Three MMC Students Named 2012 Jeannette K. Watson Fellows

Originally from Winslow Township in New Jersey, Trye has been involved in student government and musical theatre during her first year at Marymount Manhattan. Though she is majoring in biology, she is making time in her academic life for another passion, journalism. A strong advocate for women’s rights and diversity efforts, Tyre helps to create events as the Senator for Diversity and has worked with The League of Women Voters.

Focusing on political science and international studies, Uddin is active as a tutor for the Center for Academic Achievement, helping students with algebra and American history, and is a Senator for the Student Government Association. Always ready to help others, Uddin has worked with the I Have a Dream Foundation to help under-resourced 8th and 9th grade students improve their standardized test scores and boost their mathematics skills confidence. She arrived in the United States from Bangladesh only four years ago and is a graduate of Newcomers High School in Long Island City. 

Warwinsky is in his first year at Marymount Manhattan, where he plans to study both acting and political science. Both a stage actor and comfortable in the great outdoors, Warwinsky helped to connect and maintain two hiking trails in the Adirondack National Park. He has also dedicated time to the Bucks County Housing Group as a volunteer to help organize activities for children, to keep the apartments landscaped, and to organize food and clothing donations for tenants. 

“What an honor it is that the J.K. Watson Fellowship has selected three students, in the same year, from Marymount Manhattan – a first for the College,” said Kevin Connell, M.F.A., professor of theatre arts and MMC campus representative for the J. K. Watson Fellowship Selection Committee. “Alice, Sameera and Adam are each uniquely special. All three are growing and evolving, and all three see themselves as citizens of the world.” 

Established by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation in 1999, the fellowship operates on the principle that “talent is broadly distributed but only selectively developed.” Recipients of the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship have enrolled in graduate school, win national fellowships, earn jobs in their chosen fields, and volunteer for service opportunities, such as Teach for America and the Peace Corps. The program encourages fellows to engage in internships in nonprofit organizations, government service and private enterprise. 

The three new MMC Watson Fellows will conduct their first Watson internships this summer. In the past, Marymount Manhattan recipients have spent their first summer internships at organizations, such as the New-York Historical Society, Echoing Green, the Gotham Gazette and DonorsChoose. Watson Fellow Matt Corridoni ’13, a political science and theatre arts major, spent last summer in the Program Services unit of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and will be working in the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg this summer. Watson Fellow Erica Jackson ’12 interned at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in 2010, at Christie’s in 2011, and will be spending her final summer in Tunisia with AMIDEAST, an American nonprofit educational organization. 

Marymount Manhattan’s J.K. Watson Fellowship Selection Committee includes Connell; Elizabeth Barre, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious studies; Melissa Benca, director of Career Services; Ghassan Shabaneh, Ph.D., associate professor of international studies; and Blanca Vega, director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: April 11, 2012