Caltech Students Win Summer Travel Awards

This summer, six Caltech students will enjoy international experiences courtesy of two summer travel awards funded by Caltech alumni. The Amasa Bishop Summer Study Abroad Fellowship will support Camilla Power, a third-year chemistry major, while she takes a French intensive course through Alliance Française in Nice Côte d’Azur, France, and Areeg Al-Dayni, a first-year bioengineering major, while she studies Spanish language and liberal arts through CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Granada, Spain.

The Bishop Fellowship is named after Amasa Bishop (BS ’43) and was funded by his family. Bishop studied physics at Caltech and went on to work in atomic energy as chief of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s Controlled Thermonuclear Branch and as representative to the Atomic Energy Commission’s European branch. Bishop believed it important that scientists and engineers understand the issues and cultures of other nations.

The SanPietro Summer Travel Prize will support Miles Jones, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, in his travels to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; Otis Otieno, a second-year applied and computational mathematics major who will be traveling to New Zealand; and Ryan Wong and Edward Speer, fourth-year computer science majors who will be traveling to Japan.

“Travel is important to me, especially in the current environment, because it helps me to broaden my knowledge of other lands and peoples,” Jones says. “I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the foreign countries and cultures I am visiting while also having an enjoyable trip to places I have been wanting to visit for many years now.”

Speer says his time in the international community that is Caltech inspired his desire to travel to Japan this summer. “I’ve had the opportunity at Caltech to research alongside peers from Europe, India, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and all parts of the United States, and I’ve learned a lot about other cultures and experiences. The SanPietro Travel Prize will allow me to explore Japan not only as a visitor but as a learner, immersing myself in its language, history, and daily life. I’m especially excited to experience Japan’s vibrant mix of tradition and innovation firsthand, and to bring those insights back to my work and community at Caltech.”

The SanPietro prize was endowed by Craig SanPietro (BS ’69) who wished to extend opportunities to Caltech students that he has himself enjoyed through travel to over 50 countries. His hope that these funds will immerse Caltech students “in unusual cultural and physical situations that challenge you and make you feel more alive.”

Bon voyage to Caltech’s summer travelers!