Recent Awardees
Graduate Fellowship Recipients
Nicole T. Venker
Recipient of Jesse F. and Dora H. Bluestone Peace Studies Fellowship, 2024-25
Graduate Fellowships are made possible by the generous support of the Marion and Frank Long family, the Jesse F. and Dora H. Bluestone family, and an anonymous donor.
André Nascimento
Recipient of the Marion and Frank Long Fellowship, 2024-25
Graduate Fellowships are made possible by the generous support of the Marion and Frank Long family, the Jesse F. and Dora H. Bluestone family, and an anonymous donor.
Freeman Prize and Fellowship in Peace Studies
Arina Danilina
Recipient of the Harrop and Ruth Freeman Fellowship in Peace Studies, 2025-26
The Harrop and Ruth Freeman Fellowship is awarded annually to a PACS Global Intern and encourages Cornell undergraduates to pursue summer work related to peace studies and conflict resolution.
About Arina
After taking “Refugee Pathways and Resettlement Policy” with Julie Ficarra and “Archaeology and the Bible” with Lauren Monroe, a question began tormenting me: why do people do so much harm? What is hiding in people’s nature and the systems they have erected that produces so many weapons and wars; so much violence, terrorism, and loss of homelands and loved ones? My interest in peace studies stems from a deep desire to understand and address the structural forces that produce conflicts, displacement, and human suffering. Through my academic work in psychology, anthropology, and policy at Cornell, I am examining the architecture and environmental design of refugee camps and their impact on the mental health and identity perception of their inhabitants. Moreover, I am committed to exploring alternatives to refugee camps, moving beyond the nature of encampment and thinking of frameworks that would support the successful integration of new arrivals into host communities along with rebuilding lives in the aftermath of violence. I believe that learning more about peacebuilding through education, equity, and social change makes us, as human beings, better equipped to develop profound and impactful solutions to challenges global communities face!
Joel Carl Algot Ekstroem
Recipient of the Harrop and Ruth Freeman Prize in Peace Studies, 2025-26
The Freeman Prize is awarded annually in the spring to a Cornell graduating senior, or a graduating Master's student. The Freemans established the prize to offer recognition and encouragement to Cornell students actively engaged in promoting peace and to encourage continued work or education in the field of peace studies.
About Joel
Joel Ekström is graduating from the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) programme in Global Development at Cornell University. He has a background in Peace and Conflict studies, which he studied at Lund University, Sweden. Throughout his studies he has focused on the interrelation of hunger and conflict, writing his undergraduate thesis about the weaponization of food in the conflict in Yemen, and during his time at Cornell University he researched the pathway from food insecurity to conflict. Joel has previously worked for the UN World Food Programme and for the Danish think tank The Council for International Conflict Resolution (RIKO), and will continue to seek out ways to work for a less hungry and more peaceful world.
Molly Goldstein
Recipient of the Harrop and Ruth Freeman Prize in Peace Studies, 2025-26
The Freeman Prize is awarded annually in the spring to a Cornell graduating senior, or a graduating Master's student. The Freemans established the prize to offer recognition and encouragement to Cornell students actively engaged in promoting peace and to encourage continued work or education in the field of peace studies.
About Molly
Molly Goldstein was a double major in Government and Near Eastern Studies with a minor in dance. She is passionate about the intersection of climate, cooperation, natural resources, and peace, hoping to pursue a career in international development. Molly's interest in peace studies began at a young age, growing up in a small Jewish neighborhood of Houston, TX. Surrounded by news of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and antisemitism, she desired to learn more at Cornell, enrolling in courses across international relations and Middle Eastern politics to explore what motivates nations to work with or against one another. As a result, she made it her mission to understand peace in the Middle East. She worked for the American Jewish Committee to understand global advocacy, and she interned in Israel for the Jerusalem Institute of Justice to research the Abraham Accords, studying how agricultural technology and security cooperation might serve as tools for regional peace. Later, she interned for the House Foreign Affairs Committee, engaging in bipartisan legislative work aimed at bolstering U.S. cooperation in global conflict zones. Most recently, she channeled her interests into a senior honors thesis on environmental peacebuilding, researching how freshwater has been and can be utilized as a tool in MENA agreements to foster cooperation instead of conflict. She hopes to continue her work in peace studies by working in the climate-technology sphere, seeing how countries can build peace and prosperity through cooperation.
Sofiia Kozak
Recipient of the Harrop and Ruth Freeman Prize in Peace Studies, 2025-26
The Freeman Prize is awarded annually in the spring to a Cornell graduating senior, or a graduating Master's student. The Freemans established the prize to offer recognition and encouragement to Cornell students actively engaged in promoting peace and to encourage continued work or education in the field of peace studies.