Kenyan Scholar Wins Coveted American Fellowship.
A Kenyan scholar and professor has been awarded the 2022 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program at Michigan State University.
As part of the 2022 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, Jonathan Choti, an assistant professor of African Languages and Cultures at Michigan State University, will collaborate with partners in Kenya.
Choti, an MSU Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures faculty member, was awarded the prestigious fellowship to co-develop and strengthen curriculum, grow research, and mentor graduate students in the Swahili Program at the University of Kabianga in Kericho, Kenya.
“I feel proud to be a recipient of this prestigious award and to know that hard work, determination, and grit can bear fruit,” Choti stated.
“It’s a confirmation that my work is valuable and fulfilling and a confirmation of my goal to be better every day so I can best help my students.”
According to the scholar, he applied for the fellowship because it would allow him to share his experience in America and education in Kenya.
Michigan State University assistant professor of African languages and cultures, Jonathan Choti
According to MSU Today, the Carnegie Scholar Fellowship Program supports educational projects at African higher education institutions and is designed for African-born scholars based in North America.
He will be assigned a two-month fellowship at the University of Kabianga (UoK).
During that time, he will work with his host, Mohammed Ramadhan Karama, in the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Communications at the University of Kent, to develop and strengthen programs at the relatively new institution, which became a full-fledged university in 2013.
“The project also will establish linkages between UoK and MSU for student, scholarly, and research exchanges in the area of languages and linguistics,” the publication explained.
Choti stated that contributing to the advancement of education in Kenya is critical, which is why winning the 2022 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program meant so much to him and Kenya.
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“Our educational systems are so different. I want to give back and enrich educational programs in Kenya and contribute to their growth.
“It feels really great to realize I’ll be there sharing knowledge, experience, and skills, and being a role model and motivator of young people,” he noted.
The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program (CADFP) is an academic fellowship program for African higher education institutions.
Kenyan Scholar Wins Coveted American Fellowship
