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Individuality. Creativity. Collaboration. Dependence. To Charlie Ratner ’23, lacrosse has always provided the perfect blend of striving for success both as an individual and working together as a cohesive team. These qualities have been the building blocks of Ratner’s life; in fact, he describes his lacrosse stick as an inherent part of his very being.

The 2023-24 academic year wrapped up with the awarding of national fellowships and scholarships, conference presentations, and a Phi Beta Kappa election of 22 seniors.

Ann “Annie” Kennedy ’24 and Luis Felipe López Cruz ’24 received Hamilton’s prestigious Bristol Fellowship. The program is designed 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.”

Jonathan Dong ’21 has always been intrigued by the world of aquaculture. He began breeding fish in middle school, and grew to wonder at the life history of the species with which he worked. When he entered Hamilton, originally on a pre-med track, he found new ways to explore this passion. He founded the Aquaponics Club with three other students during his sophomore year. He began taking more environmental studies and biology courses, and during his study abroad in Australia he contributed to a research paper on invasive fish species.

Every year, Hamilton selects project proposals from members of the senior class that exhibit a “spirit of inquisitiveness and a seriousness of purpose” worthy of $30,000. Hamilton’s Bristol Fellowship awards this generous funding for worldwide research projects that will encourage both “discovery of self and the world.” This year’s recipients, Abigail Moone ’23 and Charlie Ratner ’23 hope to make those same discoveries.

Past recipients of Hamilton’s prestigious Bristol Fellowship have ventured around the globe exploring the seahorse trade, kayaking down wild rivers, and living with poor women in marginalized communities, just to name a few.

Thanks to a Bristol Fellowship, psychology major Angelica Coutinho '20 will spend time in four countries examining how sound and music function as healing tools across cultures.

Madeline Carlman ’19 has been awarded the college’s Bristol Fellowship for her project “Creating Community in Book Places.” She’ll examine how book places such as libraries, book shops, book clubs, and book fairs work to create community.

Maximiliano Hernandez-Zapata ’19 is only 22 but he’s old-school when it comes to photography. His passion for analog photography has paid off for him as the recipient of the College’s Bristol Fellowship for his project “Preservation or Revival: Exploring Contemporary Analog Photography.”

Through Hamilton's Bristol Fellowship, psychology grad Monika Rybak ’18 will spend a year traveling the world to research tattoo traditions and how inking experiences differ across cultures.