Victoria Lu and Fuhad Khan are CCNY's 2024 Watson Fellowship recipients
Victoria Lu and Fuhad Khan, both from the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, are The City College of New York’s 2026 Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship recipients. They are among 15 promising undergraduates from New York City colleges and universities selected for the highly competitive awards.
Created in 1999 and supported by the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, the program provides fellows with three years of personal, professional and cultural immersions in the United States and abroad. Fellows are provided with annual funding of $7,500, $9,000 and $10,000, in addition to a $2,500 Discovery Fund to develop their personal, professional, and cultural potential.
A sophomore, Lu is a Macaulay Honors student pursuing a double major in sociology and political science. She’s on the Dean’s List, a Social Change Fellow with the Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice, and an incoming Moynihan Public Service Fellow.
Lu aspires to become a movement attorney or human rights attorney, building upon her commitment to championing social justice and liberation. She also hopes to work internationally, supporting social, political, and cultural rights in a global context. She’s currently interviewing with several organizations before deciding where she will intern as a Watson Fellow.
She was born and raised in Queens by her Korean-Chinese father and Chinese mother.
Khan, who emigrated to the United States from Bangladesh in 2016, is a freshman majoring in political science. He’s dedicated to public service and driven to uplift marginalized communities through organizing and advocacy.
“That is what I do now and what I want to do in the future through policy and government,” he said. “Whatever path I take, I’ll always want to fight for positive change and helping other people.”
Khan’s student honors in only his second semester at CCNY reflect these passions. He’s the recipient of the Colin Powell Fellowship in Leadership and Public Service, which supports promising undergraduate students pursuing careers in government, nonprofit organizations, and other forms of public service. Fellows receive awards of up to $21,500.
He’s also received the Moynihan Public Service Fellowship and was nominated for the Ryan Thoresen Carson Award for Student Leadership by NYPIRG.
He has three options for his first internship as a Watson Fellow: as a policy research assistant at the Center for an Urban Future; as an engagement intern at the New York City Mayor's Office of Engagement; and as a political consulting intern at Slingshot Strategies.
“In general, I am looking to work in advocacy and nonprofit organizations. I also want to intern at a Congressional office in Washington, D.C., -- hopefully in my second summer -- and for my third summer, I am thinking of going to Australia or Spain,” said the Cypress Hills resident.
About the Watson Foundation
In 1961, the Watson Foundation was created as a charitable trust in the name of Thomas J. Watson Sr., best known for building IBM. Through one-of-a-kind programs, and over 100 global partnerships, the Foundation provides students with personal, professional and cultural opportunities to expand their vision, develop their potential, and build their confidence and perspective do so for others.
About The City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi (now Lightcast) puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.
Jay Mwamba
p: 917.892.0374
e:
jmwamba@ccny.cuny.edu