Each year I&CE students not only learn from some of the top minds in our field, they create scholarship and extend our field's knowledge and impact in impressive ways. The 2020-2021 academic year, while a year like no other in many ways, was just another year of impressive student achievements! While COVID-19 might have separated us from seeing and learning from one another in person, it did not stop our students from winning impressive fellowships, having their written scholarship recognized across the field, or have an impressive footprint on the annual CIES conference. We are so proud of our students.

The George W. Perkins Memorial Scholarship 

The George W. Perkins Memorial Scholarship recognizes students showing exemplary commitment to the International and Comparative Education Program and contributing to the collaborative spirit of the program, working with students, faculty and staff. Five students received the scholarship in AY 2020/21:

1. Jonathan Kwok. Jon was an active participant in the African Studies Working Group and a frequent participant in ITS seminars and other organization events. His can-do attitude led to his contributions to a number of events, conferences/workshops and research projects, 
2. Maria Pia Maiti. Always cheerful and committed to collaboration, Pia has been one of the leaders of the Society for International Education. She was particularly involved in making the TC event commemorating International Mother Language Day a huge success even though it was virtual this year.
3. Moisa Saidu. Moisa Saidu has enriched the inside and outside of classroom experiences for students and faculty alike, through the sharing of his perspectives and his dedication to groups such as the African Studies Working Group.
4.  Angelo Luiz Viana Santos. Angelo is an outstanding student who contributes to the learning of peers by sharing his questions and insights, including from his current place of residence in Brazil. 
5. Zhongyu (Krystal) Wang. Krystal has exhibited exceptional service to the TC community through her indefatigable volunteerism in promoting the values of peace, human rights and decoloniality through student events and social media. 

The Carmela and Marie F. Volpe Fellowship for International Service in Education 

The Carmela and Marie F. Volpe Fellowship supports TC students interning or collaborating with non-governmental organizations or international agencies devoted to the education of orphans, street children, child laborers, Indigenous or other marginalized youth. Three students received the fellowship in AY 2020/21:

1. Nadia Ford will be training educators on behalf of the Intercommunity Development Social Organization of Nigeria on the use of a new curriculum (which she contributed to) on menstrual hygiene management.
2.  Jonathan Kwok will be working with the International Rescue Committee in carrying out a study of the existing practices and supports offered through the program PlayMatters (promoting play in primary schooling) to school leaders in emergency contexts, particularly Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
3. Shawna Richardson will be working with the Children’s Peace Libraries (CPL) in Rwanda in developing a human rights education curriculum for young children using storybooks. 

Honors for Excellence in Leadership and Service 

1. Mariana Casellato was awarded the TC Student Leadership Grant as well as the Shirley Chisholm Trailblazer Award.
2. Maria Pia Maiti received the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship Award.
3. Taylor Moyer received the 2021 Campbell Award, which is presented to a graduating student at each School who shows exceptional leadership and Columbia spirit.
4. The African Studies Working Group received the Exemplary Impact Award by the TC Office of Graduate Student Life & Development.
5. The Decolonization Study Group (DSG) received the Exemplary Impact Award by the TC Office of Graduate Student Life & Development.
6. The Decolonization Study Group (DSG), in cooperation with the Sustainability Task Force and the International Education Development Program, received the Vice President’s Grant for Diversity and Community Initiative (DCI) to carry out the event “Pathways to Decoloniality at TC” on March 26, 2021.

Support for Research

1. Obi Eneh received the AC4 Graduate Student Fellowship for his pilot study “Perspectives on Potential Outcomes for Tamazight Language-in-Education Policy in Response to Moroccan Framework Law 51.17.” 
2. Danielle Falk received the AC4 Graduate Student Fellowship for her study “Educating in Emergencies: Learning from Teachers in Conflict-affected and Forced Displacement Contexts During the COVID-19 Health Pandemic.
3. Arianna Pacifico received BOTH the AC4 Graduate Student Fellowship and the Peace Research Grant from the International Peace Research Association Foundation for her study “Promoting social cohesion and peace through policies of inclusion: A comparative case study of refugee education in Lebanon and Turkey.”
   
4. Yesim Hanci received the AC4 Graduate Student Fellowship for her study “The role of Turkish teachers in the inclusion of Syrian refugee students in Turkish public schools.”
5. Erina Iwasaki received the Vice President's Grant for Student Research in Diversity for her research project “National Languages, Education, and Senegal’s ‘Militants’ for Change” about bilingual education based on learners’ own languages in Senegal.
6. Erika Kessler received the 2021-2022 Education Policy Dissertation Research Fellowship for her project “School Strikes for Climate Change: Schools as a Target, Tactic or Trigger?”.
7. Daniel Shephard received the 2021 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship for his project “Social Networks and Schooling Outcomes among Refugees and Host Students.”

8. Marcella Winter received the 2021 ILAS Pre-Dissertation Field Research Travel Grant for her project "Democracy, decolonization and freedom: Three perspectives on Brazilian public education.”

Student Paper Awards

1. Manuel Cardoso received the 2021 Maureen T. Hallinan Graduate Student Paper Award from the Sociology of Education SIG of AERA for his paper, "Policy Evidence by Design: International Large-Scale Assessments and Grade Repetition" (CER 2020). The paper also received the 2021 Outstanding Early Career Paper Award of the LCSE SIG Large-Scale Cross-National Studies in Education (LCSE) SIG of CIES.
2. Grace Hu received the 2021 Best Graduate Student Paper Award from the East Asia SIG of CIES for her paper "Local meanings of international student assessments: an analysis of media discourses of PISA in China, 2010-2016" (Compare 2020). 
3. Erika Kessler received the 2021 Judith Torney-Purta Outstanding Paper Award from the CANDE SIG of CIES for her paper “Climate change concern among youth: The unexamined role of civics education and institutional” (forthcoming in EPAA). The paper also received the 2021 Brent K. Marshall Paper Award from the Environment and Technology Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems.
4. Paula Mantilla-Blanco received the 2021 Student Paper Award from the Education, Conflict, and Emergencies (ECE) SIG of CIES for her paper “‘We think we’re far from conflict, but that’s not true’: Peacebuilding and Remembrance through Memory Sites in Colombia”.

Congratulations to all our students on your achievements!