2019 laureate of the Michel David-Weill Scholarship

Jacob Kasel has been selected as the 2019 Michel David-Weill Scholarship laureate. 

Jacob obtained a Bachelor’s of Art from Emory University in 2018 with a double major in Spanish and Portuguese and Comparative Literature. While pursuing his undergraduate studies, he completed several graduate-level courses across disciplines including Law, Comparative Literature, and History. Outside of his coursework, he spent his time at Emory as an IDEAS Fellow, leading the development of interdisciplinary programming at the University, advising fellow students, and participating in research and teaching.

The Scholarship’s selection committee praised Jacob’s intellectual abilities and his analytical approach to tackling problems. Jacob intends to complete the Master in International Development at the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po. He will bridge his interests in cultural theory, critical theory, and languages with the practice of international development. Through the program, Jacob will build on his theoretical strengths to develop practical strategies for approaching development in an international context. Previously, he has gained experience in the International Development realm at the Carter Foundation as a Global Access to Information Intern, and has been awarded multiple to conduct research in Brazil.

Jacob states "I am very excited to have the opportunity to immerse myself in the many academic, research and extracurricular opportunities at Sciences Po and in the larger Parisian context. I feel that this will provide me with many new modes of examining and approaching the issues and questions I am interested in, while finding and developing new ones simultaneously."