Christian Aagnes, Norway, is studying towards an MS in Data Science at Harvard University. He received a bachelor degree from the Honors program in Mathematics with Computer Science at the University of Oslo. During his undergraduate studies, he spent one semester as an exchange student at UC Berkeley. Since childhood Christian has been passionate about mathematics, motivating him to write a book about the Abel mathematics competition, a competition in which he was a finalist several times. In addition to his studies, Christian enjoyes being an active football player as well as participating in chess tournaments.
Daniel Al-Saif, Denmark, is a Fulbright Graduate Grantee who wants to use human rights to help transform and, hopefully, improve the Arab world. This interest comes from Daniel’s background as a refugee whose family was forced to flee Iraq because of the Iraq War and religious persecution. Having fled the lack of human rights protection, Daniel now wants to study human rights and immerse himself in the topic’s historical, political, and legal understanding. This interest has led him to finish a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Copenhagen while working as a student-at-law, first at the Danish Ministry of Justice and later at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For these reasons, Daniel is pursuing a Master of Arts in Human Rights at Columbia University, New York City.
Maria Atanasova, Bulgaria, is a researcher and a Roma activist. She holds an MA in Political Science from the Central European University in Vienna and a BA in Midwifery from the Medical University of Varna. Her diverse background and academic interests have driven her to pursue further academic studies in the USA. Maria is a Fulbright scholar and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Maria is interested in political representation, memorialization, and social inequalities.
Lola Carlander, Sweden, is working towards her MFA at Parsons School of Design, part of The New School in New York City. She received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from Umeå Academy of Fine Arts at Umeå University. Lola’s art practice is interdisciplinary and conceptual and revolves around issues of freedom and the lack of freedom.
Ashod Derandonyan, Bulgaria, is a Fulbright graduate grantee pursuing his studies in Public Policy at Gallaudet University, the Mecca of Deaf people worldwide. He is one of the core Deaf leaders in his home country, as he always stands on the side of equity, truth and justice for Deaf people. In 2021, together with other Deaf leaders and institutions, Ashod made the Bulgarian Sign Language Act come true. His studies at Gallaudet University will support the effective implementation of the new law and improve opportunities not only for Deaf Bulgarians but also to act as a role model for other countries, whereas Deaf communities still are still deprived from their full linguistic rights to communicate and live freely through sign language. Currently, Ashod is a member of the Bulgarian Sign Language Council at the Ministry of Education as he is a loud speaker of Deaf rights at institutions. Finally, Ashod is also determined to ensure opportunities for Deaf specialists in Bulgarian Sign language through the Building Bridges for Deaf leaders of Tomorrow initiative.
Rasmus Henriksen, Denmark, is a second-year master student in Computer Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He holds a bachelor in software engineering from Aalborg University in Northern Denmark. Alongside his studies in Denmark, he also worked as a part-time software engineer at the innovative robotics company Turf Tank, which has multiple operations in the United States selling their revolutionizing line-marking robot. During his first year at UCLA, Rasmus fulfilled one of his academic goals of doing research in the field of software engineering. Moreover, he has been fortunate enough to work with some of the best computer science faculty in the world and have made invaluable connections. Going into his second year of graduate school he aspires to pursue more inspiring course work and start crafting his final capstone project. Outside of the academic realm, Rasmus enjoys a great workout in the gym, hiking trails around Los Angeles and spending time with his host family and friends.
Lisa Hildebrand, Sweden, graduated from medical school in 2017 and has since worked as a medical doctor, specializing in infectious diseases. During her years of working with Covid-19 patients, she developed an interest in public health. The pandemic demonstrated the importance of cross-trained experts for sustainable public health response to emerging pathogens. Therefore, Lisa will be pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at Harvard University, focusing on studies in epidemiology and global health. By gaining more experience in the field of public health – and by being able to learn from some of the greatest scholars in the field – she is hoping to have a positive impact on the Swedish healthcare system in the future.
Ruben Høgh, Denmark, is a pianist with a distinct interest in contemporary music. Having just finished his master’s degree in Piano Performance at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, he will be pursuing a specialized 2-year master’s degree in Contemporary Music Performance at Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New York from 2023-25. Besides studying solo piano performance with Margaret Kampmeier and Anthony de Mare, the degree will focus highly on chamber music and ensemble playing in company with the other students enrolled in the program. Having a great fascination with the genre-fused contemporary music scene of New York, Ruben is looking forward to exploring and developing his musicianship in the very epicenter of his motivations. Post-minimalist New York composers like Steve Reich, John Adams, and Julia Wolfe have made an important impact on his decision to follow this career path. They represent a certain fusion of the uptown and downtown music scenes of New York that create unique possibilities of art that highly fascinate Ruben. He hopes to draw rich inspiration from his studies in New York that hopefully can help him forward in his career as a contemporary-orientated musician.
Thea Ullegaard Kjeldsmark, Denmark, is pursuing a Master of Science in Computer Science at the University of California, Irvine. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Software Development at the IT University of Copenhagen with a study abroad semester at the American University in Cairo. Besides her studies, Thea has done internships at Microsoft Ireland and J.P. Morgan in Scotland and worked as a teaching assistant for different courses at the IT University of Copenhagen. At UC Irvine, she aspires to specialize in computer and software security. She hopes to help address the growing digital threats by studying ways to discover vulnerabilities and develop protection mechanisms against cyberattacks.
Madeleine Schneider, grew up in Trondheim, Norway and Tempe, Arizona. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature and International Studies at the University of Michigan, where she competed on the varsity rowing team. After earning her degree, she served in Chicago and DC public schools with AmeriCorps for two years. Madeleine most recently worked in consulting at Deloitte. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution at Georgetown University. There, she explores how conflict and climate change are affecting waste and water management in conflict zones and regions with high political tension. Madeleine is excited to studying and engage with new parts of the DC community.
Lisa Seidelin, Denmark, graduated from the University of Southern Denmark with a degree in Journalism. During her undergraduate studies, she spent one year as a intern at the Danish newspaper Politiken. After graduation she was hired as a journalist at the domestic editorial desk, where she worked with politics, social issues and youth coverage for two years. She recently won the prestigious Documentary Prize at the Publicist Clubs annual award show with her colleagues for a project about partner homicides. Her experience with working with domestic politics sparked her interest in expanding to international politics and social issues in an international context, which brought her, amongst others, to cover the war in Ukraine from the Polish-Ukrainian border. She is thrilled to attend Columbia Journalism School, where she hopes to specialize her skill set to in-depth analytic skills regarding international politics and social inequality and afterwards excellence reporting on social issues in global conflict areas.
Josefin Silén, Finland, is the first Finnish citizen to be accepted to Berklee NYC’s graduate program Writing and Design for Musical Theatre. Since graduating in 2019 from the Gothenburg University in Sweden, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater, Josefin has played leading parts on the big stages in Finland such as Mary Poppins, Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Rizzo in Grease and Meg Giry in Love Never Dies. Besides her career as a musical theatre performer, Josefin has also written and released multiple pop songs. Josefin is beyond grateful for the opportunity to study in New York and excited to see how this journey will make her grow artistically as well as personally.
Emilie Stein, Denmark, is studying towards a Master’s degree in Journalism and Politics at Columbia University. She is a journalist who worked at a national newspaper in Denmark for two years mainly writing features and reportage about cultural tendencies and social issues. She’s also a published nonfiction author.
Vivian Stolt, Finland, is a Master’s student at the Arts Administration program of Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Vivian is passionate about performing arts, and works ambitiously towards leadership positions in large scale performing arts organizations with a particular focus on organizations involving classical music, such as symphonic orchestras and opera and ballet companies. Vivian holds a particular interest in the funding of arts, specifically focusing on understanding the American culture of fundraising and the extent as to which this could be applied to a European and Scandinavian context in the future. In the summer of 2023, Vivian interned in the Development and Fundraising department of the esteemed New York City Ballet. Vivian is also the current Executive Director of two classical music festivals in Finland, the Kamarikesä festival and the KesäVirratSoi festival, and has worked professionally in most professional symphonic orchestras in Finland, most importantly the Finnish National Opera and Ballet Orchestra. In addition to her current academic pursuits, Vivian also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law, during which she majored in Global Law, and a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Music, majoring in Violin Performance.
Ossi Tanner, Finland, is a Finnish concert pianist. He is studying towards his Master’s in Classical Piano Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. He has performed with all the leading orchestras and festivals in Finland. In addition, he has performed in over ten European countries, as well as in Canada, Israel and the US. In his spare time, Tanner enjoys golfing and ice swimming, reads novels, and devours all kinds of movies.
Eli Tausen á Lava, Denmark (the Faroe Islands), is a composer and pianist with a bachelor’s degree in music composition from Lund University, where he studied with Rolf Martinsson, one of Sweden’s leading composers. He is now pursuing a master’s degree in music theory and composition at New York University, where he’ll have the chance to study with a variety of high-profile composers, such as Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, and Caroline Shaw. Since he first stepped onto the classical music landscape in 2015, Eli Tausen á Lava has quickly developed a unique and recognizable artistic voice. Described by Danish classical music journalist Jens Cornelius as “the new minimalist of the Faroe Islands”, Eli Tausen á Lava has a deep appreciation for stillness and simplicity in both music and life. (photo credit Dánjal Arge)