2022 Baran Fellowships
Ohio Wesleyan Selects Five Students for Competitive Program to Support Education, Career Goals
DELAWARE, Ohio – Five Ohio Wesleyan University students have earned 2022 Baran Fellowships, which include financial awards to support their graduate school and career goals.
The Ohio Wesleyan fellowships are supported by the Jan W. Baran and Kathryn K. Baran Endowed Fund for the Encouragement of Post Graduate Fellowships. All recipients use their financial awards to complete educational programs, internships, or other initiatives to make them more competitive candidates for graduate school admission and prestigious post-graduate fellowships, such as Fulbright and Rhodes Scholarships.
OWU’s 2022 fellowship recipients and their Baran-supported projects are as follows:
- Charis Blake of Columbus, Ohio. Blake will use her Baran funds to support a yearlong study abroad program at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Blake is a Comparative Literature and Psychology double major. “Studying abroad will teach me many life lessons leading to character development in that I will learn how to operate in different cultural settings,” Blake said. “I will have to learn to advocate for myself within systems which are different from those in which I grew up.”
- Faith Deschamps of East Orange, New Jersey. Deschamps will use her Baran funds to support a research project titled “An Examination of How Black Immigrants Cultivate Their Own British Identity.” Deschamps is a Black World Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies double major and a Religion minor. Long term, she hopes to become a professor “to help educate the future youth of color in America about their history and help them realize their collective power to advocate for and promote change within their communities.”
- Lily Hambric of Asheville, North Carolina. Hambric will use her Baran funds to support studying overseas through the fully immersive IES Abroad program in Nantes, France. She plans to take environmental science courses and explore how France approaches conservation issues. Hambric is a General Zoology major and a French and Psychology double minor. “By taking zoology, conservation, environmental science, and computer science classes,” she said, “I hope that I will be able to use my education and passion to help save the environment.”
- Teresa Martin of Rochester, New York. Martin will use her Baran funds to support research. “A major study has not been completed regarding the relationship between music and political preferences since 1974, with William S. Fox and James D. Williams’ survey of college students,” Martin said. “With the Baran, I (will) use the funds to pay for a wider demographic of survey respondents with more diverse racial identities, education backgrounds, ages, incomes, and more.” Martin is a Politics and Government major and a History minor.
- Cole Peterson of Marysville, Ohio. Peterson is conducting a research project regarding Britain, Russia, and their expansion in Central Asia during the 19th century. He will use his Baran funds to attend the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) annual conference in October at Indiana University. “The conference will be … a great opportunity to enhance my understanding of modern scholarship related to Central Asia. Additionally, I would be able to meet with leading professors and scholars and discuss my research with them,” said Peterson, a History major and a Classics and Economics double minor.
The Baran Fellowships were created in 2013 with a gift from Ohio Wesleyan alumnus Jan W. Baran, Class of 1970, and his wife, Kathryn K. Baran, in recognition of the strong mentorship he received as an OWU student.
To be eligible for the fellowships, students must be in the Honors Program or have an excellent academic record (usually a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher) with a high probability of success in a post-graduate fellowship competition. Recipients are able to use the funding to support travel-learning opportunities or individualized research or study connecting theory to practice.
Learn more about Baran Fellowships at owu.edu/baran and more about the university’s Leland F. and Helen Schubert Honors Program at owu.edu/honors.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature program, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “Best Colleges” lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.