Alissa Escarce ’11 and Lea Steinacker ’11 have won the Henry Richardson Labouisse ’26 Prize, the University announced on Tuesday. The prize is awarded annually to graduating seniors who intend to pursue a career devoted to the development and modernization of foreign countries and includes a $25,000 fellowship.
The prize was established in 1984 and is intended to support winners through one year of research and service.
Escarce, a history major pursuing a certificate in Latin American studies, plans to use the fellowship to fund a year in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca working with a transnational workers’ rights law center called Centro de los Derechos del Migrante.
In addition to helping expand the capacity of the CDM office, Escarce will also be conducting research on the United States’ H-2 visa program, which provides temporary visas to foreign workers traveling to the United States for seasonal labor opportunities.
Escarce said she was grateful to be able to start independent research directly out of college and was “excited to be able to pursue the interests and passions I have developed during college in a ‘real world’ setting without having to worry about how I will support myself.”
She is also the social chair of the vegetarian co-op at 2 Dickinson St. and a member of the Glee Club.
Steinacker, a Wilson School major pursuing a certificate in African studies, will use the award to travel to four different continents during her fellowship year, exploring a different aspect of sexual violence in each location to understand issues surrounding sexual violence in humanitarian emergencies.
Steinacker said she was honored to receive the award and that, upon hearing she had won, she nearly fell out of her bed in shock.
“Gender-based violence has been called the most pervasive yet least recognized human rights violation in the world, which is why I am particularly grateful that I can use the fellowship to explore this pressing issue,” she explained.
She plans to travel to Australia, Rwanda, Malaysia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and said she will work with professors, nonprofit organizations and medical facilities to approach the issue of sexual violence from a variety of angles and disciplines. Steinacker will end the year in Australia, where she will write about her travels and findings.
A leader of Wilson College’s LGBT education team, Steinacker is also the former president of both Speak Out Against Sexual Violence and GoAhead!, an organization addressing African development.
The Labouisse Prize was established in honor of Henry Richardson Labouisse ’26, a diplomat who devoted his career to efforts toward international justice and development.
He helped rebuild war-torn countries in post-World War II Europe and in the less-developed world.
The fellowship is awarded annually to students who embody his ideals.
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