Julia Fitzpatrick (B.A. ’06), a political science and peace studies major, won a Scoville Fellowship, which Senior Fellow George Lopez describes as “one of the most competitive professionalizing and career-making opportunities” for recent college graduates.

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship was established in 1987 to provide college graduates with the opportunity to gain a Washington, D.C. perspective on key issues of peace and security. Winners spend six to nine months in Washington, serving as junior staff members at the organization of their choice — in Fitzpatrick’s case, Citizens for Global Solutions. She will be doing research on U.N. reform and helping lobbyists who are trying to gain congressional support for international peace and security issues.

A native of Detroit, Fitzpatrick focused her undergraduate studies on the Arab Middle East and Islam. In the spring of 2005, she studied at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, for which she received the National Security Education Program David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarship. She spent the following summer working with Catholic Relief Services in Cairo. At Notre Dame, Fitzpatrick was active in social justice groups, served on the peace studies undergraduate advisory committee and peace conference committee, and was active in Campus Ministry.

“The care and guidance of my professors at the Kroc Institute provided me with the tools and insights necessary to engage conflict and conceptualize peaceful solutions,” Fitzpatrick said. “They encouraged me to develop my own skills and cultivate confidence in my ability to analyze and speak on issues of policy and international affairs. Most importantly, I understand my vocation as a compassionate and reflective practitioner in issues of peace and conflict due to the ways in which the Kroc Institute has shaped my world view.”

After her fellowship, Fitzpatrick hopes to return to the Middle East to become proficient in Arabic and further engage issues of peace, conflict, and social justice.