Two Students Named Mitchell Scholars

Two Harvard students have been named Mitchell Scholars by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance, which grants the recipients a year-long fellowship to study at a university in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

Julia M. Rosenbloom '01, a native of Washington, D.C. and Lowell House, will be studying at Queens College in Belfast next year. Ehrin N. Johnson, a second year student at Harvard Medical School from Lincolnville, MA, will be studying biotechnology at the University of Ulster.

Rosenbloom, a joint concentrator in Classics and African-American studies, plans to spend the year studying Classics in Belfast.

"I'm excited to see how classics are studied in a different part of the world," said Rosenbloom, who has been studying classical Greek since the spring semester of her first year.

Rosenbloom says her curiosity about religious conflicts in Ireland has been sparked during her time at Harvard in Harvard's Afro-American studies department.

"I'm curious to see the way the Northern Irish society runs, the kind of segregation that happens there," Rosenbloom said. "It will be interesting to see how the religious conflicts cause the society to break down, how the peace treaties help to heal, and what happens on the individual level between people."

Johnson, who received his bachelor's degree in biology from Stanford, hopes to receive his Masters in biotechnology during his year in Ulster.

"With the recent Good Friday Agreement, Ireland is taking off economically and there's a lot of budding biotechnology research," Johnson said.

But the year abroad brings many more opportunities for Johnson in addition to his experience with "science from the international perspective."

"I'm also excited about the prospect of traveling around, getting to know Irish people on a personal level, and combing my way through Ireland," he said. "I hope it'll be a fun time."

The scholarship was launched in 1998 to commemorate the contributions of Senator George J. Mitchell to the Northern Ireland peace process. The 12 recipients named in this year's contest are the second group to study in Ireland.

According to Dell F. Pendergrast, spokesperson for the U.S.-Ireland Alliance, the George J. Mitchell Scholarship is the "flagship" of the Alliance. The scholarship is awarded to "individuals ho have demonstrated intellectual distinction, leadership potential, and commitment to community service."

"The scholarship is part of our overall effort to improve relations and cultivate understanding about the island of Ireland," Pendergrast said.

--Staff writer Sarah A. Dolgonos can be reached at dolgonos@fas.harvard.edu.