Kronfol

Hania Kronfol of Toronto, Ontario, a senior government major in the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell, has been named a junior fellow by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.

Kronfol was one of only 10 awardees to be selected from a pool of applicants nominated by approximately 300 institutions. The annual award provides a one-year paid internship with the Carnegie Endowment.

"Competition for the Carnegie Junior Fellows program is extremely tough, so this is really a tremendous honor and accomplishment for Hania and a fitting conclusion to her four terrific years at Cornell," said Christopher Way, assistant professor of government and Kronfol's adviser and nominator. "Beyond sterling academic performance, Hania has accumulated a tremendous amount of research experience for an undergraduate, making her a perfect candidate for this opportunity. I'm thrilled she'll have the chance to be a Carnegie junior fellow."

Kronfol, who also is pursuing a concentration in international relations at Cornell, will work with the endowment's Democracy Program. The endowment is designed for students planning a career in international affairs.

"I was incredibly excited when I received the acceptance phone call," said Kronfol. "This fellowship provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the [Carnegie] research fellows and gain exposure to the dense circle of policy analysts in the beltway."

Carnegie junior fellows work as research assistants on projects such as nonproliferation, democracy building, immigration, international economics, development and the environment, China, the information revolution and Russian-Eurasian issues.

Proficient in French, Spanish and spoken Arabic, Kronfol is finishing her honor's thesis on political liberalization in Egypt.

From January to August of 2003, she served as an intern at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, D.C. There she conducted research on Middle East political reform, reconstruction in Iraq and global arms control agreements for senior fellows and visiting scholars. She also conducted research for and fact-checked a forthcoming book by the center's director, Martin Indyk, on Syrian-Israeli relations during the Clinton administration, among other duties.

Kronfol is the vice president and treasurer of the Cornell Public Service Center's Alternative Breaks program, for which she manages and directs five public service trips by students in cities across the United States. In the summer of 2001, she volunteered with other Cornell students building a community center in an impoverished village in the Dominican Republic. The project was sponsored through the Public Service Center.

She is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society.

Kronfol said she is indebted to Way for his help with the Carnegie application and, she said, as a faculty adviser, professor and independent study adviser "he has long provided me with the patient advice, tactful guidance and warm encouragement that I will probably never be able to repay."

She also thank Beth Fiori, Cornell Career Services fellowship coordinator.

Kronfol said she eventually plans to pursue a master's degree or doctorate in public policy and international relations.

"I have long been interested in the study of foreign affairs and since I interned at the Brookings Institution last year, I was quickly drawn to the think-tank environment," she said. "This fellowship really encapsulates a lot of my own interests, and I am sure it will help steer the future course of my career path."