Shansi recently awarded post-graduate fellowships to ten Oberlin seniors. These fellowship recipients will spend the next two years living and working in China, Japan, India and Indonesia as a part of Shansi's effort of Joining Worlds through language learning, cultural immersion and meaningful engagement with partner institutions.

These Shansi Fellows will experience as broadly as possible contemporary life in Asia while assisting Shansi partner schools.

Obirin University, Machida, Japan

Malcolm Hoshi will graduate from Oberlin in May with majors in Biology and Biochemistry. Malcolm was inducted into Sigma Xi this year. He has served as a Research Assistant in the Biology department and as a Resident Advisor in Burton and East Halls. He has worked as a tutor and has interests in karate and aikido. He has also worked in the Science Library. Malcolm has been awarded the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Scholarship and the Leo S. Milar Scholarship. Both are for excellence in undergraduate research. He is also interested in dance and has taken Exco courses in swing and tango. He has studied Japanese and is interested in investigating the Japanese medical system.

Stephanie Kwak will graduate in May with majors in English and East Asian Studies and minors in History and Studio Art. She has worked as a writing tutor and enjoys teaching. She is interested in the mutuality of the Shansi exchanges both in language learning and teaching as well as the emphasis on mutual cultural understanding. She is extremely interested in cross-cultural study and national identity. This past summer she served as an intern with the Asian American Arts Centre in NY, NY. She also has worked as a copy editor for the Oberlin Review, as a DJ for WOBC and as a layout editor for As I Am. As a Korean American she is interested in the Korean community in Japan.

The American College, Madurai, India

Ellis Ballard was selected for a two-year post at American College. Ellis will graduate in May with majors in English and History. Over the past four years his coursework has focused on Indian history and contemporary American literature. Outside of classes, he has been actively involved in the America Reads program and has tutored third graders at Prospect Elementary School for the past 4 years. He spent last semester with the South India Term Abroad (SITA) program in Madurai and spent time exploring the historic narratives and myth history of Indian Independence among primary school children. While in Madurai he hopes to continue the programs in the Shansi International Center, including the annual Cricket Tournament, as well as develop a more visible arts community on the American College campus. He also hopes to continue his work with elementary age children at area schools.

Lady Doak College, Madurai, India

Nora Sweeney was selected for the two-year post at Lady Doak College. Nora will graduate in May with a major in Studio Art and a minor in Art History. When she studied in Florence, Italy, she won the first prize in multimedia for her documentary project. She is a member of Oberlin Student Cooperative Association and is a DJ for WOBC. She has volunteered in the Outreach Education department of the Allen Art Museum and has interned at several art museums. She has studied Latin extensively and has good language skills in French and Italian. She wants to apply her creative skills in the LDC Shansi International Center where she hopes to facilitate a film series on American Culture. She would also like to use American music and western art in her English language teaching courses. She also hopes to develop a documentary film through interviews during her time in Madurai.

Yunnan University, Kunming, China

Sophia Grimes was selected for the position at Yunnan University. Sophie will graduate in May with majors in East Asian Studies and Creative Writing. She spent the summer of 2005 studying Chinese at the University of Chicago Chinese Language Program. She continued her studies in Beijing with the CET Language Program during the fall of her junior year. She also studied Chinese at the Middlebury College Chinese Language School in the summer of 2006. Sophie has traveled to India and to Buenos Aires. She is a four year member of the Oberlin Cross Country team, a two year member of the a cappella group Oberlin Offbeats, and worked on the 2006 Oberlin Big Parade event. She is extremely interested in learning to translate Chinese modern literature and poetry and has some contacts in Kunming she hopes to pursue.

Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, China

Benjamin Reitz will graduate in May with a degree in Classics. He has studied abroad in Athens and as a young boy lived in Germany, where he learned to speak German. As a teenager he became an Eagle Scout. He has studied both ancient and modern Greek. He also has studied Italian, Czech, Portuguese, Turkish and Arabic and feels confident in his abilities to learn languages. Ben is currently enrolled in Mandarin and a course on Chinese literature and film. He is especially interested in Asian theater and dance and would like to study the mask traditions of Beijing Opera. He has taught music theory and violin and has worked as a Resident Assistant at Idyllwild Arts in California. This semester he is tutoring three beginning ESL students from China. Ben hopes to pursue a career in linguistics and would like to combine his love of theater with his interest in teaching.

Elizabeth Rogers will graduate in May with majors in Creative Writing and Dance. She also studied classical guitar at the Conservatory of Music before consolidating her studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. Beth has served as a research assistant in the Dance department and as a Winter Term Instructor in the Creative Writing department. Her choreography and collaborative arts work has been featured in many dance concerts at Oberlin. She has also worked as a Residential Assistant at the Baldwin Collective for Women and Transgendered People and is a member of Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. Beth is excited about the opportunity that a Shansi Fellowship offers and has hopes to learn about Chinese dance forms while also working with an non-governmental organization on AIDS education.

Gadja Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Maya Walton was selected for the two-year post at Gadja Mada University. Maya will graduate in May with a major in Biology and a minor in East Asian Studies. She interned at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, and has been a supplemental instruction leader for the Intro to Bio course at Oberlin College. She also interned at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu and at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. She spent a summer in Japan working on organic farms and completed an intensive Spanish language course in Barcelona. She was the secretary of the Asian Pacific American Conference in 2003 and has been a member of Icho Daiko since 2003. She also is a member of OSCA. While in Yogya Maya hopes to figure out a way to conduct some marine research and work with NGOs concerned with the environment. She also wants to learn more about the language and cultural arts of the region.

Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Jesse Gerstin will graduate in May with majors in French and Third World Studies and a minor in Geology. He has extensive experience teaching and has worked with Teach for America, America Reads and the Steppingstone Academy of Boston. While studying in Senegal he volunteered with the African Center for Female Entrepreneurs and taught English at the College de Banda Fassi. He has also worked with Student Academic Services as a French tutor. At Oberlin he has been a member of the men's cross-country team and was captain of the volleyball team. Jesse is fluent in French and conversant in Spanish. While at Syiah Kuala University, he plans to work with the Economics department and teach English as a Second Language in the language center. He also hopes to work with the Tsunami Research Center to help develop the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System.

Sarah Newman will graduate in May with majors in Religion and French. She spent a semester at the American University Center of Provence in Marseilles, France and Fez, Morocco where she focused on the role of religion in the Middle East and North Africa. While in France, she volunteered with L'Association Schebba, a non-profit social center for North African immigrant women. Sarah has also volunteered as a counselor at the Interfaith Immigrant and Refugee Day Camp in Chicago. As a recipient of the Allen Goldhammer Memorial Educational Scholarship, she was a philanthropy intern at the Donors Forum of Chicago where she edited a monthly newsletter, wrote a report on the economic outlook of the Illinois nonprofit sector, and drafted a speech on immigration reform. She is captain of the Oberlin women's cross country team, a news writer for the Oberlin Review, and a member of OSCA. She is fluent in French, has elementary skills in Spanish and Arabic, and is also a classically trained pianist. Sarah is most interested in continuing her study of gender and religion and the relationship between the Muslim world and the United States. She sincerely hopes that through deepening her understanding of Islam she will be able to foster bridges of understanding between the US and Indonesia.