Students win Killam Fellowships to study in Canada

For the first time, three ASU undergraduates have been awarded Killam Fellowships to study in Canada for one semester during the next academic year. In addition, two students from Canadian universities will enroll at ASU next year.

The Killam Fellowships Program provides an opportunity for exceptional students from Canada and the United States to be exchange students in the other country, to foster mutual understanding between the people of both countries.

ASU was able to nominate three students for the award, and unexpectedly, all three won, according to Janet Burke, director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement.

“This is the first year we have been through the Killam process, and we were told only one would be chosen,” says Burke. “But the Killam Foundation liked all three of our candidates so much that they all won placement at their first choice of Canadian universities. We are thrilled about the results.”

The winners are Adrielle Munger, a junior majoring in English from Sioux Falls, S.D.; Kristin D’Souza, a junior in justice studies and women’s studies from Phoenix; and Taylor Murray, a senior in sustainability and global studies from Scottsdale.

Munger will attend Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario in the fall. Having come to ASU on a Sun Devil Scholarship, she is fascinated with the study of uncommon western literature from other parts of the world. She hopes to examine the work of diverse Canadian authors to understand how their literature has evolved as Canada has gained a national voice.

D’Souza has been accepted to attend the University of Toronto in Ontario next spring. She is intrigued by Canada’s embrace of diversity and the way the country handles immigration. She wants to study how Canadians are able to integrate human rights interests, economics and diversity into a comprehensive model for society.

Murray will attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec next spring. He wants to study complex environmental problems globally, especially in Canada, which faces some of the same issues as the United States. Murray has been a teaching assistant for introductory sustainability courses and an intern for City of Mesa environmental programs.

All three students are in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Munger and D’Souza also are in Barrett, The Honors College, and Murray in the School of Sustainability.

Canadian students who will attend ASU next year in the exchange are Stepan Dehod from the University of Alberta, enrolling in the fall, and Jérémie Drouillard from McGill University, coming in the spring.