Seniors named Watson Fellows Konesni, Morales plan for year of travel and research

Author: Katie Flagg

As Middlebury College's May 22 Commencement draws ever closer, most graduating seniors turn their eyes beyond the College campus as they prepare to enter the workforce or graduate studies. But two Middlebury students, having snagged coveted one-year grants for a year of independent study and travel outside of the United States, are making plans of a different sort. On March 15, Stephanie Morales '05 and Erwin "Bennett" Konesni '04.5 were named among the 50 recipients of the prestigious Watson Fellowship.

The College joins over 50 prestigious liberal arts institutions in participating in the Thomas J. Watson Sr. Foundation Fellowship program. This year, after over 1,000 students applied for consideration, 184 students nationwide were nominated by their universities for the Watson Fellowship. Ultimately, 50 were awarded $22,000 grants for study and travel. One of the only stipulations for the Fellowship is that recipients remain outside the United States for the entirety of their 12-month venture.

For Konesni and Morales, the selection process has been a long one.

"The process started such a long time ago that it has been in my consciousness but in a very intangible way," said Morales, who is currently studying Women and Gender Studies at the College. "Actually knowing and being a Fellow is so overwhelming."

Konesni, a Music and Environmental Studies major who graduated in February, was equally enthusiastic, commenting that he finds being a Watson Fellow both "exciting and daunting."

His project, " 'Haul Away, Joe': Exploring Musical Labor of the Land and Sea." will take him across the globe as he studies work songs in maritime and agricultural communities. He plans to sing with sea shanty choirs in the Netherlands, learn agricultural songs in rural Ghana villages, live with the Sukuma tribe in Tanzania and study rice-patty and river-boating songs in Vietnam. Konesni will also learn highland yodeling in the Swiss Alps and live with nomadic groups in northern Mongolia.

He plans to record and transcribe the music he encounters and hopes to eventually start a farm that "incorporates work songs into the daily routine, to preserve the songs and to make the work easier." Konesni also has aspirations for publishing the songs in book or CD form, and he may produce a film about his experiences abroad.

Konesni's interest in the music of labor took root several years ago. "I first got interested in work songs sailing on schooners off the coast of Maine," he said. "We sang to raise the sails, haul the anchor and swab the decks. When I began working on organic farms I found that the sea shanties also worked on land." Konensi soon after became interested in the types of songs that farming cultures used in the fields, and around that time he arrived at Middlebury and learned about the Watson Fellowship.

Morales's project, "Women on the Reel: An Intergenerational Redefinition of Leadership Through Film," blends film with ideas about leadership, young people and women.

"I love working with young people and, being a Women and Gender Studies major, I am committed to finding and telling the stories of marginalized communities," she said. In traveling to Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and hopefully Bolivia, she hopes to work both as "a filmmaker and an agent of social change."

Throughout her travels, Morales plans to find women leaders in the communities she visits and engage these communities in discussions, she says, "of community building, creating role model relationships, teaching about film [and] supporting the young women's growth."

Morales's plans developed fully after working one summer with an organization that helped young women develop their leadership skills.

"But the project was primarily inspired," Morales stressed, "by my mother's survival story, and it is with her in mind that I am doing this."

Both Konesni and Morales recognize the unique obstacles that lay ahead. Konesni anticipates the language barrier will prove daunting in many of the locales he intends to visit, but plans to use Fellowship funds to engage interpreters. Morales, aware of the challenges of the upcoming year, is currently establishing strong contacts, finalizing her itinerary and learning as much as she can about the countries she intends to visit.

"My project depends on the excitement and involvement of community members and so this is my biggest challenge thus far ... finding people I can work with and establishing connections and relationships."

Morales finds the inherent uncertainty the most exciting facet of the Watson experience. "I have absolutely no idea what will happen," she said. "I know what I hope for, but whether it will work out - who knows? But I am the type of person that loves the questions more than the answers, so I think in the end what needs to happen will happen."

The College has a longstanding history with the Watson Foundation, and Konesni and Morales are among numerous Middlebury alumni to become Fellows. Since 1998, the College has produced over 20 Fellows.