Tlalnantzin Carlos
"Aztec dance endured for centuries, surviving conquest and migration while remaining a powerful tradition of resilience and identity. For my Appel project, I documented the stories of the Aztec dance communities in Europe, in Germany, Spain, and Italy, where indigenous traditions are blooming in lands shaped by colonial history. Through interviews and storytelling, I captured the voices of the danzantes, focusing how they preserved and adapted this practice in new contexts. Immersing myself in their experiences gave me new perspectives, deepened my writing, and allowed me to contribute to sustaining Aztec dance on a global scale."
Katherine Dennis
"For my fellowship, I traveled throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to research my family ancestry, focusing on the lives of several key female ancestors. I studied their personal histories alongside the broader cultural, political, and religious contexts in which they lived. Through this work, I not only uncovered new details about their lives but also grappled with the legacies of their actions in relation to religious movements, colonization, and lasting political tensions. My writing project wasa series of letters to my ancestors, blending historical research with personal reflection on heritage and identity."
Robert Gama
"This summer, I traveled to Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Portland, and San Francisco exploring how communities practice sustainability in everyday life. From Kyoto’s strict waste systems to zero-waste shops in Singapore and Portland, I observed the gap between sustainability as a marketed lifestyle and as a lived necessity. Through journals, sketches, and conversations, I reflected on how reuse, access, and cultural habits shape what sustainability looks like across borders. My project grew into an article and collection of field notes and photographs that questioned why sustainable living is often seen as a privilege, highlighting lessons I could bring back to my own community."
Zachary Iler
"This summer, I traveled to Scandinavia to explore the relationship between food and sustainability. Visiting CSAs, farmers markets, restaurants, and museums, I learned how food uniquely creates a space to build sustainable values. However, throughout my travels the biggest revelation I experienced was my newfound understanding of community, and how committing to third spaces can drive social cohesion, inclusion, and personal growth. My Appel project focused on my newfound attention to community and how recognizing the impact of community can fix some of the faults of individualistic culture, using food and sustainability as case studies of community’s influence."
Caitlin Kuhlmann
"Growing up in the Midwest, I was always interested in marine conservation but struggled to find ways to have an impact. For my project, I visited Chicago, Barcelona, and Valencia to speak to experts at three aquariums that are leaders in conservation education, along with learning from experts in my hometown of St. Louis, MO. I wanted to better understand the intersection of education and conservation, along with how we communicate science to people, especially kids. From these conversations I created a bilingual English and Spanish children’s book about the importance of caring for marine environments."
Kryster Carmela Labarda
"For my Appel Fellowship I spent two months in the Philippines, traveling in regions of every kind, from the city and provincial countryside to remote indigenous villages, through mountainous areas and along the coast. I sought to understand the intersection of cultural psychology and labor networks, focusing on the concept of mobility—both physical and emotional movement—through these landscapes. In addition, I launched a pop-up public health vehicle, distributing wellness kits and rice to urban communities. My project resulted in a long-form multimedia project including both qualitative research and narrative writing; I also created a three-dimensional art piece to visually represent my work."
Annika Marshall
"When my great-grandfather was my age, he wasn’t a college student—instead, he was deployed to the Western Front. During the war, he kept a journal and took photographs documenting his travels across France. My Appel project entailed retracing his steps and recording my travels through a parallel journal with illustrations. Once I returned home, I compiled my observational writing about the trip and linocut prints, along with some of my great-grandfather's shorter journal entries, into a book. Even though he died decades before I was born, through this shared vulnerability, adventure, and love of journaling, I met him for the first time."
Eisha Muddassir
"For my Appel project, I visited religious places of various cultures during different eras; these included the Roman temples of the Roman Empire, the gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages and the Mosques of the Mughal Empire. My travel destinations, which were Rome, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Paris, France and Lahore, Pakistan, hosted a variety of cultures as well. Inspired by these, I wrote three horror stories, set in these locations. I attended ghost tours in the bowels of Paris and the winding streets of Barcelona, gaining insight into local lore. This project taught me the diversity of cultures, the importance of historical locations and the beauty of using writing to evoke emotions. "
Carissa Qin
"Over the course of 6 weeks, I travelled through rural Yunnan, following the story of houses like the China Folk House, a house removed from the path a hydropower dam project and relocated to West Virginia, where I grew up. I returned home from the trip with an album of portraits and personal archives which revealed patterns of a unique borderland identity that has shaped the history, culture and attitudes of this region. In Yunnan, farming is a universal language, imbued into every facet of people’s way of life. Photos, too, are a universal language, which I have included alongside my writing to document my project."
Jonas Rickert
"For my Appel project, I conducted an experiential ethnography across Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, Oberstdorf, and Nuremberg, exploring how Germans define success, happiness, and work-life balance compared to the United States. I engaged with students, CEOs, retirees, travelers and families to capture generational and cultural perspectives using participant observation, interviews, and literature review. My findings revealed Germany's emphasis on social connection, craftsmanship, and structural balance, contrasted with the U.S.'s focus on status and productivity. This project highlighted vastly different cultural models and reshaped my view of fulfillment and success entirely, a new understanding that I hope to share across CMC."
Jose Saquic-Castro
"My project is a photo-essay and a series of reflective writings created during my two-month stay in Guatemala. I visited Joyabaj Quiche, Xela, Panajachel, and Momostenango, where I connected with family and community through food, stories, and languages. Cooking and sharing meals, as well as practicing K'iche' and Spanish, helped me build relationships, create memories, and access traditions. Through photography, I documented daily life, landscapes, and cultural practices, while writing helped me reflect on my identity. Over the course of the project, I began embracing my relationship with language, diaspora, and indigenous roots."
Ryu Sato
"This summer I traveled across four cities in Taiwan—Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung—to investigate the legacy of Japanese colonial rule and to explore why both the Taiwanese public and government continue to express such a profound affinity for Japan today. Although my grandparents are Taiwanese, I had long lost contact with them because I was raised in Japan. During this journey, however, I was able to reconnect with them, reestablish my identity, and trace my family history. By combining historical analysis with interviews conducted at museums, exhibitions, and heritage sites, my written project developed a set of answers to my initial inquiry."
IVY TRAN
"For my Appel Fellowship project, I investigated and documented the unique communities, histories, and dialects of Chinatowns in New York, Canada, and Japan. Using my observations and reflections from each Chinatown, I created a travel journal describing the restaurants, museums, and religious sites that make up each Chinatown. Beyond my observations, I analyzed how Chinatowns balance tradition with adaptation, and how they exist under the influence of host cities in which they reside. This project is a documentation of Chinatown’s resilience and the determination of Chinese immigrants, as well as a personal exploration of my own Chinese identity."
Emily Turcios
"This summer, I will immerse myself in Japan’s rich tea culture to explore how mindful tea practices can create a slower, more intentional way of living. I’ll travel to historic tea regions, work alongside tea farmers, and participate in traditional tea ceremonies to better understand the cultural and spiritual significance of tea. I will craft a fictionalized account of this journey that intertwines experience with exploration. By learning directly from experts and experiencing daily life in these communities, I hope to bring back lasting insights that will reshape my relationship with mindfulness and consumption."