Schar School Freshman, Honors College Student Defers Admission for Life-Changing Year in Kyrgyzstan

Andrew J Schappert — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 18:35:25 +0000

Schar School Freshman, Honors College Student Defers Admission for Life-Changing Year in Kyrgyzstan Andrew J Schappert Fri, 10/11/2024 - 14:35

Anusha Chaluvadi could have come to ��AV a year earlier than she did, but the new freshman deferred admission to study Russian in the Kyrgyzstan Republic.

Anusha Chaluvadi in Fairytale Canyon, Kyrgyzstan: ‘Having the U.S. education is good, of course, but it's dangerous to only have that perspective.’ Photo provided

Her participation in the nine-month National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, that sent her to the Central Asian country in her first year after high school “truly differentiated her as an applicant” to George Mason, said Eva Bramesco, director of the University Scholars program in the Honors College.

“Pursuing experiences like this in which students experience new and challenging ways of learning are perfect examples of the qualities we seek in University Scholars," Bramsco said.

As a University Scholar, Chaluvadi is among a small number of the most motivated incoming Honors College freshmen “selected through a competitive process to join a four-year cohort of student leaders, receive a full-tuition scholarship, and participate in enhanced academic and professional development programming,” Bramesco added.

Additionally, Chaluvadi is one of the first students to declare a four-year major in International Security and Law at the Schar School of Policy and Government. The one-of-a-kind bachelor of arts degree prepares graduates to become leaders in the face of crisis and to confront major threats affecting lives of millions around the globe every day.

Chaluvadi was well acquainted with George Mason. Her sister, 2021 biology alum Pratyusha, also a University Scholar, is now in her final year of medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University. The Richmond, Virginia, native came to the school not only for the financial assistance but also for the proximity to Washington, D.C., where she hopes to land significant internships at key institutions.

As for deferring college to live and learn in Kyrgyzstan, Chaluvadi said she was inspired to learn Russian after being exposed to Russian literature.

“But when I read Russian literature, I don't think that I have a cultural context because I'm reading works in translation, so that loses a lot of the historical and cultural context that it would have if I read it in Russian,” she said. “And also, Russian-American relations are very complicated, and I think it's really dangerous to go into a government field or international field when you don't have both perspectives. So, I figured having the U.S. education is good, of course, but it's dangerous to only have that perspective.”

While learning the Russian language and enjoying the literature, Chaluvadi’s study-abroad experience also exposed her to the people living in the mountainous nation. What she learned from them resonated deeply.

“I got more of a post-Soviet perspective living there,” she said. “Talking to people there was really interesting because I think in the U.S. we hear that the Soviet Union was bad for everyone and no one liked it, which it has truth to it. But when you speak to the older generation in KYrgyzstan, a lot of them actually say that they preferred life in the Soviet Union, which is an opinion I would've probably never gotten if I didn't live there.”

A college year deferred? Clearly it was life-changing.

“It was the greatest experience of my life,” she said. “I miss it so much every day.”

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Fellowship Honoring Oppenheimer Biographer Goes to J. Luis Rodriguez

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 28 May 2024 17:20:52 +0000

Fellowship Honoring Oppenheimer Biographer Goes to J. Luis Rodriguez Andrew J Schappert Tue, 05/28/2024 - 13:20

��AV Assistant Professor J. Luis Rodriguez has been presented with the inaugural Martin J. Sherwin Fellowship by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Rodriguez, who specializes in global governance and nuclear arms control, is one of the first faculty members appointed to the Schar School of Policy and Government’s new undergraduate International Security and Law bachelor of arts degree program.

J. Luis Rodriguez is the inaugural Sherwin Fellow at the Wilson Center. Photo provided

“We are thrilled to welcome Luis Rodriguez, a rising star in the field of nuclear proliferation research, to the Wilson Center’s community this summer,” said Christian Ostermann, director of the history and public policy program at the Wilson Center. “Luis’ project centers on issues dear to the work and legacy of the late Martin J. Sherwin and will strengthen the center’s focus on one of the most important international security threats and its deeper, global history.”

Sherwin's biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer—with coauthor with Kai Bird—won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 and inspired the 2023 Academy Award-winning film by Christopher Nolan. Sherwin also served as a senior advisor and lead instructor at the Wilson Center’s Nuclear History Boot Camp, mentoring hundreds of international doctoral students. He was also a University Professor of History at George Mason from 2007 until his death in 2021.

Rodriguez's selection followed an intensive peer-review process by an international advisory board.

During his Wilson Center tenure, Rodriguez will focus on his project, “Negotiated Inequality: Latin America and the Making of the Nuclear Club.” His distinguished academic background includes a PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University and notable publications in esteemed journals such as International Affairs and Third World Quarterly. In 2022-23, he was a Stanton Fellow at Stanford University.

The International Security and Law major is a one-of-kind degree program that prepares graduates to become leaders when they are needed most: in the face of crisis. This dynamic program combines national and international security and law and is designed to help students understand how to most effectively respond to crises—from weather disasters to cyber attacks to nuclear proliferation and more.

Information about the program can be found at this page.