February 29, 2016

Isabel Ball BA ’15 Wins Prestigious Luce Scholarship

Isabel Ball BA ’15 has been named a Luce Scholar for 2016–17. The highly prestigious award from the Henry Luce Foundation provides funding for young leaders to spend a year in Asia conducting research that will lead to their professional advancement.

Isabel Ball BA ’15 has been named a Luce Scholar for 2016–17. The highly prestigious award from the Henry Luce Foundation provides funding for young leaders to spend a year in Asia conducting research that will lead to their professional advancement.

Selection is very competitive: out of several hundred applicants from across the nation, the foundation selects just 15 to 20 Luce Scholars per year. Ball is the second Lewis & Clark alumnus to receive the honor since 2012.

Ball majored in psychology and minored in ethnic and Latin American studies and is currently working on a permaculture farm in Colombia. As part of her numerous field research experiences, Ball honed her cross-cultural skills at Arizona’s Child Protective Services and at the Immigrant Women’s Support Services of Australia. She had previously co-led an alternative spring break trip to rural El Salvador, and participated in migration policy reform in Washington, D.C.

“I’m interested in working as a clinical social worker, specifically with those being deported back to their country of origin,” said Ball. “I also want to serve as a liaison between governments and civil service organizations, making sure that they’re working together to create and solidify resources for returning families.” While she works with the Luce Foundation to determine her placement in Asia, Ball hopes to participate in issues of migration and resettlement.

One of only 75 colleges in the nation chosen to nominate Luce Scholars, Lewis & Clark earned its standing as a nominating institution in 2008. Megan Mills Novoa BA ’09 became the college’s first Luce Scholar in 2012. She worked to develop strategies for adaptation to the impact of climate change on food security at the Center for Sustainable Rural Development in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Academic Awards & Fellowships (AAF)