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2013–14 Interfaith Student Fellows
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Lubar Institute Interfaith Student Fellows represent the heart of the Institute's mission to increase interfaith conversations on the UW-Madison campus and the local community at large. They receive a stipend for performing their duties, which include:

Follow this link to learn more and view application materials for 2014–15 Fellows.

Deadline for application: Monday, April 21, 2014.

Some former fellows have gone on to careers in interfaith activities in the United States and abroad.


Visiting scholar G. Willow Wilson (center, in green) meets with the 2013–14 Fellows and Lubar Institute Assistant Director Ulrich Rosenhagen (right).

The 2013–14 Fellows are:

Daniel BlissDaniel Bliss

I’m a junior, pursuing a bachelor’s in International Studies: “Culture in the Age of Globalization” with a certificate in Religious Studies. I identify as an Evangelical Free Christian and am involved with the Asian American chapter of InterVarsity here on campus. In my spare time, I love reading good books, especially comic books. Some of my favorites include Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, God is Dead, and Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. I also enjoy cooking, playing guitar, writing, and spoken word poetry.
          I was motivated to join the Lubar Institute when I saw the importance of interfaith dialogues and crosscultural relationships that create opportunities for learning and growing, especially in a society with so many presuppositions about religion and religious practitioners. I hope to contribute my experience and passion for identity and social issues to enrich conversations with new perspectives on the topic of religion and faith.

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David SchultzCarly Ann Braun

I am a junior here at UW Madison, majoring in Religious Studies and Sociology. Ever since I was a little girl going to religion class in my hometown of Manitowoc, Wis., I have loved learning about religion. This love has only grown since coming to college where I have grown in my study of faith, my own faith, and my interactions with people of different faiths. The Lubar Institute provides an amazing opportunity to learn about faith through human interaction rather than only a reading or a lecture. It is this that drew me to the Lubar Undergraduate Forum in the first place and it is this that lead me to become more involved as a Fellow.

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David SchultzErika Cummins

I am a senior, double majoring in Communications and Religious Studies with a certificate in Digital Studies. I am from Milwaukee, Wis., and was raised in a reform Jewish home. I grew up in a suburb with a high Jewish population and am at a university that is the same, so I have never felt like the minority that I am. From the end of high school through college I have found a more spiritual and cultural connection to my religion. This past summer I had the opportunity to travel to Israel which reinforced the tie I feel to Judaism. Through exploring my own faith, I found interest in exploring other traditions and this this led me to study religion and to find the Lubar Insititute.

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David SchultzAlaa Fleifel

I am from Milwaukee Wisconsin. I was born in Kuwait but my nationality is Lebanese. I am a practicing Muslim hoping to make the world a better place.  I am a double major in Community Leadership and Non-profit and Sociology with a certificate in Criminal Justice, hoping to go to Law School.  Some organizations I am a part of is; Center of Educational Opportunity as a Mentor for incoming freshman, member of the Muslim Student Association and co-president of the Muslim-Jewish Volunteer initiative. When I am not studying I like to play soccer, workout, read, and just hang out with family and friends.

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Yasmine Flodin-AliYasmine Alison Flodin-Ali

I am a senior majoring in cultural anthropology and minoring in South Asian studies. I am a proud New Yorker born and raised in Brooklyn. I am the child of a bi-cultural and bi-faith marriage, my mother is a second-generation American of Swedish ancestry and a Lutheran Christian, and my father is an immigrant from Pakistan and a Shia Muslim. I was raised as a Muslim and continue to self-identify as such though I am still very much in the process of exploring Islam.
     I joined the Lubar Institute because I believe that it is incredibly important to actually meet people of different faiths and engage in discussion. I am also extremely interested in religion from an academic perspective. I hope to study Muslim-American communities in graduate school. Some of my non-academic non-religious interests include cheese curds (seriously, I can’t live without eating them at least once a week, Wisconsin has ruined me), traveling, and reading.

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Annie GlasserAnnie Glasser

My name is Annie Glasser and I grew up in a Conservative Jewish home in southern Connecticut. When I spent a semester in Israel during high school, I began to explore my Judaism further and am now more observant than my parents; however I still identify as conservative. My intended majors are Sociology and Social Welfare and I have completed a certificate in Human Rights from Columbia University.
     This semester I am looking forward to challenging my own beliefs and gaining a more expansive understanding of other Abrahamic traditions. As a fellow, my primary goal is to encourage and facilitate more interfaith dialogue between students and non-students alike, on and off campus. I hope we can engage with Madison’s religious leaders in addition to learning from each other. I anticipate that these conversations will help others and me to conceptualize ideas we may have learned in a strictly academic setting, by experiencing them through those with whom we engage.

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David SchultzDavid Schultz

I am a senior at UW double-majoring in Math and Philosophy, although I've changed my major quite a bit! In my free time I like to hang out with friends, jog, and read. I was born in raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; yes, I have lived in Wisconsin my whole life. I grew up in a Lutheran-Christian church (although it was probably more moderate and Evangelical than most) where my dad was clergy and my mom was also on staff. I am very close to all three of my siblings (two are UW alumni), who are scattered around the United States.
    Having grown up so involved in the church, I was interested in religion from an early age. It wasn't until college, though, that I developed an interest in theology, philosophy, and all religious thinking. Although I am a practicing Christian, I understand that there is much to learn from other theologies and from those that practice other faiths. Hence, I saw joining the Lubar Institute as imperative to my college education, and an opportunity to involve myself religiously on campus.

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David SchultzDaniel Wieber

My father was a Southern Baptist Minister and he preached at various churches throughout Missouri and Illinois. My family used to move once a year on average because of my father’s ministry opportunities. I am now majoring in both Anthropology and Languages and Cultures of Asia. My main focus is on the Arabic language and the cultures of Southwest Asia. In the long run I hope to conduct deductive fieldwork in the region and implement innovative NGO projects to help people affected by violence and war.
    I began questioning the notion that all other religions are flat out wrong, an idea that was prominent in the various churches I had attended. After researching other religions I found that the Abrahamic religions share a great deal of history and belief. Since then I have taken up a position of religious pluralism focusing on the connection between the Abrahamic faiths. When I discovered that there was an entire institute dedicated to supporting interfaith dialogue and research of the Abrahamic faiths I had to get involved. I hope to learn about the common ground and compassion shared by the Abrahamic religions firsthand, and to have a chance to share this account with others.

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