Clare Holtzman '17 has received a highly competitive yearlong Princeton in Africa fellowship, one of only 51 recent college graduates accepted into the program this year.

Holtzman, who graduated from Colorado College with a major in English and minor in Russian, Nonviolence, and Music, will work with the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania.

The daughter of anthropologists, Holtzman spent extended periods of her life living with livestock herders in East Africa, where she learned firsthand the daily challenges impoverished rural families face in developing countries. During high school she also spent time in Japan, learning about Kyoto's education system. From these widely varied experiences, she developed a commitment early on to eliminating barriers to high quality education and an interest in the policies that shape people's everyday economic and educational realities globally.

At CC, Holtzman worked on political campaigns, served as a legislative intern for two United States senators, and founded a college organization addressing socioeconomic challenges.

In her study abroad to Russia, she conducted research about Russians' understandings of their identities from a contemporary global perspective. After college, Holtzman served as a youth specialist for the non-profit Joint Initiatives, where she developed new strategies for strengthening youth voices at all levels of child and family systems and services.

"The fellowship with the Indigenous Education Foundation of Tanzania has a mission I love - providing high quality education supported by the indigenous community the organization serves," says Holtzman.

Princeton in Africa, founded in 1999, develops young leaders committed to Africa's advancement by offering yearlong fellowship opportunities with a variety of organizations that work across the African continent.

This year's fellows are from 31 colleges and universities, and are working with 31 organizations in 13 African countries. Since Princeton in Africa's founding, they have had 545 fellows in 36 countries.