FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS & HONORS Georgetown University, Washington DC, Aug. 2011-May 2012 Graduate Student Fellowship • Compensation package includes waived tuition, monthly stipend and health insurance. Institute for International Education, US Department of State, Washington, DC, Dec. 2007-Oct. 2008 Fulbright Scholar, China (Musicology), Xinjiang Arts Institute, Urumqi, China • Project: “The Kashgar Rawap: Instrument of Uyghur Music, Culture and Identity” • Conducted original research examining contemporary Uyghur society through traditional music appreciation. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, Jan. 2007 Finalist, National Geographic Young Explorer’s Grant, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan • Project: “The Silk Road Reprise” • A 100-day musical sojourn from Kashgar, China to Samarqant, Uzbekistan traveling with renowned musicians exclusively via beasts of burden and a NatGeo Kids ensuing concert-lecture series. Critical Language Enhancement Award, US Department of State, Washington, DC, Aug.-Dec. 2007 Recipient, Mandarin Chinese, Heilongjiang University, Harbin China • Received language training in Classical Chinese, Tonal Phonetics, Modern Mandarin and Chinese Musicology to augment research and social skills for an ensuing Fulbright Scholarship. Rotary International, District 7450, Philadelphia, PA, Sept. 2007 Finalist, Ambassadorial Scholarship, Almaty, Kazakhstan • Project: “The True Kazakh: Protecting the Heritage of the 21st Century Steppe” • As potentially the first Rotarian Ambassador to former-Soviet Central Asia, I planned to establish a web of RotarAct youth clubs across the country while continuing research of Kazakh music. Thomas. J. Watson Fellowship, New York, NY, Aug. 2005-Aug. 2006 Watson Fellow, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan • Project: “Long-necked Lutes from Baku to Bishkek: A Musical Journey in Central Asia” • Spent an entire year traveling along the Silk Road while taking daily music lessons from local masters on traditional Central Asian instruments to better understand the region as a whole. John K. Iwanik Prize, Union College, Schenectady, NY, June 2005 Recipient, Awarded for outstanding study of the Russian Language. International Education Fund, Union College, Schenectady, NY Mar. 2005 Recipient, Conducted primary thesis research at the British Library, London and the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Freeman Foundation Award for Study in Asia, New York, NY, June-Aug. 2004 Recipient, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, China • Conducted independent research on traditional Chinese music; intensive Mandarin Chinese. Middlebury College, The Russian School, Middlebury, VT, Aug. 2002 Awardee, Outstanding Cultural Participation. Commended for participation in the newspaper, choir and radio. LECTURES, PUBLICATIONS & PRESS Concert-lecturer, “A Musical Journey in Central Asia” Aug. 2006-Present • A multi-media concert-lecture featuring the Kashgar rawap and Kazakh dombra as a conduit to spread cultural appreciation for a region rich in tradition and musical heritage. I. Almaty, Kazakhstan, Aug. 2012-present. Venues: Almaty Akimat Cultural Contest (April 2013); U.S. Consulate, American Corner Library (Jan. 2013); Kasteev State Museum of Arts, Exhibition Opening “Felt” (Nov. 2012); KAUIR&WL, “Students’ Day” (Oct. 2012); KIMEP, “World Language Festival” (Sept. 2012). II. Washington Metropolitan Area, Nov. 2010-Aug. 2012. Venues: Textile Museum, “Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikat” (Nov. 2010), “Art for the Families” (Feb. 2011); US State Department, Central Asia Bureau (Dec. 2010), Educational and Cultural Affairs (Aug. 2011); United Nations Association, “Embassy Concert Series for Global Classrooms” (Jan. 2011); Embassy of Kazakhstan, “Nouruz Festival” (Mar. 2011); Georgetown University, History Department (Mar. 2011); Foreign Service Institute, Central Asia Area Studies (Mar. 2011). III. Urumqi, China, March-Aug. 2008. Venues: the 2008 official meeting between the Cultural Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy Beijing and the Regional Bureau of Culture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Government (Mar. 2008); Harvard University Graduate Department of Art and Archaeology (July 2008); and the international travel-study organization, “Where There Be Dragons” (Aug. 2008). IV. Various US Locations. Aug. 2006 - June 2007. Venues: Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA (Aug. 2006); Union College, Schenectady, NY (Oct. 2006); University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (Dec. 2006), Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY (Feb. 2007); and Clowns Without Borders, New York, NY (June 2007). Co-author, “Discover Kazakhstan: The Expeditions of Chokan Valikhanov” 2010 Washington Kazakhstan Festival, April 2010 • A multi-year, online review of explorer Chokan Valikhanov (1836-1865), for the 2010 Washington Kazakhstan Festival. Smithsonian Institution, Asian Cultural History Program (www.valikhanov.si.edu). Co-Author, Case Study: “Kyrgyz Ethno-Chic in Global Markets: DILBAR Fashion House” March 2010 • Asia Society 2010 Special Report: “Making a Difference through the Arts: Strengthening America’s Links with Asian Muslim Communities.” New York, NY. Chinese Translator, “Nutrition Minute” EAT Healthy New Haven, Feb. 2010 Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University, New Haven, CT • Translated three informational pamphlets into Chinese for the EAT Healthy New Haven nutrition initiative. Guest Speaker, Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Washington, DC, Jan. 2010