Hunter College congratulates Michael Stewart, a master’s student in Geography, on winning a David L. Boren Fellowship to study Arabic in Morocco next year.
Hunter has had many undergraduate students win the Boren Scholarship since it was established in 2009 — the most recent was Jack Graziano MHC ’24, who is now studying Chinese in Taiwan. But Stewart is the first Hunter graduate student to win the Boren award. It’s quite an honor. Last year, only 108 students were selected for the highly prestigious fellowships.
The fellowship will prepare Stewart to write a master’s thesis on high-speed rail in Morocco — examining both its effect on greenhouse-gas emissions and improvements to quality of life in the Kingdom. To investigate Morocco's public-transit initiatives, Stewart will conduct interviews and engage with local stakeholders in Moroccan Arabic.
Stewart says he is “extremely grateful for this opportunity, and especially to Professors Bill Solecki, Ines Miyares and Jochen Albrecht, and to Stephen Lassonde in the Office of Prestigious Scholarships & Fellowships, who helped me complete my application for this fellowship.”
Named for former U.S. Senator David L. Boren (D-Okla.) Boren Scholarships and Fellowships fund study abroad in regions critical to American interests. The program gives $25,000 to fellows and, in exchange, requires a year or two of public service in the federal government. Stewart hopes to shape large, sustainable infrastructure projects, which are crucial to international peacekeeping.
Hunter’s Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships has a stellar track record in preparing students for competitive scholarships and fellowships. In recent years, the college has produced two Rhodes, two Marshall, six Schwarzman, five Luce, seven Goldwater, and 39 Fulbright Scholars among many other prestigious awardees.
