Meet the Scholars of 2023
The History Department congratulates the 2023 inaugural cohort of Sanders Scholars!
We are so grateful to Ian Sanders ('91) for endowing the Sanders Scholars Program. Professor Robin Bates will lead the program, which begins this fall. We are thrilled to welcome 15 undergraduate students who will gather around the table in the Leopold Room, Harris Hall 108 (for both fall and winter quarters) to engage with big questions, meet major figures in the field, and collaborate with fellow students.
Chloe Braswell
My name is Chloe Braswell (Class of 2026) and I am studying Computer Science and Economics in Weinberg. Right now, I'm focused on diving deeper into the subjects I'm interested in. Outside of my majors, that starts with the Sanders Scholars program, where I look forward to examining the patterns that reveal themselves in history, and likewise, the exceptions. Outside of this program, I hope to participate in a language immersion program next year in a Latin American country to master Spanish and explore different cultures.
Maxine van der Donk
I am Maxine van der Donk, a member of the class of 2026, born and raised in Champaign, Illinois. I am currently majoring in chemistry, although I’m hoping to add a history double major or minor. Outside of academics, I have played soccer almost my entire life, and have recently joined the club rugby team here at Northwestern. If you ever see me walking down Sheridan, it will be with my headphones on, probably playing music loud enough for you to hear. I’ve always loved learning about history, but I am looking forward to engaging with the subject more deeply than I ever have before, and learning about the big conversations and questions taking place in the current field of historical study. I look to enter this program with an open mind about the subject of history and what areas my developing interests and knowledge may take me. And of course, I cannot wait to meet and learn with and from my fellow Sanders Scholars!
Theo Faugeres
My name is Theo Faugeres, I'm a second-year from São Paulo, Brazil, and plan on graduating with a double major in Mathematics and History. I chose both majors out of personal interest, and they make for a good balance between humanities and STEM! I signed up Sanders Scholars program because I was interested in shaking up how I work with history, taking a class with a very different format than usual, as well as exploring with greater depth many of the more expansive topics that I have seen in previous classes. This point works both in terms of seeing more content, as well as talking with professors and historians to see how I can improve my own craft. Ideally, I would like to feel the difference in my work when transitioning to the research project in the second term.
Amber Flowers
Hello! My name is Amber Flowers, and I am a second-year European history student. I am still exploring other topics for a minor or double major as well, such as political science or archaeology. With the Sanders Scholars Program, I am looking forward to having the chance to learn what it actually means to be a historian that can innovate and reinvigorate old questions as well as develop new ones, rather than simply reiterate and rearrange facts. I also want to bring to the table a viewpoint that comes from doing work in multiple humanities fields.
Aja Frazier 
I’m Aja Frazier! I’m a first year (2026 grad year) and I’m currently a history major with a minor in music. I’m really looking forward with talking to other historians and delving into the role of the historian themself in history, as it’s something I’ve been curious about for a while but haven’t been able to explore.
Zach Gershowitz 
My name is Zach Gershowitz, I am a currently a Junior studying history with an adjunct major in international studies. After Northwestern, I plan on attending law school with an interest in pursuing public policy. In that vision, I worked at civil rights law firm this past Winter and will be working at a labor law firm this Summer. With my acceptance to the Sanders Scholars program, I hope to hone my writing and research skills, while answering some of history's biggest questions. I applied to the program because I believe that these are invaluable skills, and I am excited to see how the lessons I take from the program will aid me as I progress in both my academic and professional careers.
Jason Huang
I am a student in the class of 2024 majoring in Biological Sciences, Neuroscience, and History and minoring in Data Science. Outside of class, I participate in research and volunteering and I am a member of Northwestern Quizbowl. I am a junior transfer student from the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, my emphasis was in Ancient History and at Northwestern, my concentration is in European History. I am looking forward to engaging in meaningful academic discussions and improving my history scholarship/writing skills. As someone who has a very interdisciplinary background, with academic experiences in the sciences, computing, and humanities, I hope that I can bring a unique perspective to the seminar.
Inaya Hussain
I'm Inaya Hussain, and I'm graduating in 2026. I'm currently an MMSS major and critical theory minor, and hoping to do a History double major now that I can take the 393 and 395 classes in this program! I'm excited to meet with historians and learn more about what historians take into account when doing their work. I'd also love to learn more about how different historians view the purpose of history.
Scott Hwang
I'm a first-year student studying Math and Data Science. I've enjoyed learning history for a long time, and I hope to use this opportunity to find topics and questions that I can follow further. I'm also interested in the role of history in society: how should it be used, and how should it not?
Andres Kaneb
Hello, my name is Andres Kaneb. I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and Monterrey, Mexico; my family currently lives in Houston, Texas. I will graduate in the spring of 2024 with a double major in economics and history. I'm very excited to be a Sanders Scholar this upcoming year. Economic history is my big interest and a topic which I hope to pursue as a Sanders Scholar. Studying history through the lense of economics is my favorite way to learn history.
Leo Kurland
I'm Leo Kurland. I'm a Theatre and History double major. Class of 2025. I don't have a specific focus yet but I'm just generally interested in learning researching skills and discovering stories from many different places and times. A part of my interest in historical research comes from my background in playwriting and my interest in bolstering stories with real life information.
Jovana Lakic
My name is Jovana Lakić, and I am a double-major in History and Political Science in the graduating class of 2025. My history concentration is in Asia and the Middle East, but I am also interested in Eastern Europe. Within this program, I am especially interested in exploring complex historical questions, such as structure vs. agency or geography vs. destiny, which have come up in several of my previous classes in both of my majors. Furthermore, I am excited to complete an original research project and to work alongside my fellow Sanders Scholars who likely share similar interests.
Cate Rose
Cate Rose (she/her) is a first-year from Palo Alto, California intending to double major in Computer Science and History. Cate is the co-Academic Chair for Willard Residential College and a Peer Adviser for the 2023–2024 incoming class. Outside of schoolwork, she is an avid painter, sitcom quoter, dog enthusiast, and city explorer. As someone interested in combining her love of design and the humanities in a future career, Cate is thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with the talented and multifaceted Sanders students and faculty, who are united by their common love for the humanities despite differing areas of study. As someone interested in the intersection of design engineering and the humanities, Cate can’t wait to work with the Sanders class and grapple together on the pressing and ambiguous questions facing the study of history and the world at large!
Janice Seong
Janice is a first-year student from Westchester, New York planning on studying History and Data Science. She is looking forward to exploring the effect of imperialism and military occupation on dispossession, land governance, and property rights. She is also excited to engage with scholarly questions and debates alongside peers and established historians. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, exploring coffee shops, and reading literary fiction.
Margaret Sprigg-Dudley
Margaret is a member of the class of 2026 from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is majoring in sociology and minoring in history and environmental policy and culture. She is a member of SOLR (Students Organizing for Labor Rights), the social chair for Willard Residential College, and a barista. Outside of school she enjoys hunting down new coffee shops (ask her about her spreadsheet), making references to TV shows people haven't watched, and tapping maple trees. She is passionate about history because of the ways it binds events and people together. She particularly enjoys learning about different social movements and patterns of culture. She is looking forward to diving more deeply into these stories and connecting with her classmates.