Trager Fellowship
LILLIAN TRAGER SUMMER FELLOWS
Professor Lillian Trager, having great passion for her work and wonderful ability to touch the lives of others on campus as well as throughout the world, wishes for her efforts to be perpetuated by establishing a fund to offer summer fellowships for International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
The objective of the program is to provide International Studies students the opportunity for off-campus research and service-learning activities on an international or global issue. Students in International Studies have few opportunities to utilize their learning in real-world settings. The internships and service-learning opportunities that do exist are almost always unpaid, highly competitive and located in costly sites (e.g. Washington D.C. or overseas). The Lillian Trager Summer Fellows Program for International Studies enables you to connect academic learning with practical experience in international global issues, from community development to trade, from humanitarian problems of refugees and immigrants to issues of international investment.
This fellowship presents an unparalleled opportunity for you to get experience in research or practical experience in international issues, with funding. The fellowships are open to undergraduate students in International Studies. Preference will be given to majors who have junior standing and have begun work on their options electives. The CIS Steering Committee bases selection on GPA and strength of proposal submitted. Students awarded the Fellowship will design a research and service-learning project, which will lead to a specific product such as a report or analysis for the organization and the student's faculty mentor. The student does not receive academic credit for the project. However, the awardee may work with their faculty supervisor to develop an independent study based on the project for the fall semester following the fellowship.
BRIANNA HAYDEN | TRAGER FELLOWS
"The Lillian Trager Fellowship gave me the opportunity to gain real-world experience in my major and has also led me to the next step in deciding what I want to do after graduation, which is to teach English as a foreign language. The whole experience also allowed me to take a trip of a life-time with wonderful memories that I will keep forever. Taking on the Lillian Trager Summer Fellowship will be beneficial for your future and potential career in the field of International Studies like it has for me!"
RESEARCH PROJECT
"...I used the award money to do a research project on a topic I was curious about pursuing in international culture and language. I chose to research Poland's use and teaching of English as a foreign and second language. The best way for me to get a better understanding was to go to Poland to observe English Language Learning firsthand. The Lillian Trager award money covered the cost of my flight-the most expensive part of my trip-and a few other expenses throughout the trip, such as accommodation and food or drinks I purchased when holding interviews. In the four-week period I was in Poland, I was able to observe an English class and conduct a few interviews with past and present English students and teachers in Poland."
OBJECTIVE | The objective of the program is to provide undergraduate students in International Studies the opportunity for research and service-learning activities with an off-campus organization or agency in which they would utilize their academic background and knowledge in International Studies to carry out a project beneficial to the organization.
RATIONALE | Students studying in International Studies have few opportunities for utilizing their learning in real-world settings to address practical problems. The internships and service-learning opportunities that do exist are almost always unpaid, highly competitive and located in costly sites (e.g. Washington D.C. or overseas). The Lillian Trager Summer Fellows Program for International Studies enables students to connect their academic learning with specific organizations addressing a wide variety of international/global issues, from community development to trade, from humanitarian problems of refugees and immigrants to issues of international investment.
ELIGIBILTY | The Fellowships are to be awarded on a competitive basis. They are open to undergraduate students enrolled in a program of study in International Studies. Preference will be given to majors who have junior standing, and have begun work on their option. Selection shall be based on GPA, strength of proposal submitted, and an interview; and will be carried out by a subcommittee of the CIS Steering Committee.
AWARD | Awards go to 1 or 2 students for amounts of $750-$1500.
PROCESS | Students awarded the fellowship will select a faculty supervisor and work with the CIS director and other faculty to identify an organization in which they could carry out a research or service-learning project; they will then design the research/service-learning project, which will lead to a specific product such as a report or analysis for the organization. The fellowship requires that a staff member of the organization also play a supervisory role. The project site may be a local or regional organization, or overseas. It is expected that most would be in nearby urban settings in the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor.
CREDIT | Academic credit will not be awarded for the project. However, individual awardees may work with their faculty supervisor to develop an independent study based on the project for the fall semester following the fellowship.
CONTRIBUTIONS | Contributions to the Lillian Trager Summer Fellows Program for International Studies may be made to: University of Wisconsin-Parkside Benevolent Foundation, 900 Wood Road, PO Box 2000, Kenosha, WI 53141-2000. Please note that contributions are tax deductible. The Foundation will acknowledge all gifts to the fund upon receipt of contributions. Thank you for supporting the opportunities for students to which Lillian so generously dedicated her time and loving efforts throughout her career and lifetime.
Program contact
Lorene Bakkila | 262-595-2334 | bakkila@uwp.edu
