Summer Scholars Fellowship
Our Summer Scholars fellowship program enables students in graduate degree programs to experience work abroad with the United Nations or its agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations. The mission of the Scholars program is to foster direct knowledge and understanding of the UN and international organizations.
The yearly fellowships, which are fully funded by UNA-NYC, offer frequent collaborations with agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), but may involve other agencies as well. We also work with NGOs such as Plan International.
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Scroll down this page — and meet this year’s Summer Scholars!
Applications
Any interested students in New York City who learn about this program should contact their university's program representative to facilitate or recommend participation in the Summer Scholars program. Individual student applications, independent of school participation, will not be accepted.
Criteria for Selection
Applicants must be enrolled in a New York City (Manhattan only) university as full-time graduate students, and should be current members of UNA-NYC
Submission of CV as well as Statement of Purpose letter
Two letters of recommendation
Award Conditions
The Summer Scholars fellowship provides a stipend to cover all travel and living expenses.
The award recipients are expected to keep a blog of their summer experience.
The recipients are invited to participate in a UNA-NYC program, usually an open house for sharing their experiences, as well as a brief appearance at our annual gala dinner held during the autumn.
Housing and Budget
Costs associated with participation in the program will be assumed by UNA-NYC, which will provide the required financial assistance to the student for the duration of the internship. The grant will cover round-trip airfare to and from the selected country, as well as housing and food. Housing will be available in small hotels or apartments, selected by the student with the help and input of the UN or NGO office, if necessary.
The award recipients are responsible for ensuring that all passports and necessary visas are in order, as well as providing necessary immunization and vaccination certificates. Proof of medical and evacuation insurance must also be submitted prior to departure.
2025 Summer Scholars
KATELY ARRIAGA | Summer Scholars 2025 : MEXICO Fellowship
Kately is a graduate student at Baruch College, NY where she is simultaneously pursuing her Master’s degree in International Affairs and a certificate in quantitative methods for policy and equity analysis. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from The University of California Riverside in Public Policy with concentrations in both international and environmental policy.
During her undergraduate career, Kately was inspired to pursue a career in the United Nations as an active member at her university’s model UN club. After being elected president, she led her team to the highest award at the New York international conference. This was an achievement the UCR team had not won in ten years. Her second pursuit was research within international politics. Upon being selected by Professor Yasemin Carreras to be her personal senior research assistant, she learned the basics for drafting literature reviews. From there, she became a co-author on her first research article at her internship with Dr. Andrew Shaver, founding director of the Political Violence Lab (PVL). Through this academic research lab and the selective UCDC program, she and her research team were able to present their findings at the state department. With a mixture of student leadership roles and exposure to rigorous academic positions, she has fostered a deep passion for international affairs and helping others.
After graduating from UCR, the pandemic occurred shortly after. She decided to wait until colleges campuses were re-opened before choosing to pursue her master’s degree. During this time, she worked as an emergency responder for the Orange County Emergency Services Center and assisted nurses in vaccinating patients throughout various super site clinics. This was a formative experience helping her gain a strong commitment to humanitarian aid and cooperation during a global crisis.
This summer, Kately looks forward to supporting the UNDP’s Mexico based regional office to assist the Effective Governance and Democracy Unit. Her role will entail addressing governance challenges in Mexico, building capacities, assisting in implementing the unit programme and its projects, and supporting advisory services to relevant stakeholders. She hopes to take this experience with her in pursuing a career as a program manager for the UN.
MARÍA CERDIO | Summer Scholars 2025 : CYPRUS Fellowship
María is a Fulbright Scholar pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Administration in Development Practice at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). From Mexico City, María holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Before joining Columbia, María was Venture & Fellowship Director for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean at Ashoka Foundation. She advanced bottom-up innovation for development by providing catalytic resources and strategic advising to social entrepreneurs in the region. Her work promoted a systems approach across Latin America, contributing to research, capacity-building, and cross-sector collaborations.
María’s commitment to development also includes consultancy with the Global Fund for Women, where she supported grantmaking to strengthen gender equity grassroots initiatives in Latin America. Additionally, she developed social impact and risk analysis in the private sector, advising companies on how to meaningfully and responsibly engage communities affected by their business.
Earlier in her career, María collaborated with a social enterprise fostering quality education for children in underserved communities in India. Her field research in Andhra Pradesh identified drivers of girls’ school absenteeism in rural areas, leading to community-led strategies addressing period inequity, family support, and financial access. She also served at the United Nations Information Center in Mexico City to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals in her country.
María will join the UNDP country office in Cyprus as a Summer Scholar to support environmental peacebuilding efforts. She is eager to learn how environmental challenges can serve as catalysts for restoring social cohesion in conflict-affected countries and hopes to bring valuable lessons back to Latin America.
MONITAA G. CHHETRY | Summer Scholars 2025 : NEW DELHI Fellowship
Monitaa is currently pursuing her Masters in International Affairs at the Colin Powell School of Civic and Global Leadership, the City College of New York. She is originally from Nepal.
In addition to her studies, Monitaa has been a longtime advocate of human rights in the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). Through her years of commitment advocating for vulnerable and marginalized communities through the Commission she has cultivated an understanding and respect for diverse communities and a passion for standing up for justice.
This summer she is excited to join the UNDP New Delhi Country office in India and support the team by assisting in research analysis and communication support. She is very much looking forward to joining the Sustainable and Inclusion Growth Unit of the UNDP New Delhi office and supporting their youth empowerment programs with a focus on job linkages, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
In addition, she is excited to see how she can contribute to the Care Project that the SIG Unit is working on, as she believes it will allow her to work toward two important goals: women’s empowerment and creating an inclusive society.
ADRIANA CURTO | Summer Scholars 2025 : TURKEY Fellowship
Adriana Curto is a Paul D. Coverdell Fellow pursuing a master’s degree in International Political Economy and Development (IPED) at Fordham University. A New York native, she holds dual bachelor’s degrees in International Relations and Citizenship and Civic Engagement, with a focus on Intercultural Communication and the Middle East/North Africa, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
Prior to joining Fordham, Adriana spent over seven years working with nonprofit and government organizations at the community level. As Development and Communications Manager at the Arab-American Family Support Center in Brooklyn, she led strategic communications and partnership initiatives to amplify the need for more culturally and linguistically-competent resources serving immigrant and refugee families in New York City. A natural storyteller, she designed campaigns, organized events, and led advocacy efforts that centered the dignity and experiences of individuals fleeing conflict, persecution, and economic insecurity.
Before her work in New York, Adriana served as Country Program Manager for Free to Run in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she oversaw a U.S. Embassy–funded project that connected over 700 Afghan women and girls to marathon training, healthy life skills development, and leadership opportunities through sport. An avid runner and hiker herself, she often joined her Afghan colleagues for their 4:00 a.m. weekly program runs in the mountains outside of Kabul. Witnessing the countless gender and safety barriers to accessing public spaces faced by Afghan women deepened her commitment to uplifting and collaborating with brave youth leaders to push for systemic change.
Beginning her development career as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Talmest, Morocco, Adriana co-designed and implemented youth leadership initiatives in partnership with local community leaders. She co-created an eight-month outdoor leadership program in Arabic focused on life skills, mountaineering, and environmental awareness, which culminated in bringing the first female students from Talmest and Birkouat to summit Mt. Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa.
She has also facilitated educational programming in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps and currently serves as a Policy Fellow at the Bronx Borough President’s Office, where she supports policy and research centered on environmental justice, immigration, and health equity.
This summer, Adriana will join the United Nations Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) in Turkey, supporting biodiversity financing efforts implemented across 133 countries. She is eager to further explore how governments can invest in green solutions and environmental conservation efforts to protect marginalized communities on a global scale.
PRISKILA TERESA NANDITA | Summer Scholars 2025 : MONGOLIA Fellowship
Priskila Nandita is an Indonesian student and Master of Public Administration in Development Practice candidate at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), with a strong interest in advancing sustainable development through policies that support energy transition and climate adaptation.
She has three years of experience in the public and research sectors. After earning her degree in Economics from the University of Indonesia, Priskila began her career at the Central Bank of Indonesia, where she worked on the digitization of government transactions and social welfare programs. She worked on the development of national dashboards tracking digitalization of government transactions across all 38 provinces, delivered policy insights, and coordinated capacity-building workshops aimed at improving public service delivery through digital innovation.
She later joined the Green Economy and Climate Research Group at the Institute for Economic and Social Research, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI), where she contributed to Indonesia’s energy transition and climate finance strategy. In addition to developing an integrated climate model and fostering partnerships with key energy stakeholders, NGOs, and government ministries, she conducted research on renewable energy procurement, decarbonization pathways, and fiscal policies supporting a just energy transition.
This summer, Priskila will join UNDP Mongolia through the UNA-NYC Summer Scholars program. She will support the country office’s work in research and policy development for a just energy transition.
BISMI IQBAL SAMIA | Summer Scholars 2025 : TIMOR-LESTE Fellowship
Bismi Iqbal Samia is a Presidential Fellow at Fordham University, where she is pursuing a Master’s degree in International Political Economy and Development (IPED). Originally from Bangladesh, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from North South University. Prior to her graduate studies, she served as a full-time English and Creative Writing teacher at Sunnydale School and later as an adjunct lecturer in Economics at Presidency University in Dhaka.
Her research work centers on development economics, economic policy, and sustainability. She has co-authored peer-reviewed articles on green transition strategies and capital efficiency in Bangladesh. Her research experience spans both theoretical and applied economic analysis, including the use of models such as Harrod-Domar to evaluate growth trends. Most recently, she, along with her team members, contributed a chapter to the Elsevier-published volume The Role of Green and Transition Finance in Achieving Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Energy. She has also contributed in drafting the recent annual edition of the Fordham Francis Index (FFI); a report on the multidimensional measure of international poverty inspired by Pope Francis’ address to the United Nation’s General Assembly in 2015, in which she analyzed the current global scenario of Literacy and Employment rates.
Bismi is deeply committed to applying her knowledge and experience to create meaningful impact in communities that face the most pressing development needs. One of her long-term aspirations is to work with the underprivileged girls of rural Bangladesh, helping to ensure they have access to quality education and the opportunities they deserve. Through her academic and professional journey, she aims to contribute to shaping more equitable and resilient development pathways.
Through the Summer Scholar Fellowship by UNA-NYC, Bismi is set to join the UNDP Country Office in Timor-Leste to support the Democratic Governance Unit’s (DGU) mission in improving governance structures by providing technical assistance as well as assisting the Chief Technical Advisor.
