Givens Fellowship aids students’ journeys to the other side of the world

Two students learn more about themselves by exploring other cultures

What would you do if you could do anything? This is the question posed by the Stuart R. Givens Memorial Fellowship. Two students from the College of Arts and Sciences recently benefited from their unique experiences funded by this fellowship.

When Nautica Savage learned of the fellowship, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to learn more about herself by exploring the Japanese, South Korean and Chinese cultures.

This may seem like an unusual quest for a Catholic girl from Southern California. However, Savage grew up surrounded by minority cultures in her hometown and felt a connection with the quiet and polite Japanese culture that emphasized community and diligence. Her interest in Japanese and Korean societies continued to grow throughout middle school and high school, and she spent her free time researching their television shows, music and cultures.

When she came to Bowling Green State University as a student of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Honors College, she joined the Global Village Learning Community and began Japanese classes, both of which helped her realize that she tended to share values with the Asian exchange students.

She applied for the 2018 BGSU Summer Program in Japan and the Year Abroad Exchange Program with Kobe College in Kansai, Japan, for the 2018-2019 academic year. Before starting her classes at Kobe College, she went to Seoul, South Korea, to get her student visa and explore Korean culture.

Her plan was to experience and observe historical and modern life in Seoul and Japan to discover what she so strongly connected with in those cultures, and ultimately, to come to a better understanding of who she is as a person.

The Givens Fellowship offered Savage the opportunity to expand her study abroad experience from the more developed countries of eastern Asia to include visits to other areas of Japan, as well as Singapore, Brunei, and Hong Kong.

Through this exploration of traditional and modern Asian cultures and customs, Savage grew as a person. She believes she is more broadminded now and open to differing views of life, work, and one’s place in society.

She asked, “Can you really say you are broadminded, open minded and cultured, if you are not open to both the progressive and the traditional?”

Before going on this trip, she equated being open with being liberal politically and socially. Now she defines being open as not judging things as right or wrong, but as preferences.

After graduate school, Savage envisions a future as a college professor. She would like to teach and do research in the areas of culture, language, history and religion. 

“My dad told me that ‘The day you stop learning is the day you die,’ and I never want to stop learning,” Savage said.

BGSU multiplatform journalism major Abby Shifley used her Givens Fellowship to visit India from December 2019 – January 2020 to learn about human trafficking and Muslim discrimination in that country.

Shifley had spent 10 years of her life, from ages 3 to 13, in New Delhi, India, and was anxious to return to “the chaotic, exciting energy that encapsulates the massive city.” Her original purpose was to research human trafficking in India, and to work with organizations that help women and girls who have been rescued from trafficking.

She spent most of her time in New Delhi with one organization, but also traveled to Kolkata for a few days to visit two anti-trafficking organizations there. The organizations cannot be named for safety reasons.

The organization in New Delhi provides a home for women and girls who have been rescued from trafficking, and in some cases provides training in a trade.

The women and girls face forbidding obstacles in their lives, such as a lack of education (since they were trafficked from a young age), mental illness and the absence of family (since families are doing the trafficking in some cases). In spite of these obstacles, some of them, with the help of the organization, go on to become seamstresses, jewelry makers and even nurses.

Stories of perseverance were hard to come by, especially with the re-trafficking rate of 90% in India, but Shifley was reminded of hope by hearing about some of the success stories and by interacting with two of the girls who had graduated from the program — both of whom were the same age as her.

Another focus of her trip developed because of protests that were taking place in India during the time of her visit.

The protests were against two recent government actions, the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Protestors claim that the acts are discrimination based on religion, specifically the Muslim religion, which is a violation of India’s constitution.

In order to better understand the turmoil surrounding the issues, she explored the topic online and spoke with staff and students from a popular English language school in a predominantly Muslim area of New Delhi.

Shifley met up with an American couple in Kolkata who are in the process of starting an English school in a Muslim area of the city. This couple has welcomed a recently displaced Muslim family of six to stay in their home for two months. This family has lived in Kolkata for generations, but are worried they will be excluded from the NRC due to faulty documents.

“I’m not sure of the situation’s resolution, but my heart goes out to the family, and I hope the NRC doesn’t get implemented nationally any time soon,” Shifley said.

She is still processing her Givens Fellowship experience and the influence it may have on her career.

“I was reminded of suffering everywhere in Delhi and Kolkata, from the scars on the street dogs, to the homeless elderly women tapping on car windows during red lights, to the suffering endured by the women and girls who had been trafficked,” said Shifley. “But even though the initial reaction I had was to despair, once I got to know the people working in the organizations and some of the girls who had been rescued, I could see hope.”