(April 15, 2024) Princeton in Latin America is pleased to announce our 2024/25 cohort of fellows, the first since operations were suspended during the Covid pandemic. This year’s cohort will include 14 fellows who will be working with 6 host organizations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Mexico.
PiLA received 120 applications from graduates of over 65 colleges and universities as part of the program’s relaunch. All applications were reviewed by members of PiLA’s board as well as our operations team in Princeton. Finalists were interviewed by board members and PiLA staff, with 45 individuals ultimately referred for final interviews and selection by host organizations.
This year’s cohort includes graduates from 13 schools who will bring a range of skills – including teaching and youth development, social media and communications, research and analytics, and environmental conservation – to help our non-profit and social sector partners achieve their goals and improve the communities in which they operate. Depending on their placements, PiLA fellows will spend from 6 to 12 months in the field, providing important skills but also expanding their horizons to prepare them to be global leaders.
We will be sharing information and stories from our fellows over the next few months. For now, we would like to thank our 2024/25 cycle host organizations, all long-term supporters of PiLA, for making our relaunch possible. These include:
Antigua International School (Guatemala): Two PiLA fellows will serve as teaching assistants at this K-12 academy, including one developing the school’s maker space.
Dominican Dream (Dominican Republic): Four fellows will be working at this K-12 school that focuses on creating a promising future for students from low-income families in the northwest Dominican Republic.
Earth University (Costa Rica): Two PiLA fellows will be working with different units of this non-profit university, which attracts students from over 35 countries to focus on sustainable development and agricultural innovation.
Endeavor Mexico (Mexico): Endeavor is a non-profit that has played a leading role for the past 15 years in identifying and supporting fast-growing companies in Mexico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Fellows will be supporting the work of Endeavor’s entrepreneurship research team.
Osa Conservancy (Costa Rica): Two fellows will be working on several conservation projects within the Osa National Park including wildlife monitoring and data analysis.
Women’s Justice Initiative (Guatemala): One fellow will be working with the social media and communications outreach team to support the messaging for WJI, which provides education and technical support to women in rural Guatemala.
Yspaniola (Dominican Republic): Two fellows will be assisting the educational mission of Yspaniola to support children and families in the Haitian minority community of Batey Libertad.