The George J. Mitchell Scholarships are administered by the U.S.-Ireland Alliance. Winners of these prestigious scholarships are selected to pursue a year of postgraduate study at universities on the island of Ireland. Created in 1998, the scholarship program was named in honor of U.S. Senator George Mitchell, who was chair of the Northern Ireland peace talks.
In the past the program has been funded by the U.S. Department of State but this funding has been eliminated. The U.S.-Ireland Alliance is attempting to raise a $40 million endowment so that the scholarship program will continue in perpetuity.
This year’s class of 12 Mitchell Scholars was chosen from 284 applicants. Seven of the 12 new Mitchell Scholars are women.
Emma Adler is a senior at Harvard University, who majors in English. She currently serves as fiction editor of the Harvard Advocate and is active in the university’s theater community. A resident of Harrison, New York, Adler will study playwriting at Trinity College Dublin.
Azza Cohen, of Highland Park, Illinois, aspires to be a documentary filmmaker. A senior at Princeton University in New Jersey, Cohen is majoring in history. She spent time in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as an exchange student while in high school. Cohen will study culture and colonialism at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Micaela Connery is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she completed an interdisciplinary degree program in service, community, and social policy. Currently, she is a student in the master’s of public policy program at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. In Ireland, Connery will pursue an MBA at the Smurfit School of University College Dublin.
Claire Dillon is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. There she double majored in art history and Italian. Currently, she is the director of education and outreach for Art Works Projects. In Ireland, Dillon plans to study medieval language, literature, and culture at Trinity College Dublin.
Megan McNulty is a senior at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. A resident of Queensbury, New York, McNulty is majoring in economics and has been a member of the varsity crew team. McNulty plans to study international development at University College Dublin.
Allyson Strachan is a senior at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She is majoring in weapons and systems engineering and is in the top 5 percent of her class. A resident of Maine, Strachan plays on the academy’s women’s ice hockey team and hopes to become a Navy pilot. In Ireland, Strachan will study biomedical, audio, and image signal processing at the Dublin Institute of Technology.
Carla Winter is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is majoring bioengineering with minors in mathematics and biophysics. A resident of Morristown, New Jersey, she wants to work on research relating to curing paralysis. Winter will study regenerative medicine at the National University of Ireland, Galway.