Phyllis Graber Jensen Published on April 8, 2021
Hannah McKenzie ’21 has received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, a prestigious grant that supports a year of international exploration for graduating U.S. college seniors.
During her year abroad, McKenzie plans to travel to South Africa, Uganda, Greece, and Switzerland to meet and talk with refugees about their traditional foods, their markets and restaurants, and how they are working to sustain and empower themselves.
“As an outsider, I will meet them in their worlds of expertise, contributions, and pride,” she says.
An anthropology major from the Maryland town of Stevenson, in Baltimore County, McKenzie is among 42 Watson awardees across the nation for 2021. Each Watson Fellow will receive $36,000 for 12 months of travel and college loan assistance, as applicable.
Phyllis Graber Jensen Published on March 10, 2021
The email went out at 10:07 a.m. on Friday, March 13, 2020, from President Clayton Spencer.
Due to the surging pandemic, Spencer announced, Bates would immediately suspend in-person classes, asking all 1,700 students except those granted waivers through petition to move off campus in preparation for remote learning to begin in 10 days.
“My heart goes out to all of our students,” Spencer said. But, “we are at a pivotal moment with respect to both the spread of the COVID-19 virus and our ability as a college to take proactive, rather than reactive, steps.”
Thus began a year filled to the brim with reactions, proactions, and a lot of Bates teamwork, culminating in a return to campus in August and a successful so far in-person academic year.