Eloise Andry '10 was named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow upon graduation from Williams College in 2014 that provided for a year of independent study. A Chinese and geosciences major, Eloise chose to study volcanoes.
Portsmouth Abbey alumnus Eloise Andry '10 has just completed a one-year fellowship that allowed her to spend the past year, since her 2014 graduation from William College, studying volcanoes.
A double major at Williams in Chinese and geosciences, Eloise was named a Thomas J. Watson Fellow for 2014-15. Recognizing graduating seniors of "unusual promise," the fellowship provides a stipend of $28,000 to fund a year of independent study and travel outside of the United States. Selected from nearly 700 applicants, Eloise was one of 43 students to receive the honor for the 2014-15 academic year.
Eloise used her Watson fellowship to pursue a project titled "Solid as a Rock? Life on a Volcano." She researched the ways in which volcanoes affect people living in close proximity to the volcanoes.
"Volcanoes are the most dramatic and visible of the geologic processes which shape the world around us," said Eloise. "By traveling to five countries with different styles of active volcanism, my project explored how humans living nearby view and interact with volcanoes. How do they structure their lives around a volcano that both supports their livelihood and threatens their very existence? Prior to my fellowship, my knowledge of volcanoes was rooted in science, but during my Watson year, I broadened my understanding through the stories and perspectives of those who call the volcano 'home.'"
Eloise's research took her to Iceland, Chile, New Zealand, Vanuatu, and Indonesia.
No stranger to volcano-inspired travels, Eloise participated during the summer of 2013 in a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates project in the San Francisco Volcanic Field north of Flagstaff, AZ. She presented that research at the Geological Society of America's Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, that fall and based her senior thesis on that work. She also spent her 2013-14 Winter Study exploring volcanoes in New Mexico, after winning the Lauren Interess Adventure Fellowship.
In addition to her geosciences work, Eloise was active in the Williams community as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a geosciences tutor, and a teaching assistant for a geosciences course. An avid rock climber, she was a board member of the college's Outing Club and an instructor at the scool's climbing wall.
"I was thrilled to have received a Watson Fellowship and was very lucky to have the opportunity to study something I care so much about," Eloise said of her Watson Fellowship. "As my friends know, I love rocks, but volcanoes are simply the best."
Read Eloise's blog from her fellowship year: http://eloiseandvolcanoes.blogspot.com/
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent study outside the United States, awarded to graduating seniors nominated by one of 40 partner colleges. http://watson.foundation/