Senior Elliot Mamet, a political science major and social and political philosophy minor, was recently named a Humanity in Action Fellow.
The fellowship entails a summer program that brings together university students from across the world to investigate the discrimination of minorities past and present.
“I am very interested in human rights and wanted to explore social and political rights in Europe,” Mamet said, when asked why he applied for the fellowship.
The fellowship has five different locations: Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, and Warsaw. Mamet will be going to Warsaw for five weeks this summer.
“There will be many speakers and lectures the first few weeks. The second half of the five weeks, I will be researching current hate speech,” Mamet said.
Mamet is passionate about human rights and prison reform, and the Humanity in Action fellowship will give him an opportunity to explore these fields of study. He is especially looking forward to meeting other fellows.
The application process was not lengthy but very competitive. “The application process entailed a couple of essays and an interview,” Mamet said. “I had applied before and did not get in and kept applying and finally got in.”
“I had a lot of help from Gretchen from the Career Center, from alums who had done the program, and from encouraging professors. My advice is that everyone should go to the Career Center for help,” said Mamet.
Mamet’s previous experience in Poland has excited him for this trip. “I have been to Warsaw once for one night and I am excited to continue to explore the city,” Mamet said. “There are a lot of unknowns about what the fellowship will be like and [about the] experience I will have. However, I am looking forward to the unknown.”