Congratulations to the University of Notre Dame Class of 2024! The cohort of recent graduates affiliated with the Kellogg Institute for International Studies were exceptional once again, with awards, recognitions, and future plans that demonstrate their excellence.

Honors and Awards
International Scholar Isabela Tasende ‘24 was named the class valedictorian, the third Kellogg International Scholar to be named such in the program’s 21-year history. An economics and political science major with a minor in theology, she worked through ISP with Faculty Fellow Abby Córdova as a research assistant in the Institute's Notre Dame Eliminating Violence Against Women Lab, analyzing data on gender-based violence and conducting online interviews, transcriptions, and public opinion surveys with policymakers and victims of violence.

Tasende completed her senior thesis, which researched the military’s role in the survival of Venezuela’s authoritarian regime, under the guidance of Kellogg Faculty Fellow Scott Mainwaring, who called her “among the five best undergraduates [he’s] taught in 41 years.

Grace Clinton ‘24, who studied pre-professional studies, global affairs, and anthropology with a concentration in international development studies (IDS), is the first student from the University of Notre Dame to receive the Samuel Huntington Public Service Award, which provides $30,000 to graduating college seniors to pursue public service. With this award, she will return to Botswana to continue the work she began through her IDS capstone project: starting a women’s empowerment center. Additionally, Clinton was accepted to Cambridge University to pursue graduate studies. “Without IDS none of this would have ever happened and I am just so excited!” she says.

International Scholar Will Hurley ‘24 received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to work in Taiwan, where he will help teach English while serving as a cultural ambassador for the United States. Jessica Ashman ‘24, who studied anthropology and global affairs with a concentration in International Development, received a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award to study Afro-Ecuadorians and societal inclusion in Ecuador.

Additionally, International Scholar alumnus Patrick McCabe ‘21, who received a 2022 Kellogg Institute post-graduate fellowship to work in youth development in Morocco, received a fellowship to attend Princeton University.

Graduate School
Some Kellogg-affiliated alumni are heading to graduate school after commencement. International Scholars Audrey Feldman ‘24 will pursue doctoral studies in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass, and Khya Morton ‘24 will be a Juris Doctor student at the University of Miami Law School. Lena Shadow ‘24, who majored in sociology and global affairs with a concentration in international development studies (IDS), is headed to Duke University to pursue a Masters degree in public policy with a specialization in international development policy. And Bupe Lughano Kabaghe ‘24, who was part of both the Kellogg ISP and IDS programs, will be a Masters student in global governance and diplomacy at Oxford University in England.

Volunteer Service
International Scholar Abigail Keaney ‘24, who was a research assistant to Faculty Fellow Brian Ó Conchubhair, will head next to Seattle to work with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. Manvit Adusumilli ‘24, who majored in neuroscience & behavior and global affairs with an IDS concentration, will be an AmeriCorps volunteer working with the National Health Corps as an outreach coordinator at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Chicago. And, IDS minor Bobby Fitzpatrick ‘24 will serve in the Peace Corps in a country still to be determined.

Our best wishes to these students and all graduating seniors affiliated with the Kellogg Institute in their future endeavors.


The Kellogg Institute for International Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, is an interdisciplinary community of scholars and students from across the University and around the globe that promotes research, provides educational opportunities, and builds partnerships throughout the world on the themes of global democracy and integral human development.