Current Fellows
Introducing our 2025-2026 Winter-Cohen Brueggeman Fellows:
Meg Calumpang (XU '26, BS Biomedical Sciences)
Project: Women's leadership in addressing healthcare inequality
Proposed Immersion/Research Location: Philippines
Project Description:
Leadership plays a critical role in shaping how healthcare systems prioritize values, goals, and decision making in healthcare. Women make up a majority of healthcare workers, yet they remain underrepresented in leadership roles leaving women’s health concerns at the sidelines of policy and practice. Looking at the Philippines where women’s health ranks below the global average on the Women’s Health Index, I hope to explore their prioritization of women’s health. By immersing myself in various healthcare setting, I hope to better understand these inequities and emphasize bring greater awareness to the critical role of leadership in transforming women’s health outcomes.
Carolyn Isaly (XU '27, BS Accounting and BA PPP)
Project Title: The Correlation between tax rates and quality of life
Proposed Immersion/Research Location: Denmark
Project Description:
I want to explore the purpose of taxes and the positive effects of proper taxation on society. To me, taxes are a shared expense paid by individuals that allow a community to exist together. However, when certain groups are being taxed at unfair rates, or individuals do not trust where their money is going, taxes begin to only further divide society. Denmark has one of the highest individual income tax rates in the world and is consistently ranked as having a high quality of life. As a Brueggeman Fellow, I want to explore what it means to have a high quality of life, and how a willingness to pay taxes contributes to this.
Molly Kantz (XU '26, BSW)
Project Title: Mindfulness in action: Bridging poverty and sustainability through mindful practices
Proposed Immersion/Research Location: Thailand
Project Description:
In fourth grade, I chose to research Buddhism, mindfulness, and meditation—a spark that has since grown into a deep and evolving commitment. Mindfulness allows me to approach challenges with calm and clarity, and I practice it regularly through meditation, awe walks, and quiet reflection. For my Brueggeman Fellowship, I plan to explore how Buddhist monks in Thailand are addressing the interconnections between mindfulness, environmental sustainability, and poverty. Inspired by Catholic Social Teaching and Pope Francis’s Laudato Si', I seek to bridge the gap between religious leaders' calls to action and socially engaged Buddhism. I hope this Fellowship will deepen my understanding of spiritual activism and allow me to share meaningful insights with others—uniting faith, justice, and care for our shared Earth.
Erik Polousky (XU '27, BA PPP and Public Relations)
Project Title: Exploring the parallels between socioeconomic divisions and sporting allegiances
Proposed Immersion/Research Location: Europe TBD
Project Description:
The mission of the Brueggeman Fellowship begins with the statement, “we stand at a moment in history where divisions between people and groups are especially pronounced,” nowhere could these divisions be more pronounced than on gameday where individuals wear their differences in bright colors and intricate badges. I will be traveling to a European city with two first division soccer teams to observe the parallel divisions across political ideology, socioeconomic distinction, and fan allegiance. The deep history of soccer in large European cities has caused sporting life to become heavily intertwined with political and social life as well. In many cases, one club and its fans will become associated with the working class while the other becomes associated with the upper class. This research project will recognize the history that has built these divisions and the healthy competition between differing ideologies, while also understanding that care for our neighbor transcends any social organization.
Brady Rodgers (XU '26, BA History)
Project Title: Alt-Right parties in Germany and Great Britain and their use of WWII-era propaganda in political campaigns
Proposed Immersion/Research Location: Germany and Great Britain
Project Description:
Across Europe, far-right parties are gaining popular support unseen since before the Second World War. Even though these parties publicly claim to be new-age entities, their political propaganda and election campaigning are eerily reminiscent of their 20th-century fascist counterparts. In London and Berlin, I am researching the continuity of Alternative für Deutschland and Reform UK and their Nazi German and British Union of Fascists counterparts. Through an analysis of propaganda techniques, political campaigning, and membership, I seek to figure out whether they truly are a new wave of right-wing populism or simply a reimagining of the fascist parties of the past.