Haddy Njie, a doctoral student in Sociocultural and International Development Education Studies, is the recipient of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellowship. She also received the World Bank Family Network’s Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF) Educational Grant. Njie (pictured right) participated in a signing for the MMMF grant in Washington, DC.

Njie's research interest is Literacy Uses, Women's Gender Roles and Africa. She explains her proposed study "draws on New Literacy Studies perspectives, gender and multilingualism theories in order to examine how women of Serekunda, The Gambia, use, interpret and integrate literacy in the everyday gender roles they perform."

Upon completion of her doctoral program, Njie plans to gain experience in her home country. "When I complete my studies, my initial career plan involves returning to The Gambia in order to fill in the gap in human capital for educational policy experts.  I count on the experience gained in this way to lead me into related fields of endeavor, new commitments and more effective strategies for advancing girls’ and women’s education."

The AAUW provides support to outstanding women interested in pursuing graduate education through a variety of fellowships. Awards are provided for dissertation completions, career development grants, and fellowships for selected professions. The AAUW International Fellowship provides a stipend ranging from $18,000 to $30,000. The MMMF offers educational grants to outstanding women from developing countries for studies in the U.S. The grant offers an award of up to $12,000.

Njie has also been recognized for her outstanding scholarship on campus with the Dissertation Research Grant, which is administered by The Graduate School.

To learn more about Njie, click here.