They’re being tapped as the young leaders of New York City.
Three Hunter students — Isidro Borges MHC ’27, Jenna Salem ’27, and Elizabeth Wassif ’28 — have won the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship for 2025.
The highly selective fellowship chooses among freshmen and sophomores at New York City colleges with strong academic records but also proven leadership skills and a demonstrated commitment to the common good. It provides the students with mentoring and paid internships at leading nonprofit, for-profit, and government organizations for three successive summers, as well as other enrichment activities.
Twelve New York City partner institutions each nominate four candidates a year for the Watson Fellowships. The Watson Foundation then chooses 15 fellows from among the 48 nominees. Hunter students have won three or four of the 15 annual fellowships four times since 2017, when the Ruth and Harold Newman Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships was inaugurated. The fellowship is worth more than $28,000 to each recipient.
This year’s Hunter Watson Fellows are a varied group.
Borges, a sophomore in the Macaulay Honors program majoring in art & art history, is a sculptor who volunteers several hours a week for an organization that finds shelter for people without housing.
Salem, a sophomore political-science major, is enrolled in the Human Rights Certificate program at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute and works as a research assistant Hunter’s National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions. She minors in Arabic and last year founded the Middle Eastern and North African Student Association at Hunter.
Wassif, a first-year student, is the first Muse Scholar to be selected as a Watson Fellow. She is majoring in urban policy and planning and is enrolled in the Certificate Program for Arts Management & Leadership. She is also a varsity fencer for Hunter.
Hunter’s Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships has a stellar record of accomplishment in preparing students for competitive scholarships and fellowships. In recent years, the college has produced two Rhodes, three Marshall, seven Schwarzman, five Luce, eight Goldwater, and 39 Fulbright Scholars among many other prestigious awardees.
