In 2006 – 2007 the International House Collegiate Fellowship Program was launched, welcoming twelve outstanding advanced undergraduate students from the College of the University of Chicago to live at the House. A diverse group representing four countries and 5 U.S. states, the Fellows major in subjects ranging from physics, classics, international relations and history to biochemistry, biology, linguistics, and anthropology. Active in both community and global affairs this inaugural group of Collegiate Fellows seeks to integrate a deeper understanding of the world with their academic objectives and finds that living in the extraordinary and diverse community of International House provides a unique dimension to their College experience.

The 2006-2007 Collegiate Fellows are: Maximilian Bock, Ryan Kaminski, Anita Lukic, Dominique Marshall, Daniel Morales, Christopher Pegg, Ian Romain, Felix P. Sanchez, Jonathan Strysko, Fahd Tayyab, Emily Weimer, and Chang-beom (Paul)Yu. Please click on a name to read more about each fellow.

Maximilian Bock

A German citizen studying in London, Max is a King's College Exchange Student spending this academic year at the University of Chicago majoring in Physics.  He has received awards in both the Austrian Mathematics Olympiad and Austrian Chemistry Olympiad and has a working knowledge of 8 languages.  He is a serious student intent on developing cutting-edge technology.  Although Max seeks to understand the world in both scientific and philosophical ways he also enjoys a wide range of extra-curricular eclectic activities like sailing, Jiu-Jitsu and break dancing.

Ryan Kaminski

An American transfer student from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ryan has become an enthusiastic participant in the University of Chicago community through Student Government and the Model United Nations. Majoring in International Studies with a focus on International Political Economy, Ryan is passionate about many transnational issues such as poverty, industrialization and globalization.  He has raised funds to alleviate the suffering of orphans in China and traveled to Thailand last summer under the auspices of the Free Burma Project.  Earlier in the summer he participated in the Harvard-run intensive language program in Beijing and currently studies third-year Chinese in the College.  He is planning a career in international policymaking and, along with his academic work and study abroad experience, he views living and interacting with students at International House as an opportunity to extend his understanding of globalization.

Anita Lukic

Fleeing war-torn Yugoslavia as a child in the early 1990s, Anita and her family found brief refuge in Germany before being forced to leave and rebuild yet another new life in the United States.  Fluent in four languages, Anita has incorporated the hardships of her early life into a platform from which she reaches out to others.  She is involved in the Neighborhood Schools Program, the Bosnia Herzegovina American Community Center and Action for Children. The first in her family to attend college, Anita carries a heavy academic load with a double major in German and Classical Studies. Now completing her fourth year in the College, she plans to pursue a PhD program in German Studies. 

Dominique Marshall

Whether as a scholar or an athlete, Dominique strives for excellence.  A third year American student with plans to enter law school to become a criminal defense attorney, she majors in Law, Letters and Society with a minor in Spanish.   A strong advocate of social justice, Dominique plans to work with disadvantaged and impoverished communities providing resources for education and employment.  She is not waiting for a law degree to make a difference however, and currently volunteers her time with the Woodlawn After School Tutoring Program and the Pacific Garden Mission Homeless Shelter in downtown Chicago, and she is an active member of the Organization of Black Students on campus. Her 3.54 GPA belies the fact that Dominique is also a superb and dedicated athlete.  She was named as an NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete in softball and the University of Chicago Rookie of the Year in 2005, and is an Academic All UAA in volleyball.  

Daniel Morales

A Mexican-American from the immigrant community of Azusa, California, Daniel strives to bring a different voice to campus through his activities – academic, volunteer and social.   A third year with a double major in History and Political Science, he volunteers his time in the Office of Special Programs and the Neighborhood Schools Program.  He also serves as the College Vice President for Community Affairs. In keeping with his quiet leadership style, upon arriving at International House in the fall Daniel immediately sought out ways in which he could contribute to the life of the House.  He mounted a successful campaign and was elected as Vice President of the International House Residents' Council where he has helped contribute to the vibrant social life of the House.

Christopher Pegg

Even before Hurricane Katrina destroyed his family's home in New Orleans during the summer prior to his second year in the College, Christopher's life had been one of movement, change and integration.  Growing up as a self-described white minority in South Central Los Angeles, the Rodney King Race Riots during his childhood shaped his views on the reality of racial tensions.  Upon moving to Austin, Texas, he experienced the cultural balancing act of living like a southern gentleman within the macho Tejano culture.  His interests in language and in how different ethnic groups integrate to form communities led to a double major in Linguistics and Anthropology with a minor in Near Eastern Civilizations and Languages.  To continue understanding different cultural groups, he chose to live at International House to practice his newly acquired language skills after a seventh-month study abroad experience in which he studied Arabic in Beirut before heading to China to study East Asian Civilization with the University of Chicago Study Abroad Program.

Ian Romain

An accomplished actor and playwright, Ian channels his love of words and ability to communicate into his studies as a major in Romance Languages and Literature.  A child and youth actor who has performed in movies, television and professional theater, he is the 2004 winner of the Young Playwrights Festival National Playwriting Contest sponsored by Stephen Sondheim. His award-winning play, The Matchstick Theory, was professionally performed in New York Off-Broadway before being performed as a main stage production at University Theater at the University Of Chicago in 2005.  Ian was appointed a Student Marshal in 2006, the highest academic honor that the University of Chicago gives to its undergraduates.  Fluent in 4 languages, Ian creates and thrives on opportunities to interact with many different groups of people.  Of himself he says that "I am sure that every international community would benefit from having a redheaded Kansan of Irish, Scottish, Ukrainian, Austrian, Polish and German ancestry who is a wordsmith and a communicator … and a bit of a ham."

Felix P. Sanchez

Originally a commuter student for his first two years in the College, Felix chose to live at International House as a way of preparing himself for a career as a Foreign Service Officer.  Fluent in five languages with a major in Political Science, Felix is also the recipient of the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.  A Dean's list student, Felix is a member of the Maroon Key Society, the College's honorary society whose members serve as advisors to the Dean of the College and the Dean of Students in the College.  A gifted guitarist, Felix has also won numerous music awards and has performed both locally and internationally. 

Jonathan Strysko

An aspiring physician with a major in History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS) and a minor in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC), Jonathan is deeply committed to issues of human rights.  Along with his parents he has done work in rural Zimbabwe, working as a lab and clinical assistant, testing for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in the local populations.  He is a Community Service Leadership Corps member at the University of Chicago where he has participated in weekly community service and social justice projects in Chicago.  He mobilized and led a group of ten students to help build houses with a Habitat for Humanity over Spring Break and led a group of students on a day of service with a program which serves immigrant and refugee populations.  Jonathan is an expert cellist and violinist, performing with the University Symphony Orchestra.  He has taught violin and cello to school-age children in Harare, Zimbabwe and coached students in violin technique and music theory at the Zimbabwe College of Music.  He symbolically combined these seemingly disparate activities in a unique and personal way.  Before returning to Chicago from Zimbabwe last summer, Jonathan took his beloved cello to the local marketplace and asked a wood carver to carve into it, transforming the scroll of his cello into the regal head of a Sekuru – an African elder.

Fahd Tayyab

A Muslim student at King's College in London, Fahd is an Exchange Student in the College this year.  He is preparing for a PhD program in theoretical physics with a specific interest in solar energy physics.  His career goal is to set up a research center for work in renewable energies.  Well-traveled to Asia, Africa and the United Arab Emirates, Fahd is fluent in three languages. He is actively concerned with helping to correct the many misconceptions about Muslims that have arisen in the world during the last few years and has worked with several student organizations both in London and in Chicago to create a larger awareness of Islamic culture.

Emily Weimer

Growing up in the Northwestern United States, Emily has cultivated a broad view of the world.  She has stood atop some of the highest peaks in America having successfully summited the South, North and Middle Sisters range, Three-Fingered Jack, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Broken Top, and Mt. Rainier.  She has sought out ways to get to know the world at ground level as well, by studying abroad in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Ecuador.  Fluent in Spanish, she has worked with migrant Mexican families who labor their way through the agricultural industry of Oregon's Willamette Valley (her home) and has volunteered her time at the University of Chicago Hospitals Pediatric Unit helping Spanish-speaking families.  As a pre-medical student applying to medical schools, Emily sees medicine as a study of relationships and views the major challenge to physicians to be one of finding the balance between science and humanity in order to better treat the patient.  

Chang-beom (Paul)Yu

Growing up in South Korea before coming to the U.S. for high school and college, Chang-beom, or Paul, as he prefers to be called in America, appreciates the knowledge and the challenges that living with two cultural perspectives present.  With a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Computational Science, Paul plans to go to medical school to become a surgeon.  He volunteers his time as a tutor with at-risk students in the Chicago Youth Program and as a mentor to youngsters in the Washington Park Youth Program.  Fluent in three languages, Paul is a member of the University Chorus, the Gregorian Chant Choir and the Chicago Crew team.