When asked what she might say to the Klemm family in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Klemm Fellowship program this year, Abigail Salamone ’18 expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you for all your work in making these fellowships possible for students. They are really life changing!”
It’s a sentiment echoed by many fellows, and no wonder. These fellowships take students around the world, giving them opportunities they just aren’t likely to have elsewhere.
Why it’s special
“At a glance, the Klemm Fellowship, like our other mini terms, is a three-week hands-on immersive experience,” said Lara Atkins, director of International Programs. “But it is an internship, with no faculty taught course, and therefore, Union students do not generally earn academic credit.”
Luke MacDonald '25 in Mongolia
It is also, usually, a solo experience. “Fellows are almost always embarking on a project alone. They meet other volunteers when they arrive in their host country, and they have staff on the ground to support them, but they are not going with a group of Union students,” Atkins explained. “For many fellows, this is the first time in their lives that they are traveling alone. This enhances opportunities for personal growth and reflection.”
The Klemm Fellowship is also strengthened by faculty invest- ment. Acting as advisors, professors work closely with students before and after their fellowships.
“The faculty have advocated that all fellows should do an internship but also take lessons in the local language,” Atkins said. “This comes from Union’s strong belief that students should integrate culturally into any experience they have, and learning the language is integral to this.”
“Also key to the program is the reflection upon return. All fellows work with their faculty advisor to prepare a presentation for Steinmetz Day, in which they not only focus on what they did, but on aspects or discoveries that were transformative and why.” And for most fellows, the experience truly is transformative. “Over the last four years, I have had the privilege of going to four different places through the International Programs office,” said Eastwood Yeboah ’25, who was a fellow in Tanzania. “Each of these places—South Africa, Greece, Tanzania and San Francisco— taught me something different about myself, and not just as a student, but also as a person.
“My fellowship, particularly, was an eye-opening experience, both for my understanding of my goals and of international human rights, a field I hope to make a difference in.”
Bill '64 and Ginny Wells were honored in May for their role in supporting the Klemm Fellowship. During this event, which the most recent fellows attended, the conference room in the International Programs Office was dedicated as the Klemm Conference Room.
The first group of Klemm Fellows spent three weeks abroad over winter break 2015. Roswald Morales '16 (top row, third from left) was an English language assistant working with young students in Rabat, Morocco
How it all started
The program sent its first group of fellows abroad for three weeks during the 2015 winter term.
They stayed with host families and worked for local organizations in Ghana, Mexico, Ecuador, Mongolia and Morocco (the countries vary somewhat from cohort to cohort).
The program is funded through the Professor Frederick A. Klemm and Eleanor G. Klemm Fund for International Study and Service, and most costs are covered by the Klemm Fellow International Internship Program.
A professor emeritus of German, Klemm was considered the father of terms abroad at Union. He inaugurated the College’s program by guiding a group of 28 students to Vienna, Austria, in spring 1969. He died in 2010 at 97. Eleanor died in 2004. The couple was dedicated to supporting students pursuing international careers in service, and their family has maintained this commitment over the years.
In May, their daughter, Ginny Wells, and her husband, Bill Wells ’64, attended a campus celebration in honor of the 10th anniversary of the fellowship. They enjoyed speaking with the most recent fellows and were surprised with a special gift.
“We dedicated the conference room of the International Programs Office as the Klemm Conference Room,” Atkins said. “We are so thankful that through their generosity, we are able to offer this experience to our students.”
Klemm Fellows: Where are they now?
Curious what past Klemm Fellows went on to after graduation or what their fellowship experiences meant to them? Here’s a quick look at just a handful of fellows
