Madhabendu Hensh
The Carolyn Darrow Rood Sweetland ’45 Fund for International Studies
As the first international relations major at the College, her dream was to become a researcher in the State Department’s Office of the Historian. During the spring of 1945, Carolyn landed a job as a secretary/typist at the San Francisco Conference where 50 allied nations famously drafted and signed the United Nations Charter.
Although she had a lifelong passion for history, current events, and world peace, her dream of working in the State Department was not meant to be. When most jobs went back to men after the war, she embraced raising a family with her husband, Richard Sweetland. Together they raised four children: Jeffrey, Margaret (Patricelli), Cynthia (Luecke), and Philip.
Carolyn later served as the executive director of the Youth Employment Service in Costa Mesa, CA, for 10 years. During retirement in New Hampshire, she continued to pursue her interest in world affairs. Carolyn and Richard facilitated weekly discussions at their local library about foreign policy issues facing U.S. and world leaders in the Great Decisions program offered through Dartmouth College.
Her children agreed, “Our mom was an incredibly smart but very modest woman, who, with our great dad, taught us four the values of goodness and justice and set important examples of leading through ‘deeds, not words.’ We are immensely proud and grateful.”
To celebrate their mother and her original dream, the Sweetland siblings, their spouses, The Robert & Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation, and a very close personal family friend who cared for their parents created the Carolyn Darrow Rood Sweetland ’45 Fund for International Studies. Grants from the fund have provided nearly 100 international studies students the ability to conduct thesis research, attend conferences, and work with organizations or scholars, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Honoring a lifelong passion
“The program allows students to engage with the world in a rich, creative multidisciplinary way, and it allows students to learn from faculty members from across the curriculum—political science, history, geography, art, film, etc.,” Koechlin said. “We are pleased and proud that international studies is a place where students and faculty regularly engage in rich, intelligent, thoughtful, well-informed, challenging, playful, and often inspiring conversations—in class and outside of class.”
Over the last six years, the Carolyn Darrow Rood Sweetland ’45 Fund has supported 75 students and is expected to fund 20 to 25 more during this academic year. Students have gone to a variety of countries for their research including Argentina, Canada, Cambodia, Chile, China, Cuba, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Serbia, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Tanzania (Zanzibar), the United Kingdom (London and Edinburgh), and Vietnam. The fund has also enabled students to visit research libraries, archives, museums, and conferences in U.S. cities, including Austin, Boston, Chicago, Jacksonville, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC.
Madhabendu Hensh
Vassarion
The next generation of international scholars
“This experience truly opened my eyes to the ways in which art can be used across cultures as a form of expression and social connection,” Bianca Niyonzima ’27 said following the trip. “I am so grateful for this opportunity. It has changed my life for the better! The education and the connections and appreciation for life I built on the trip was like nothing I have experienced before.”
The Carolyn Darrow Rood Sweetland ’45 Fund has allowed several students to attend the International Studies Association (ISA) conference in Toronto, Nashville, Montreal, and San Francisco in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively. Some students even presented papers at the conferences, something rare and remarkable for undergraduates.
“I love my work, in large part, because it is such a privilege to watch talented, curious young people find themselves, find their way, and change the world,” Koechlin said. “Considering applications for funding, granting awards, and hearing about the wonderful experiences that have been made possible by the Carolyn Darrow Rood Sweetland ’45 Fund for International Studies has been among the most gratifying experiences of my career.”
Other students have used the fund to support their senior thesis research. For instance, Aena Khan ’22 traveled to Pakistan for 10 days to support her thesis on “Pakistan Memories, Militancy, and Silence: Perspectives from a Pakistani Family.” In 2022, Zach Owens ’23 spent the summer in the Netherlands working with Student Action for Refugees (STAR) teaching English and helping refugees with their asylum proceedings.
“Our world and personal decisions/opinions are increasingly difficult,” Patricelli said. “Too often they’re driven by ‘breaking news’ and sensational videos, then ‘analyzed’ by so-called ‘expert’ media celebrities of all political persuasions, in all social media platforms, etc. Say whatever you want and you can find a consultant or pollster or podcaster to ‘confirm’ it. That’s why Mom’s fund is so important. It helps today’s and future Vassar international studies students achieve their goals. Micro or broad, both are needed to make the world more sensible and caring.
To learn more about the International Studies Program, visit vassar.edu/internationalstudies.