Only 50 undergraduates get the opportunity each year to participate in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) as an Honors Fellow.  This year a student from Rutgers University in Newark was one of those 50.  Kaitlyn Bonsell was named one of the 2008 Honors Fellows, and will take part in a “yearlong program of educational enrichment,” according to program administrators. The Montville, N.J., resident already completed the first aspect of the fellowship: a weeklong, all-expense paid ISI summer conference, “Civilization and Civilizations: The West in Context,” which was held in June in Quebec City, Canada.

Kaitlyn, who is scheduled to graduate in spring 2009, is triple-majoring in English, ancient and medieval civilizations, and music.

During the conference Kaitlyn was able to debate with faculty mentors from the humanities and social sciences disciplines from higher education institutions across the country.   “The ISI Honors Program is a unique mentoring program offering our most talented undergraduates opportunity to engage in high-level, one-on-one debate with elite university faculty. Such mentoring opportunities are rare in the modern academy,” explained John Joseph Shanley, Honors Program Director, ISI.

Over the next academic year Kaitlyn will receive special mentoring from faculty members, participate in seminars and online discussions, attend an ISI Career development Seminar, and receive a collection of books and journals.

ISI is a national educational organization headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.