Creating Their Paths

Creating Their Paths

Ohio Wesleyan Students Earn Baran Fellowships to Help Them Prepare for Graduate School

DELAWARE, Ohio - Three Ohio Wesleyan University students have earned competitive Baran Fellowships to fund projects designed to make them stronger candidates for graduate school admission and post-graduate fellowships.

The newest recipients of the university-awarded Baran Fellowships are junior Lilly Colbeck of Plain City, Ohio; sophomore Norah Hyman of Berea, Ohio; and junior Jackie Rychlik of Marysville, Ohio.

Colbeck, a triple major in Spanish, History, and Business Administration (Marketing) with a minor in Latin American Studies, will use her Baran Fellowship to support studying in Salamanca, Spain, over the summer.

"After my undergraduate education, I plan to work in a museum studies fellowship and earn my master's degree in the field," she said. "My professional goal is to work in museums, archives, and cultural heritage preservation as a Latin Americanist. …

"The Spanish Language and Culture program at the University of Salamanca uniquely aligns with these ambitions," Colbeck stated in her fellowship application. "Its location in Spain places me in the linguistic and cultural foundation of the components I have studied, while Salamanca presents a link to my field of Latin American studies, thanks to its connection to the first developments in international human rights law. Museums in the area will act as examples of exhibition and preservation practices that I may implement in the future."

Colbeck also is preparing for her future by working as a curatorial assistant at Ohio Wesleyan's Richard M. Ross Art Museum. There, she noted, "I have begun exploring how historical institutions present culture, preserve memory, and educate communities."

Hyman, a double major in Inclusive Elementary Education and French, will use her Baran Fellowship to support spending a semester at Aix-Marseille University in Aix-en-Provence, France. "There, I will not only develop my skills surrounding the French language and culture, but I will also grow my interpersonal and communication skills," she said. "All of these factors will help me be a more competitive student when I pursue my master's in speech-language pathology after graduating from Ohio Wesleyan. …

"Last semester, as a part of my Education major, I took a course on phonics and the science of reading," Hyman shared in her fellowship application. "As the course progressed, I got more interested in the subject, and it made me question for the first time whether or not I wanted to be a teacher.

"I have always known that I love to work with children, but my phonics course and my experiences with French have emphasized my passion for language. To further explore this passion, I even crafted an independent study on speech-language pathology for this semester. I have been doing weekly readings on communication disorders and interventions, and have been spending 3-4 hours a week shadowing one of the speech-language pathologists at Woodward Elementary."

Rychlik, a double major in Psychology and Educational Studies with a minor in English, will use her Baran Fellowship to support the completion of a summer psychology study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. "After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in school psychology, with the ultimate goal of becoming a school psychologist who supports students' academic, behavioral, and emotional development," Rychlik said.

"I have worked with elementary students as a tutor and teacher's assistant, observed developmental and motor assessments as an occupational therapy student intern, and implemented behavior interventions as a behavior technician," Rychlik stated in her fellowship application. "These experiences have shown me how students can fall through the cracks in a fragmented system and made it clear that school psychologists hold a critical role in preventing this. …

"Observing how Irish educators and policymakers integrate behavioral, emotional, and community-based supports will help me to examine development through a more holistic and system-oriented lens," she said. "This perspective will help me to better recognize where U.S. systems may differ and ensure my future work is driven by equity, prevention, and a commitment to reducing gaps where students may be overlooked."

Ohio Wesleyan's Baran Fellowships were created in 2013 with a gift from graduate Jan W. Baran, Class of 1970, and his wife, Kathryn K. Baran, in recognition of the strong mentorship he received as an OWU student.

To be eligible for the fellowships, students must be in the university Honors Program or have an excellent academic record (usually a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher) with a high probability of success in a post-graduate fellowship competition. Recipients are able to use the funding to support travel-learning opportunities or individualized research or study connecting theory to practice.

Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan's Baran Fellowships at owu.edu/Baran and more about the university's Leland F. and Helen Schubert Honors Program at owu.edu/honors.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.