Bright Times

Search for a trend in the interests of Sammi Bennett ’19 and you’ll find yourself at the intersection of women and economic development. A Fulbright scholarship allows the environmental studies and psychology double major to research women’s participation in clean-energy technology and entrepreneurship in Bangalore, India, this summer. “I am so thrilled to be able to explore my interest in women’s agency and decision-making in the clean-energy sector in India—a country that exemplifies the unrealized potential of women, with only 26 percent of women working in either the formal or informal economy,” Bennett says. Santa Clara helped her explore this territory. As a Global Social Benefit Fellow with SCU’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Bennett helped Ugandan and Rwandan artisans—mostly women—expand into new markets and grow their production capabilities. She won’t be the only Bronco with a Fulbright award this year: James Wang ’19, Arelí Hernández ’19, and Katelyn (Katie) O’Neil ’19 (who completed her studies in December) are also traveling on Fulbright grants for teaching and research. In addition, Beau Scott ’19 earned a highly selective Coro Fellowship to explore a broad range of public sector policy issues for nine months in San Francisco.