The Bristol Fellowship was created for Hamilton College students to encourage discovery of self and the world, a greater appreciation and understanding of people and culture, and to enable individuals to act on great ideas through independent study projects rather than formal academic pursuit.
Obleman's project is entitled, "Why don't they just move? Adaptations to El nino/La nina in Coastal Ecuador." She will spend a year in South America at the Ecuadoran coastline, where she will study the manner in which different provinces have adapted to the same phenomenon with the same natural environment and government system to form different recovery methods.
A cultural psychology major at Hamilton, Obleman is a graduate of Sauquoit Valley Central School. She is a nationally-certified tutor for Literacy Volunteers of America, teaching English as a second language at a refugee center in Utica. She is co-teacher for Kids Kan XL, a social studies class for disadvantaged youths at a neighborhood center in Utica; a teaching assistant in the Spanish department; and a site leader for Alternative Spring Break, in which Hamilton students volunteer with non-profit agencies during their spring break. She is also a resident advisor, expenditure coordinator for the Residence Hall Council and Blood Drive Coordinator for the American Red Cross. In addition, Obleman is on the editorial staff of the Hamilton College newspaper, The Spectator.
The William M. Bristol Fellowship is open to all Hamilton seniors. Proposed projects are based on strong personal interests and commitments. Proposals are evaluated on seriousness of purpose, inquisitiveness, depth of personal interest and feasibility. Proposals including a sense of family connection are given serious consideration.
William Bristol served as a Hamilton trustee, president of the alumnae association, fundraiser and benefactor. He was one of six generations of Bristol family members to attend Hamilton, dating back to the chartering of the college in 1812. Mr. Bristol's great, great grandfather became one of the college's first trustees after helping to found the Hamilton-Oneida Academy, which later became Hamilton College in 1793.
