After spending a whole summer working on my essays, I walked into that interview only to have the panel tell me the essays didn’t sound like me or capture who I was in person. I was discouraged to hear this, but with only a week until the application was due, I sold my football ticket for that weekend and sat in a coffee shop all day on Saturday, re-writing my essays, this time from the heart. It turned out to be worth my time, because I ended up getting the fellowship many months later!

Claire has the background, energy, ability, and even the already-established personal connections to succeed. She has shown an amazing level of leadership and gone way beyond the typical expectations of a first-year graduate student.

The combination of substantive work experience, Carnegie's collegial and supportive scholars, and the program's unmatched reputation should significantly enhance my ability to get involved in the sorts of projects that interest me after the end of the fellowship.

I care about politics because I care about people. Not all of society’s problems can be solved by having the right leaders in place or by passing the right legislation, but many can. Politics is really personal.

Applying for the Astronaut Scholarship forced me to take new perspectives on my research and where it fits in a national and global context. Besides boosting confidence in my work, the scholarship convinced me to pursue more fellowships and opened my career options.

While I didn’t receive the Marshall Scholarship, during the application process I passed the exams to enter the U.S. Foreign Service as a diplomat. That was my goal all along, and I think the fellowship preparation I did with UFO provided me with skills that helped me achieve it.