to develop mutually beneficial Israeli-American working relationships in the field of counterterrorism.

The following undergraduate students will receive funding through the Mitchell F. and Sophie Wise Ehrlich Student Support Fund in Jewish Studies. Special thanks to Arlene Ehrlich, a member of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies Honorary Board, for the generous gift that established the Student Support Fund in memory of her parents.

Photo of Marissa GastonMarissa Gaston is an intended political science major on the international security track, with planned minors in history and classics. She is receiving an Opportunity Grant to continue her studies in the Overseas Student Program at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beer Sheva, Israel. At BGU, she is focusing on political science with an emphasis in Israeli studies, as well as Hebrew. She writes that “my work and my journey in Israel are not complete. I want to seize the opportunity to continue studying here because of the dynamic, multi-faceted, and intensely formative experience I’ve had thus far.”

Sarah Rose Shuer will study abroad for a semester at Tel Aviv University. A European Studies and education double major at the UW, Sarah Rose hopes to work with children in Israel’s immigrant and refugee communities. Complementing her current study of Arabic at the UW, she will take an intensive Hebrew course at Tel Aviv University as well as other courses related to education and Israel Studies.

We are grateful to Miriam and Gilbert Roth, Stroum Center honorary board members, for their support of the following students:

Portrait of Pinar smiling, wearing a black cardigan against a gray background

Pinar Ulumaskan is a doctoral student at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies focusing on diaspora/immigrant and civil society studies. With the support of a Stroum Center Opportunity Grant, she will continue to explore the reemerging ties and developing cooperation between the Kurdish and Jewish people in Germany. This research complements her dissertation research, which investigates why previously excluded immigrant groups are increasingly integrated into German politics and civil society.

Portrait of Hayim Katsman in T-shirt and jacket with mustache and goatee, looking thoughtfulAs a Ph.D. student in international studies, Hayim Katsman researches the interrelations between religion and politics in Israel/Palestine. Focusing on the religious-Zionist movement and the settlement enterprise in the West Bank and Gaza, Hayim’s research shows how developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have affected religious Zionists’ theological interpretations of the Israeli state. A Stroum Center Opportunity Grant will support Hayim’s participation at the Association of Jewish Studies conference in Boston in December 2018 and the Association of Israel Studies Conference in Israel in June 2019.

Learn more

  • Read articles by former of Jewish Studies Opportunity Grant winners
  • Learn more about our Summer and Autumn 2018 Opportunity Grant winners
  • Interested in applying for an Opportunity Grant? Applications and more information can be found here.
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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.