The Les Aspin '60 Fellowship

cropped_group_photo2ee7a6b

Members of the Fellowship Candidate Selection Committee and Aspinites still at Yale. Front row from left: Nataliya Langburd (Recipient ’12), Harry Mazadoorian (Member ’60), Charles Schmitz (Chairman ’60), Douglas Guiler (Member ’60), Owen Cykle (Member ’60), Erin Schutte (Recipient ’11/Editor). Back row from left: Daniel First (Recipient ’13), Fritz Steele (Member ’60), Gary Eisenburg (Member ’86), Jim Trowbridge (Member ’60), Josh Rubin (Recipient ’13). Photo taken March 2014.

A Note from the Aspin Committee

The Yale Class of 1960 Alumni Magazine class notes generally end with the admonition “stay young” – an admirable goal, although not always within reach. One secret that several members of our class have found to occasionally drink from that elusive fountain is our eager and active participation in the work of the Les Aspin International Public Service Fellowship selection process.The impressive intellect, creativity and determination of the applicants we encounter as well as the ambitious and taxing internships for which they apply, make us realize how fortunate and proud we all are to be part of the Yale family. Despite the awe in which we receive these richly crafted applications and the disparity in years between us and those to whom Fellowships are awarded, a powerful intergenerational bond is quickly created. Indeed, our past recipients continue their participation in our Committee’s activities in myriad ways and the baton between our generations is gracefully shared, never dropped.

Under the firm but gentle hand of our chair Chuck Schmitz, our annual gathering at the Jackson Center for Global Affairs becomes an event we eagerly anticipate, first meeting among ourselves, then with past recipients and Yale staff and finally with the talented new crop of applicants. Each year we become convinced that we cannot be dazzled beyond the levels experienced that year and the next year proves us wrong again. We have been at this long enough now to regularly witness the dramatic positive results of the internship experience and the career and personal development levels to which the recipients rise. Indeed, one of our past fellows was recruited to serve as special assistant to the President of Yale. Others have distinguished themselves in the fields of public service, national security and international affairs in many ways, including both governmental and non-governmental service as well as academia.

This Class-funded and administered fellowship program has proven immensely successful by a broad number of standards. But no measure of success is more important than the willingness of the recipients to form a close society of shared common interests and continue to share, among each other and our Class, their activities and accomplishments all in the proud Les Aspin tradition of public service. This issue of the Aspin Fellowship Newsletter contains information about several new Aspin Fellows. We look forward to continued reports from other Fellows as to their whereabouts and activities and particularly how their Fellowships have influenced the paths they have followed.

Harry N. Mazadoorian
Committee Member, Class of 1960 Les Aspin Fellowship Committee

Please fill out this short survey so that we can keep the network up to date. It will only take 2-3 minutes to complete. We are very appreciative of your responses.


2014 Recipients

Allison.1

 

Allison Mandeville is a junior in Jonathan Edwards College from Sherman, Connecticut. She is a Modern Middle Eastern Studies major and has been involved in the Yale Refugee Project since freshman year, including as co-president for the 2013-2014 academic year. She is currently studying abroad at Al-Quds University in the West Bank. For the summer of 2014, Allison will be returning to the U.S. to work as an intern in the United Nations Permanent Observer Office of the International Organization for Migration in New York City, where she will conduct research on global migration trends, forced displacements, and associated UN policies and legislation.

Lockman_Fine_25639cd

 

Talya Lockman-Fine is a junior from New York City majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics and Global Affairs. She has served on the Board of the Yale Association for International Relations and the Yale Association for African Peace and Development and is the undergraduate assistant to the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School. This summer, Talya will travel to Monrovia, Liberia, where she will be working with the United Nation Development Programme’s democratic governance team, in collaboration with the Liberian government and local non-governmental organizations, to further the rule of law, access to justice and security, and human rights.

Lindsay39b3de

 

Lindsay Pearlman is a junior in Morse College from New York. At Yale, she is a political science major. Lindsay participates in Mexican folkloric dance and volunteers at the municipal New Haven Animal Shelter. Last summer, she was a research intern at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. This summer, Lindsay will be in the D.C. metro area researching cyber topics. She is interested in a career in national security after graduating from Yale.

The Aspin Committee's annual gathering at Yale's Jackson Center for Global Affairs. During its March 27 meeting, the Committee interviewed seven finalist applicants and made awards to the three Yale juniors profiled above.

The Aspin Committee’s annual gathering at Yale’s Jackson Center for Global Affairs. During its March 27 meeting, the Committee interviewed seven finalist applicants and made awards to the three Yale juniors profiled above.

LES ASPIN FELLOWSHIP SELECTION COMMITTEE REPORT

Leave a Reply