BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University has announced students Emily Coles and Jessica Meyer as the 2009 Peace Fellows. The Peace Fellows Program, created in 2007 by IWU alumnus John Stutzman and his wife, Erma, annually awards fellowships to first-year students and sophomores interested in peace, social justice and conflict resolution.
In addition to taking Illinois Wesleyan courses in these areas, students selected to participate in the Peace Fellows Program are required to further explore their commitment to peace by completing an independent study and participating in an off- campus internship in the United States or abroad. The program offers $1,000 to each student in order to help them complete these personal projects.
For Coles, the fellowship is an opportunity to get closer to the issues that matter most to her. “The fellowship means an ability to pursue something of importance that is outside the range of typical academic studies. It really pushes you to go out and do something more,” said Coles, a junior international studies and French double major. She is particularly interested in how to best protect human rights, especially those of children in conflict areas. “I have developed a passionate interest in the plight of children, especially refugees and child soldiers, whose lives have been disrupted by war,” said Coles, of Champaign, Ill.