Kamika Patel

2023 Newman Family Scholarship Honorable Mention

My name is Kamika Patel, and I am a rising senior, majoring in International Studies and Communication Arts with certificates in Educational Policy and Business Fundamentals. While growing up as a second-generation Indian-American in different urban and suburban environments, I have been exposed to and formed relationships with people from various cultures and backgrounds throughout my upbringing. These interactions made me be encaptivated by cultural differences and similarities and I began wanting to understand the historical and political context behind them too. While I was declared undecided when I began my undergraduate studies, my wanting to pursue International Studies in higher education was heavily determined by the interdisciplinary approach of the major. I do not feel limited to one major or interest as the program combines the studies of foreign languages, history, economics, and politics. The diverse group of students this program attracts based on the various subjects and interests it encapsulates creates a rich learning environment where we can consider multi-layered issues from different perspectives. This is critical to understanding a rapidly advancing globalized and complex world presenting evolving challenges.

During my time in the International Studies major, I have had incredible opportunities to contribute to my education and personal growth. My coursework and leading professors have time and time again made me consider intersecting perspectives as worldly topics are brought to the forefront of engaging classroom discussions. I have also spent time working across different organizations to help English language learners improve their literacy and conversational skills and first or second-generation students with college or employment preparation. While working with an international organization based in Costa Rica, I learned more about the tourism and travel industries in remote areas. As a staff writer and editor for the Wisconsin International Review, a UW–Madison online foreign policy magazine, I have been able to research and write about underreported global affairs. During my study abroad programs in Argentina and Scandinavia, respectively, I have learned what it means to embrace the role of a first-time learner in an international context.

I will continue to study abroad in Scandinavia, Norway specifically, during the summer term of 2023 and return to UW Madison to welcome international students and help other students considering going abroad as well. After graduating from UW–Madison, I hope to go to graduate school for International Affairs and help global communities that face different challenges relating to economic and social inequalities with all of the skills I have developed through my IS major. I truly am grateful for the experiences I have had as an undergraduate student and thank the Newman family’s support of women in the International Studies major.