Five Madison House Volunteers Receive Fulbright Scholarships:

Temi Akinola

“I am particularly interested in education and its formation on peace-building and human rights,” she said. “I will be teaching English at an all-girls high school, completing tutoring college prep programs through the U.S Embassy and working with the National Council for Human Rights in [Ivory Coast].”

A two-time Oliver Hill Scholarship recipient, Akinola is a member of the Raven Society and was vice president of the UVA chapter of the ONE Campaign to eradicate hunger, poverty and preventable disease in Africa; an English as a second language tutor at International Rescue Committee; intern at the U.S State Department Bureau of Human Rights Labor and Democracy; and a Madison House volunteer. A graduate of the Albemarle High School, Akinola wants to pursue graduate degrees in international relations and human rights.

Kellie Hartless

“The most appealing thing about Fulbright, to me, was the mission. I was energized by the idea of such purposeful investment in community-building and intercultural exchange. I studied abroad in Spain for a semester in 2018, and after those four months I knew that I wanted to return and really live in a Spanish community – investing in the place and the people – and Fulbright asks us to do just that.”

While at UVA, Hartless chaired the UVA Student Ambassadors program and was a volunteer at Madison House and a member of Sigma Delta Pi and Alpha Delta Pi sorority. A graduate of Freedom High School in South Riding, Hartless plans to pursue a master’s degree in human and social services and work in immigrant and refugee support.

Logan Petkosek

“While in Slovakia, I will serve as an English teaching assistant at a high school in a town about 1.5 hours outside of Bratislava,” Petkosek said of her posting, which starts in September. “I am excited about my posting in a smaller town in Slovakia because I believe this will be an incredible opportunity to get to know the community, learn the language and immerse myself in Slovak culture.”

“One of my most impactful experience was my time volunteering in Charlottesville City Schools, Charlottesville High School the first year and Buford Middle School the following three, through Madison House’s English for Speakers of Other Languages program,” she said. “Thinking back to my own struggle to learn German in school, I loved being able to support English language learners here in the U.S.”

Daliya Saadoon

“I am researching how COVID-19 has impacted the mental health of refugees, in addition to investigating how living conditions in temporary housing facilities are affecting the rate of COVID-19 transmission in the refugee population,” she said. “Having been a refugee and immigrating to the U.S. in 2009, the refugee population has always been one that I feel a personal connection to.”

At UVA, Saadoon was a volunteer interpreter for the International Rescue Committee, a tutor at the Islamic Society of Central Virginia mosque; and a Madison House youth soccer coach. She was a member of the Arab Student Organization and the Middle Eastern Leadership Council, and received a Parents Fund Gordon Burris Scholarship, a Sean N. Bryant Memorial Scholarship, a TASC Scholarship and a Raven Society Scholarship.

Katya Sankow

“Now having studied the region from a geopolitical and security standpoint, I have questions on how to strengthen civil society in the region. Working in secondary education will hopefully help provide both answers and more questions. I’m excited to immerse myself as a contributing member of a Bulgarian community.”

She was an English language partner for Volunteers with International Students, Staff and Scholars; an English as a second language tutor for Madison House; and a new resident liaison at Brown College. She received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Russian in Vladimir, Russia. A graduate of the Peters Township High School in McMurray, Pennsylvania, Sankow plans to work in Central Europe.

Read the rest of this UVA Today story here.