Cameron Beach ’18 receives prestigious Payne Fellowship
Since graduating from Centre College in 2018, Cameron Beach has been living and working off-and-on in Malawi as a Peace Corp volunteer. Now looking to continue her education, Beach recently received The Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship.
The prestigious award provides 15 fellowships valued up to $104,000 in benefits over two years for graduate school, internships and professional development opportunities and is a unique pathway to the USAID Foreign Service.
“I am honored to be given this prestigious fellowship and have the opportunity to spend the rest of my career working in development and improving the access to opportunities in vulnerable communities,” Beach said.
As part of the Payne Fellowship, Beach will participate in an internship on Capitol Hill beginning in May then begin graduate school in August. After completing her master’s, she will become a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“I am excited to build relationships with other like-minded future Foreign Service Officers from diverse backgrounds and then ultimately fulfill my dream of becoming a Foreign Service Officer and representing our country in reducing poverty and improving development in countries around the world,” she explained.
Looking back at her time at Centre, Beach said she remembered that the Rangel, Pickering and Payne fellowships were always a topic of conversation at the College, and students were encouraged to apply by the international studies faculty. Having always admired these opportunities, and as she began to apply for graduate school, Beach said she looked deeper into the Payne Fellowship and found it aligns well with her personal and professional interests and goals.
“I would not be where I am today without Centre,” Beach said. “At Centre, I found and realized my passions within international development. I had the opportunity to take a very interdisciplinary course load in international relations, history, religion, gender studies and environmental studies.
“It was the opportunity to learn and converse about the world from all of these perspectives that has helped increase my curiosity and understanding of different cultures,” she continued. “At Centre, I not only had the opportunity to take wonderful classes filled with wonderful content but I was able to form personal relationships with professors who continue to advise and support me throughout my career.”
While at Centre, as an international studies major, she took advantage of several opportunities offered to her, including being a John C. Young Scholar and participating in a summer internship in 2017 in Ghana.
Beach was also a star outside of the classroom, where she was a member and captain of the Women’s Swimming and Diving Team. She worked as the lead peer educator at the Centre for Career and Professional Development, as well as a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority.
“I was able to learn and grow through these leadership opportunities and build a community of life-long friends and mentors,” she concluded. “Overall, Centre provided me not only the experiences I needed to succeed after college but the confidence I needed to take risks and believe in myself to do impactful work around the globe.”
Students interested in pursuing the Rangel, Pickering or Payne fellowships are encouraged to contact Dr. Robert Schalkoff in the Office of Fellowships.
