Kanika Metre, B.A.’09, came to GW to enjoy all the opportunities the District has to offer and has stayed to pursue a master’s. But during her six years as a Colonial, Ms. Metre made sure to expand her studies globally.
As a 2007 GW George Gamow Undergraduate Research Fellow, Ms. Metre spent two months in India, where she researched women-led grassroots development organizations and made a documentary with Associate Professor of Dance Mary Buckley titled “Capacity to Transform,” which was screened at two film festivals.
Ms. Metre also spent her junior year abroad in London, studying geography, anthropology, international history and economic history, all with an international focus.
So it should be no surprise that Ms. Metre will soon be traveling again. She was recently selected as a Luce Scholar for the 2011-12 year, a nationally competitive fellowship which provides stipends, language training and individualized professional placement in Asia for 18 scholars.
“We are absolutely thrilled for Kanika, as the Luce Scholar selection is a tremendous honor,” says Paul Hoyt-O’Connor, director of GW’s Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research. “Like the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships, the Luce Scholars Program seeks to identify future American leaders who will shape the direction of their respective professions.”
Following a weeklong orientation in New York and San Francisco, Ms. Metre’s journey in Asia will begin in July, when she will undergo two months of intensive language lessons before beginning her placement. While she won’t know for sure where she will go until next month, Ms. Metre is currently planning on spending her Luce year in Indonesia.
“I always thought I needed a year’s experience in a developing country if I want to consider myself at all knowledgeable about international development,” says Ms. Metre. “In Asia, in particular, where rapid economic growth among low income and middle income countries has been widespread, I look forward to gaining some insight on how people from these countries are defining and owning the concept of ‘development’”
Ms. Metre competed against more than 200 students and young professionals under 30 to receive the scholarship, a process which included three rounds of interviews.
In the final round, Ms. Metre spoke with six selectors for the Luce Scholarship Program, which included the vice president of National Geographic Society, a senior official at Center for Disease Control and the vice president of the RAND Corporation.
“The greatest part of the whole application process was getting to talk to these people informally,” she says.
Ms. Metre has been studying and working in the field of international development since 2005, including stints at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, ACCION International, International Relief & Development and the United Nations Development Programme.
A native of San Francisco, Ms. Metre’s interest in international development began during high school, when she spent time as a student in Peru and Cuba. When she was applying to colleges, Ms. Metre says she was immediately attracted to GW’s Elliott School for International Affairs because of its multifaceted curriculum.
After graduating in 2009, Ms. Metre stayed at GW to pursue a master in public administration degree from GW’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and will graduate this May.
Ms. Metre was also a member of GW’s Elizabeth Somers Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) as an undergraduate and is currently serving as a WLP resident teaching assistant.
Ms. Buckley, program coordinator for WLP in International Arts and Culture, says she is “not surprised” Ms. Metre received recognition from the Luce Scholars Program.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Kanika, both in the classroom and on outside projects,” she says. “She is an impressive, mature and talented student. Her hard work, intellectual curiosity and personal interactions define her many accomplishments.”
No matter what field of study a student pursues at GW, Ms. Metre believes study abroad is a valuable part of a college education.
“I have been exposed to new perspectives, whether that means a new cultural perspective on leadership, on women's rights, on family or even a new academic perspective on how to explain a subject or what makes a good paper,” she says. “I would advise students to make use of both the Office for Study Abroad and the Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research as two great resources at GW.”
Although Ms. Metre will soon be leaving GW, she says she will always consider the university—and D.C. —as a home.
“GW’s been a big part of my life for six years,” she says. “I’m excited about the next step but I will probably return to D.C.!”