Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships

Congratulations to Lily Davis (COL '26) who has been selected as a Princeton in Africa fellow for the 2026–2027 fellowship cycle! Davis, who is from Washington, D.C., will serve with the International Rescue Committee in Nairobi, Kenya, where she will support the organization’s grants and communications teams to help ensure that critical services reach Kenya’s approximately 800,000 refugees.

Princeton in Africa is a yearlong fellowship program that matches recent college graduates with organizations working across the African continent. Fellows contribute to projects addressing a range of social, economic, and humanitarian challenges while gaining professional experience in international development, public service, and nonprofit leadership.

At Penn, Davis studied political science with minors in anthropology and psychology. Her academic and extracurricular work focused on migration, displacement, and international policy. As a student fellow with Perry World House, she co-led a policy consultancy examining European Union asylum law.

Davis also worked with the Penn Cultural Heritage Center for two years, conducting research and supporting grant activities related to the center’s portfolios in Ukraine and Georgia. Through this work, she engaged with issues at the intersection of cultural heritage, conflict, and international development.

Beyond her academic and research activities, Davis served on the executive board of Penn for Refugee Empowerment and was president of the Penn Outdoors Club. Her campus involvement reflected a commitment to both refugee advocacy and student leadership.

Following her Princeton in Africa fellowship, Davis hopes to pursue a Fulbright award in Georgia before enrolling in graduate study in peace and conflict studies and/or global health. She aims to build a career in crisis management and refugee resettlement, supporting communities affected by displacement and humanitarian emergencies.

Congratulations to Henry McDaniel (COL '25), who has been selected as a Princeton in Asia fellow for the 2026–2027 fellowship cycle! McDaniel, who is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will serve as an English Professor at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Princeton in Asia is a fellowship program that places recent graduates and young professionals with organizations throughout Asia. Fellows contribute to educational, nonprofit, governmental, and community-based initiatives while developing professional experience and cross-cultural understanding.

At Penn, McDaniel was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Russian and East European Studies and Diplomatic History, graduating magna cm laude. His academic work focused on the political and security challenges facing Eastern Europe and the former Soviet space. His senior thesis, “An Uncertain Future for EU Enlargement: Russian Hybrid Warfare in Georgia, Moldova and Serbia,” examined how Russian hybrid warfare influences European Union enlargement efforts in Eastern Europe and was awarded with the Council of European Studies 2025 Undergraduate Paper Prize.

McDaniel complemented his coursework with research, language study, and international experiences. In 2024, he was named a Hertog Foundation Security Studies Fellow. He also received a Global Research Internship grant in 2023 to study wine, heritage, and hospitality at a winery in Porto, Portugal. Earlier, he interned with the Penn Museum’s Center for Cultural Heritage, where he helped create a database used to document the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Ukraine. He also studied Russian in Narva, Estonia, through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth. Beyond the classroom, McDaniel served as a Perry World House Student Fellow, a Penn Abroad Leader, a resident advisor in Riepe College House, and a tenor saxophonist with Penn Jazz.

McDaniel is currently serving as a 2025–2026 Fulbright Scholar in Moldova. Through educational outreach, public engagement, and cultural programming, he works to strengthen connections between the United States and Moldova.

Congratulations to De’Vonte Phùng Tinsley, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Department of History in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences, who has been named a Boren Fellow! The Boren Fellowship provides funding for U.S. graduate students to conduct research and language study abroad. The award supports the development of expertise in languages, regions, and fields of study important to U.S. interests.

Originally from Roanoke, Virginia, Tinsley specializes in modern Russian and Vietnamese history. The fellowship will support continued dissertation research in Vietnam and further study of the Vietnamese language.

Tinsley’s dissertation, “Soviet Azerbaijan and Socialist Development in Vietnam: How Specialists and Students Transferred a Civilization,” examines how Vietnamese students educated in the Soviet Union and Soviet specialists working in Vietnam contributed to the transformation of post-colonial Vietnam into a socialist state modeled after the Soviet Union.

Click the link in our bio to read more about Tinsley's research and accomplishments!

PURM and SHIP students celebrated the start of their summer programs with boba and lawn games last week. We're looking forward to more fun-filled events and learning more about their research and internship experiences!

Congratulations to Paris Rosen (COL '24) and Gabrielle Scales (PSOM), who have been selected as recipients for the inaugural Lafayette Fellowship!

Created to mark the 250th anniversary of French-American friendship, the Lafayette Fellowship provides one year of fully funded master’s-level study at leading French universities. Fellows also participate in a yearlong leadership program that includes mentorship, cultural immersion, and engagement with leaders across academia, government, business, and the arts. The inaugural cohort was selected from a pool of more than 3,400 applicants nationwide.

Rosen earned a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Design from Penn in 2024. Her background in design and community-centered work has shaped her interest in creating more livable and connected urban environments. As a Lafayette Fellow, she will pursue a Master of Science in Engineering for Smart Cities at Université Côte d’Azur in Nice, France. Her academic interests focus on understanding how data, infrastructure, and emerging technologies can be integrated to improve urban systems and enhance quality of life, with the goal of helping shape urban environments that balance technological advancement with sustainability, equity, and community well-being.

Scales is a student at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. A graduate of Spelman College, where she earned her degree summa cm laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, she has served as a leader of the Penn Student National Medical Association and is a founding member of the Penn Black Student Surgical Society. Her research has included work investigating genetic risk factors associated with breast density in women of African ancestry. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Scales is committed to mentoring and community service. She plans to pursue a general surgery residency and hopes to advocate for equitable care across diverse patient populations.

No matter what field you are interested in, you should know about the options available to you for further education. This event will feature a group of graduate/ medical/ law students who will share their experiences through finding good-fit programs and potential mentors, the application process itself, the interviews, and all that follows.

Join the Zoom at the link in our bio.

Last summer, recent graduate Eric Najera (C‘26) researched how Mexican immigrant communities responded to anti-immigration policies and rhetoric in the 20th century, a topic with both political and personal relevance. This research was supported by a Grant for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Research and his mentor, Dr. Hardeep Dhillon. Reflecting on his experience, Eric said, “Thanks to CURF and the Penn History Department, I was able to develop my research skills, apply what I have learned in lectures, and showcase how immigrants address legal challenges involving immigration and race.”

Click the link in our bio to read more about Eric's research experience.

Where do you even begin when you have a research task? This workshop featuring Alexandrea Glenn, Student Engagement Librarian, will focus on finding and selecting appropriate sources through the Penn Libraries web portal. Learn tips and tricks for finding the information you need and strategies for keeping track of the information you find - essential skills for research in ANY field!

Register at the link in our bio.

Last week, PURM students gathered in Van Pelt’s Research Data & Digital Scholarship Exchange (RDDSx) for a 2-day Data Carpentries workshop co-sponsored by CURF and . Students gained hands-on experience with tools for data management, data analysis, and data visualization.

Benjamin Franklin Scholar Annelise Do (W'27) interned at Turtleback Partners last summer with support from the Franklin Opportunity Fund. Reflecting on her experience, Annelise shared, "This internship gave me practical exposure and mentorship from experienced professionals, and it helped me connect classroom concepts (including what I’m learning in courses like FNCE 1008) to how decisions are made on the ground. I really benefited from seeing the real-world applications and interdisciplinary connections in real time; it gave me a better sense of which parts of finance interest me most going forward."

Read more about her internship experience at the link in our bio.