Fulbright scholar to map geography of refugees

Janaya Crevier ’16, a triple major in German, philosophy and geography, is the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.

With the Fulbright funding, Crevier will be heading to Austria in September to explore the journeys of a half dozen refugee families. She’ll build a story map about their geographical journeys from origin to destination with the hope of having it published. The goal of her project: to deepen geographical understanding of cross-cultural injustice, as well as of cross-cultural hospitality and reconciliation.

Crevier says that between her Calvin courses and the matrix of social interactions with people at Calvin, “there’s been this consistent reminder [to ask] what are you not hearing? What are you not seeing? Whose story is not being told? Who is the outsider here and why? How do structures of power coalesce to create that silence? And, what is your task to combat that given who you are and the particular gifts and talents that you have?”

Crevier believes that her experiences in high school, at Calvin and studying abroad have equipped her to meet a real need in the world.