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April 25th, 2023   |   SIT Study Abroad

This post is excerpted from an article published by by staff writer Trinity Pontoon, and a separate article in . The material is reprinted here with permission.

Bates College senior Adilene Sandoval is among 42 seniors nationally, and one of two SIT study abroad alumni*, who received grants as part of the 55th class of the , a prestigious one-year grant for "pur颅pose颅ful, inde颅pen颅dent explo颅ration out颅side the Unit颅ed States, award颅ed to grad颅u颅at颅ing seniors,鈥� according to the fellowship鈥檚 website. Winners receive $40,000 to pursue and realize their original project during the year following their graduation.

Sandoval, a sociology and environmental studies double major, will embark on a journey through Australia, Italy, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Colombia, and Guatemala to complete her research project, 鈥淲eaving Together Activism and Healing.鈥� Her project will explore different trauma healing models and anti-colonial, justice-informed healing models through interviews and volunteer work.

She hopes to 鈥淸bring] together activism and healing to foster psychological well-being, a decolonial social consciousness, active resistance and progressive social justice in the communities affected by institutional violence, repression and social injustices.鈥�

According to Sandoval in an email interview, her project鈥檚 inspiration 鈥渃ame from wanting to create alternative realities鈥�that center healing鈥�for the inequalities I have witnessed my entire life.鈥�

It was a sacred cycle nurtured through generations of land stewards who passed down their teachings to my father, who then passed them on to me.

After her , traveling through Ecuador, Spain and South Africa with 91精品, where she learned about the intersection of sustainability, agriculture, and social justice, Sandoval found herself 鈥渉eartbroken, having a really hard time processing the immense theme of inequalities that persisted across all three countries, specifically affecting BIPOC communities.鈥�

At age 8, Sandoval and her family left the mountains of Michoac谩n, Mexico, and moved to the U.S. in search of a better life. In Mexico, she recalls, life revolved around her family and the land, whether she was helping her father fish for river crabs鈥�肠丑补肠补濒别蝉鈥�or growing roses and medicinal herbs with her mother. 鈥淚t was a sacred cycle nurtured through generations of land stewards who passed down their teachings to my father, who then passed them on to me,鈥� she says.

Settling in Washington state, Sandoval and her family worked in industrial agriculture, harvesting apples, cherries, asparagus, and peaches. The symbiotic conversation between Sandoval and the earth was muted. 鈥淧eople were not seen as stewards of the land but rather as a labor force.鈥� That dynamic 鈥渓eaves you mentally, physically, and emotionally depleted and disconnected.鈥�

After graduating from high school, Sandoval headed to Bates, deeply mindful of her family鈥檚 and home community鈥檚 resilience. In addition to her studies, she is an active member of Raices Unidas, a digital marketing assistant for the Center for Purposeful Work, and a student ambassador for first-generation students through the college鈥檚 Bobcat First program.

Last summer, Sandoval received an Otis Fellowship to study land stewardship, agriculture, and migration in Oaxaca, Mexico. She recalls watching a group of women there work on tapestries using earth-tone threads, dyed using plants and stones. Those fine threads helped weave together a picture for her of 鈥渆cological and social well-being,鈥� where 鈥渞epair of ecosystem services contributed to cultural revitalization, and renewal of culture promoted the restoration of social and environmental well-being.鈥�

I will be able to explore the spectrum in which justice-oriented healing is occurring and how that could be implemented in our communities, institutions, and systems.

Sandoval heard about the Watson fellowship in her first year at Bates. 鈥淚 remember telling my freshman self to apply when the time came around,鈥� says Sandoval. The fellowship鈥檚 holistic approach to experiential learning and its commitment to funding individuals instead of projects drew her to the program. 鈥淭hey really focus on projects that are an extension of the self,鈥� according to Sandoval.

Though the fellowship does not require the completion of a finished end product, Sandoval will be creating a film collection with her research. In addition, her research will inform the approach she takes into a PhD program upon her return to the U.S. 鈥淚 want my research to represent the broad range of healing practices that exist and not limit itself to western-based practices.鈥�

During her Watson year, Sandoval will seek to deepen and extend her understanding of the concept of community healing that she鈥檇 seen in Oaxaca, by volunteering and speaking with community members, organizers, healers, academics, writers, and psychologists in six countries.

鈥淚 will be able to explore the spectrum in which justice-oriented healing is occurring and how that could be implemented in our communities, institutions, and systems,鈥� she says.

Sandoval will seek ideas across six countries and five continents, from sovereignty and intergenerational healing within Aboriginal peoples of Australia to the role of community cultural wealth in facilitating healing from displacement in Black immigrant communities in Italy.

Sandoval will depart for her Watson year by August 1 and will return in August of 2024. After her Watson year, Sandoval plans to pursue a PhD in counseling psychology and begin a career in action-oriented research and counseling.

* of Colorado College also received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship grant. Schink attended in spring 2022.