In this episode of Worldview Wavelengths, we sit down with Dean Joel Simundich, Associate Dean of the College for Fellowships, and Olha Burdeina, an international student from Ukraine, to discuss fellowship opportunities for international students. They debunk common myths, highlighting Olha’s "Reborn" project in Ukraine and the personal growth found in the application process. Joel offers expert advice on building a unique narrative for future applicants.
Do you think that fellowships are only for U.S. citizens? In this episode, Dean Joel Simundich and Olha Burdeina dispel this myth, exploring opportunities ranging from travel grants to graduate funding and discussing the best ways to get started. Olha shares how the Projects for Peace fellowship helped launch her "Reborn" initiative in Ukraine, while Dean Simundich offers advice on crafting your narrative and starting early.
Resources Mentioned:
Music provided by Blue Dot Sessions, Greylock.
Host (Anastasia Dementieva) [00:06 - 01:57]: Hello, and welcome back to Worldview Wavelengths, the podcast by the International Student Advising Team here at the College of Brown University. My name is Anastasia Dimentieva, and I'm the International Student Program Manager.
Before we begin today's episode, I want to acknowledge the tragic events our community recently experienced and remind you that a diverse range of resources is available on the Brown Ever True website, which we'll link in the show notes. Please know that there is no right way to respond or to feel. You may experience a range of reactions and those can look different and even change over time. It is always okay to reach out to Campus Life Counseling and Psychological Services and or support in our larger Rhode Island community.
If you're new to the show, we focus on resources to support international students to navigate academics and finances in the US. While our primary audience is F1 visa holding undergraduate students, all are welcome to tune in and listen. Today, we're diving into the world of fellowships. This conversation was recorded at the end of last semester, before the recent events, and we're sharing it now in the hope that it offers something steady and forward-looking during what could be a difficult time.
Joining me are Dean Joel Simondich, Associate Dean of the College for Fellowships, and Olha Bordana, a junior at Brown, Project for Peace fellow, and a founder of Veterans IDPs Initiative Reborn. Joel, Olha, thank you so much for being here today. It's a pleasure to have you with us on the podcast.
Before we jump into our conversation, I wanted to quickly get to know you a little bit better. So if you could introduce yourself, maybe share where you're from, what did you study in college, or what are you studying in college, and then something that's keeping you passionate right now. And Olha, maybe I'll go to you first.
Olha Burdeina [01:58 - 02:31]: Yeah, of course. I'm Olha. I'm a junior. I'm studying international public affairs and political science. And originally I'm from Ukraine. I also lived in Georgia for two years and I studied there at the international school.
I would say that currently what keeps me passionate is advocacy work, and advocacy for marginalized communities in particular. And that's what I'm going to be talking today about. And I'm genuinely really passionate about veterans affairs and, you know, social aspects of security. That's something that keeps me moving today. Can't wait to hear more about it.
Host [02:31 - 02:32]: Thank you. Joel?
Joel Simundich [02:32 - 03:20]: Yeah, so I'm Joel Simundich. I'm Associate Dean of the College for Fellowships. You can call me Joel. Let's see. I was a concentrator or major in literature in undergrad. I've lived in a couple different places. I've lived in New York. I've lived in Florida. My home is really here in Providence. I've been here for some time.
What am I passionate about right now, right? That's the question. Well, that was a really tough act to follow. Quite honestly, I think supporting students, getting them through finals, making sure that they're all set up to have a restful break ahead, which is really, really needed after a semester like this. And then also there's a new Kirby game for Nintendo that I'm really passionate about. Sounds silly, but I am passionate about it.
Host [03:21 - 03:32]: Oh, I'm absolutely sure you're not the only one. So I would like to focus a little bit obviously on the topic of today, which is fellowships. And Joel, could you maybe tell us a little bit more? What are fellowships? What are we really talking about?
Joel Simundich [03:33 - 04:09]: Yeah, so fellowships, it's kind of a term that encompasses a range of different opportunities. Could be experiential learning opportunities, travel awards, could be funding for graduate study, could be internships. So these are kind of synonymous terms in some respects.
What my program supports are opportunities that students at other schools are also applying to. So those are things that are like national fellowships and scholarships and international fellowships and scholarships. So we're really just talking about anything to help you do something that you are passionate about and you want to do.
Host [04:10 - 04:22]: And thanks for making that distinction between national and international fellowships. I think one of the main things that comes up when we talk to international students is this big myth that there are no fellowships available. Is that true?
Joel Simundich [04:23 - 05:07]: No. No, it's absolutely a myth. There are many, many opportunities. There are tons out there. And I think some of the major awards, too, that students who are U.S. citizens are applying to and receiving, like this year the Rhodes, also have opportunities open to international students. There are different constituencies for the Rhodes Scholarship. That's just one example.
I will say that they can be difficult to find. I mean, part of my program's work and where I really come in is helping students identify some of these opportunities. They are all over the place. They're all over the map. Some of them are very niche, very specific. But really, the place to start is with a conversation.
Host [05:08 - 05:24]: We will get into that a little bit more about how to navigate that whole process because it sounds like with so many opportunities, it can also feel perhaps a little bit overwhelming. But Olha, you obviously are a living example about how international students can get these opportunities. So would you please share with us a little bit more about what did you do this summer?
Olha Burdeina [05:25 - 08:14]: Yeah, of course. Honestly, I also lived with the myth that there are none fellowships for international students for a very long time. And what helped me personally was just look through the website, talk to the fellowship office, and just get the sense of idea of what the fellowships are. I thought that fellowships are only available for juniors and seniors. But after researching more, I realized that there are opportunities that are also available for sophomores, since I applied as a sophomore.
And I found Project for Peace Fellowship that is sponsored by Davis Foundation. And it's just an amazing project and fellowship that you can work on in summer. You get $10,000 grant to come up and initiate your project and initiative and later on implement it in the country where you want to implement it in.
My project was focused on veterans and marginalized communities, also internally displaced people in Ukraine. And I wanted to open reintegration centers in the rural communities in Ukraine to help them reintegrate and to help them feel like they're home again since there is this stereotype and there is this paradigm in Western Ukraine that a lot of Eastern Ukrainians are coming to Western Ukraine and they're not accepted and they're different.
And a lot of veterans who are coming from the war, they have visible and invisible amputations and traumas that are usually, then people do not know how to refer to them. They honestly do not know how to cope with that. And they do not know how to accept them into the communities. So I wanted to serve as a bridge and help them overcome this challenge.
So I found Projects for Peace Fellowship. I decided that it's the right opportunity for me to initiate something that would have the lasting impact. And I talked to the fellowship office. I talked to Ashley. I talked to Joel. I decided that I really want to. I also went to the first info session where we were also talking through the ideas.
And it was just something that I never expected I would be doing, but just looking into the opportunities, sort of searching for them and figuring out that as a sophomore, I can still do a fellowship and do something important, sort of like inspired me. And, um, that's how my project started. My project is called Reborn and it's a very symbolic name because, you know, I just wanted to even like by title show that those people are being reborn and they are finally becoming ordinary citizens, and they are integrated into the community.
Host [08:14 - 08:33]: It sounds like incredibly meaningful work. And just by listening to you talk about it, I am so impressed and so inspired by what you did. You mentioned believing that as a sophomore, this was not within reach. Was there a moment that sparked it in you where you're like, OK, a fellowship might be the right thing for me?
Olha Burdeina [08:33 - 09:53]: Yeah, I think when I was looking into the fellowships opportunities, I was thinking like long term, I was thinking, OK, so I'm going to be entering my junior year, my senior year. What is my plan? Because international students usually need to have a plan. And unfortunately, we don't have this privilege of thinking and contemplating about our plans. We need to have a strategy and we need to know exactly where we're going to be moving next.
So I was thinking strategically and honestly, fellowship office provides a lot of opportunities to look through the appropriate fellowships. So you can, you know, filter them. You can see the programs only for international students. You can see the fellowships only like nationwide or like international programs. So I did all of that. I did a long research sort of identifying all of the fellowships with the intention that they will be for junior and senior year.
But I ended up finding something unexpected and I found Projects for Peace. And that sort of sparked my curiosity. And I decided that is the right time for me to do something meaningful, especially in the summer, because this project and this fellowship is specifically for the summer. And sophomore year sounded like a great time to do that.
Host [09:53 - 10:08]: It certainly sounds like it, and I love the strategic planning that went into it. Joel, I want to turn to you, given that you have so much experience with working with different students. What is the general timeline? Is there ever a time that's too early or too late to start thinking about fellowships?
Joel Simundich [10:10 - 11:53]: I'd say that there's really never a time that's too early, and there's really not a time that's too late. I know it's difficult because I think maybe too early first week of school right first semester first week of school focus on your classes that's the most important thing have fun.
But really, as Olha said, coming up with a plan is actually pretty important. There are a number of different opportunities that are a little bit time sensitive, like an opportunity that's only for sophomores, for example, or that's only for juniors. They're few and far between, but I think you wanna really apprise yourself of like, what are the opportunities? And getting started is the way to do that and coming up with a plan, coming up with a strategy.
I'd say that too early would be kind of like almost treating it as a kind of prescription type of thing, right? Like I have to do this fellowship, right? I have to work towards this. That's not really the case. I think it's exploring the opportunities, mapping them out. And then as they approach, like thinking about, is this right for me at this time? Like, is this something that I want to do, right? You don't want to force your application to a particular opportunity.
In terms of too late, yeah, we end up working with a lot of alums. So, and there are opportunities that, you know, you continue to be eligible for even if you graduate. So, and some new opportunities that you need to have a degree actually to apply to. So really never too early, never too late, just, you know, nothing should be treated as a prescription, right? You don't have to apply. It's really things to explore, really things to think about and consider.
Host [11:53 - 12:10]: That's a really good and reassuring answer because also I think there is some idea that people who get fellowships, that was the goal from day one since they were born. They were meant to make a fellowship. But then it's also something that you might discover as you go through college that this might be something that is right for you.
Joel Simundich [12:10- 12:27]: Yeah, yeah. It's quite honestly, I think those are really wonderful things to really discover in your academic journey that there's something that you're really passionate about. Oh, there's an opportunity to actually explore that further. So plan, but don't be too strict with the plan. Yeah.
Host [12:28 - 12:37]: I like to hear that. Actually, I would like to turn with that to you, Olha. How strict was your plan? Were you applying to a wide cast of opportunities? Were you just settled on this one?
Olha Burdeina [12:37 - 14:33]: Yeah, so I applied to Project for Peace. That was the only fellowship that I was genuinely interested in and that sort of matched my year of studies and also sort of like the scope that I wanted to do and honestly the application itself was really really intensive but I feel like a better strategy to focus on something that you think is right for you to dedicate your time energy fully in one project and not you know spread myself and apply to everything.
And it took me probably two months to sort of gather all of the information and write the proposal. For this fellowship specifically, you need to write the project proposal itself. It includes, you know, the aim, the objective of your project, the timeline of your project, what exactly you want to do within the community, how are you going to sustain this project later on.
So I connected with youth councils in Ukraine, in those rural communities that I was working in. I also connected with volunteering organizations, with some of the sponsors to sustain my project later on. I decided to connect with a lot of veteran foundations and veteran reintegration centers in Chernivtsi, the place where I was implementing my project in.
And that took a lot of time, but I was determined and I thought that this is something that I wanted to do. This is something that would provide an impact and would change the lives of the communities where I was personally growing up. So I would say that I started early. I worked really hard for it. And I decided that I would apply to this specific fellowship. I'm not going to do anything else. I was determined. And that was something that I was passionate about.
Host [14:33 - 14:58]: So that really comes across as you're talking about it. And I think it's a brilliant point to make to do maybe do. I don't want to say less because you did a lot, but doing it intentionally. Yeah. and not spreading yourself thin. I think that is an absolutely wonderful point. I think one other question that I have for you is, is there something unexpected that you learned about yourself through the application process?
Olha Burdeina [14:58 - 16:28]: I would say that I just I realized how important the right planning is and how important timing is. And usually, you know, at college, we have a lot of deadlines and sometimes you procrastinate and sometimes you don't do it like step by step. But this specific project was so important and so relevant to me, my experience and my community and Ukraine, where I'm coming from. And I knew that people need me.
And, you know, it was so beautiful to come back to the community that made me who I am today. It was so precious to realize that you are giving back to the place that brought you out. I think that was something that I sort of like reinforcing myself and found in myself and in my heart that no matter what, I wanna be there for the people and community I come from.
And just this whole like application of like talking to people, like, you know, connecting with them, talking through the issues, figuring out the challenges that have to be tackled. That was all so beautiful and so unusual, but so, I would say, familiar at the same time. It almost felt like I came back in time and I'm again, a 16 year old, you know, trying to solve issues within my community. And now I'm like 20. And I'm again, once again, I'm in a different country, but I'm still working towards the change in my community.
Host [16:28 - 16:55]: Thank you so much for sharing that and I'm really excited to see where you go next after this as I hear so much clarity coming from you on what drives you that I think you will do absolutely great things. I want to zoom out a little bit and talk about how students can get started on the process. Joel, what's the first step a student should take if they're curious about applying to a fellowship?
Joel Simundich [16:56 - 18:32]: Yeah. Well, I want to also just say, yeah, just so, you know, wonderful to hear about, you know, your experience, what you learned about yourself. So everything that you said, I think, is really a model of like where to start. It is that sense of like intention. That's the word that came up. intention, timing, right? Some of those things are really, really crucial to get started.
But I guess to zoom out really is you can look at the website, of course, but come talk to us. I think most of these applications start with a conversation. They start with like, hey, I'm kind of interested in doing this particular thing, this project, or I really hope to go to grad school in the future, or I just took this course and this piece of this course was really fascinating to me. What's an opportunity that I might not have on my radar?
Come talk to us. Myself, my assistant director, Ashley Gale, happy to explore with you, happy to brainstorm, and then to actually take a look and navigate some of the resources. I want to go back to something that I said earlier about like starting early. That is another benefit of starting early is it does take time. Although I was speaking to this, like, you know, the project proposal taking months, right? It really does.
So if an application usually launches a few months before it's due, like, around the time that it launches, we'll send out a notification to the campus community that something's opened up. Come talk to us then. That's how to get started, I think.
Host [18:33 - 18:50]: Great. Thank you so much. And you've seen hundreds of applications, I'm assuming, if not even more than that. Yeah. So, of course, there's a lot of myths about what does the perfect application look like. Do we want to dispel some of those myths? Is there a perfect application? Yeah.
Joel Simundich [18:51 - 20:33]: No. Uh, yeah, there's, there's not a perfect application. There's not a perfect candidate. Um, really I think what makes, what makes them stand out is, um, is a story really told with confidence. Um, so a sense of surety, a sense of like clarity as, as you had described with Olha, like knowing who you are, what you value, what you care about. Um, knowing your intention, that is key. That is absolutely key.
You know, Olha spoke to this as well. We really work with applicants to revise and strengthen their materials. That's a really crucial part of what our office does. We're not in the role where we're really evaluating and assessing and deciding who gets which opportunity. We're really supposed to be cheerleaders, right? Supposed to be advocating for and supporting applicants as much as possible.
So no student really comes in with that clarity immediately defined. They might have a kernel of it, but it's through conversation, it's through working together that you start to develop your story, your narrative, and you start to see the ways to share that in the application. And that's... I think to me that is actually a perfect applicant is having a really clear narrative. It's not grades. Honestly, I can say that really with a lot of confidence. There's no one scholarship that puts grades at the top, right? It's part of a larger picture of an applicant. Yeah, what makes you uniquely you is what makes you a perfect candidate.
Host [20:34 - 21:10]: That's very reassuring to hear. And again, I think it really came up as Olha was speaking about that clarity and that narrative. And I mean, it was just really, really, I would have given you the fellowship if I could have. So I think just as humans and maybe international students in particular, we tend to focus a little bit on the barriers to some of the processes. But I want to flip the script a little bit. And Joel, I'll come to you just because you've seen a lot of different students. What are some strengths that international students already have and that bring to the table that they might not even realize?
Joel Simundich [21:11 - 22:00]: So many. So many. I want to highlight one that is just really, really crucial. International students really have gone through different educational contexts, like multiple educational contexts often. They have a range of lived experiences that have really uniquely prepared them for different scholarships and fellowships. They've made them really well-rounded people.
So that's really what a strong application is, if it's that story told with confidence. I think coming to the application with tons of experience to share and experience in different settings, that demonstrates, I think, a lot of the strengths, the aptitudes that really make for a strong applicant, a well-rounded applicant.
Host [22:01 - 22:06]: And Olha, just to reflect a little bit on your personal experience, does that resonate with you?
Olha Burdeina [22:06 - 23:23]: Yeah, I would say so. I would say that my international background gives me the ability to be sort of a citizen of the world to a certain extent. So I'm originally from Ukraine. I was raised and born in Ukraine, but I moved at the age of 16 to Tbilisi, Georgia, where I studied as an international student at the boarding school. And later on, I applied for Brown and I'm here.
And I would say that I am a citizen of the world. I wouldn't say that Ukraine is the only home for me. Like Ukraine is home for me. Georgia is home for me. United States is home for me. And I think that sort of those experiences, they shaped me. And I would say that fellowships also provide these opportunities.
I spent four weeks in Istanbul, Turkey this summer interning. And that was a completely new experience for me, something very unexpected. And I learned a lot about myself and about my identity. And I would say that international experiences and being an international student definitely helps me to have that well-versed understanding of myself, understanding of the world around me, and understanding of who I can be.
Host [23:23 - 23:43]: That's a great answer. And I think it speaks to a lot of the feelings that many international students share about having multiple homes and being global citizens. So thanks for voicing that. So to wrap up a bit all of our conversation, and I'll go back to you Olha, and then I'll come to you, Joel. Why should a student apply for a fellowship?
Olha Burdeina [23:43 - 26:13]: I would say that fellowship is the opportunity to learn about yourself and to learn and find something unexpected about yourself and also to make a lasting impact. Projects for Peace Fellowship, my project, it really shaped me and it really made me who I am right now. It sort of showed me what I'm interested in.
And I'm really, really interested in social aspects of security now. I'm working a lot with Veteran Affairs. I work with the Ministry of Veteran Affairs in Ukraine. I work a lot with, you know, veterans on the ground. This summer, I worked for the biggest rehabilitation center in Ukraine, Unbroken, and I worked specifically on rehabilitation. And I worked with international veterans who fight for Ukraine in Ukraine, and they come back from the front lines with visible and invisible traumas.
And it was specifically this fellowship that helped me explore that and helped me understand what I'm deeply passionate about. I want to advocate for those people who can't advocate for themselves, who lost their hearts and unfortunately cannot do anything.
So it was specifically through the project, through the application process, through talking, through my ideas, through revising my proposal and, you know, especially implementing my project. It was not easy. It involved a lot of negotiations and reconciliations at some points, but it showed me that it's important and I have to do something that would eventually change the lives of those people.
And through fellowships, international students can learn deeper what they're passionate about so they can genuinely understand what their hearts lie to. And I found my passion. I know exactly what I'm interested in. I know exactly what I would love to explore in the future. And that's something that really captivates me.
And I'm raising funds for this matter right now. We are planning with Brown Alliance for Ukraine an upcoming event for the anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war. And we'll be bringing over veterans and we'll be talking about rehabilitation specifically. So yeah, I think fellowships are great opportunities to figure out what you like, what you sort of interested in, and what you want to explore deeper.
Host [26:13 - 26:34]: I am so glad to hear all of that. And again, I just want to reiterate the important work that you're doing and how great it is that you have found something that really lights you up so much. I wish we could have you on video because it's just impossible to deny just how passionate about you are about the work. Joel, if you would like to follow up on this.
Joel Simundich [26:34 - 27:24]: Oh, how do I follow up? It's so hard. Now, echoing that exact sentiment, just really the passion comes through and it's really amazing all that you're doing. Really, truly.
What can I add? I think folks should apply because they could get it, right? I mean, you really don't know until you apply and you can't get it if you don't apply. So definitely starting the process, starting the conversation. And some patience and persistence. It takes time, as Olha said, for her project. It took two months to develop this proposal. It takes time, but there's a reward to that, both in learning about yourself and in designing something that you're proud of, right? Putting together an application that really represents you.
Host [27:24 - 27:29]: And Olha, what is one thing you wish you knew before going into starting your fellowship journey?
Olha Burdeina [27:30 - 28:24]: So one thing that I wish I knew before starting the fellowship is how rewarding it would be despite all of the struggles and all of the challenges that I would encounter. This project itself, it evolved into something bigger for me. It evolved into the NGO that I'm running right now. It evolved into the projects and the team that I'm currently working on in order to help marginalized communities.
So one advice that I would love to sort of give international students, just don't be afraid of being afraid. Don't be afraid of challenges and issues that you might encounter on your way, because the reward that you're going to get will be so much more than you expect. Just do it.
Host [28:24 - 28:42]: That's the main advice. That is absolutely excellent advice and we really hope that more students can find that reward that comes with the experience. And on that note, Joel, what are some things or one thing that international students can do to get the process moving?
Joel Simundich [28:43 - 29:37]: Yeah, I really love that. Don't be afraid of being afraid. That's also good life advice. Just general life advice is wonderful. I think check out the website. Definitely check out the website. Sign up for the newsletter and come talk to us.
A lot of fellowship cycles really start up in like March, April, and then run over the summer, run into the fall. So we're in a kind of good period of like kind of actually exploring, um, you know, planning, taking a look ahead. Um, and we're around. Um, so please make an appointment with us. Come talk with us and we can, um, we can plan ahead.
Host: Fantastic and I'll make sure to link the website and all the other resources that you mentioned in the description of this episode. Thank you very much for chatting with us.
Joel & Olha: Thank you.
Host: And thank you all for listening. We'll see you next time.