Somewhere between new places and new people, Appel Fellows discover something bigger than a story: a shift in how they see the world and themselves.
The Center for Writing and Public Discourse (CWPD) hosted its annual celebration of Joel A. Appel ’87 P’20 and the Appel family writing scholars, commonly known as the Appel Fellows, in the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum on Jan. 26. CMC community members enjoyed presentations from three 2025 Appel Fellows, followed by a Q&A session.
The Appel Family Writing Scholars program, launched in 2015, provides first-year students with the opportunity to pursue independent travel and the mentorship of CMC faculty to “experience writing in a way that may shape the course of their lives and to encourage them to share their experiences with others through the written word.”
To date, there have been 161 Appel Fellows, each producing meaningful and substantial writing projects including essays, journals, and short stories. Many students opt to create additional artistic expressions of their experiences. This year, Kryster Carmela Labarda ’28 created a 3D model of the three different landscapes she saw in the Philippines, in addition to an investigative journalism-style essay and a public health pop-up she organized during her time abroad.
Other projects included an “experiential ethnography” by Jonas Rickert ’28, who explored the cultural concepts of success and happiness. He reflected on his three weeks in Germany, where he immersed himself in a culture that emphasizes work-life balance, and gained new insights.
During the Jan. 26 program, Chloe Martinez, Associate Director of Programming at the CWPD, reflected on the personal growth Appel Fellows experience while working on their projects. “I’m always stunned by the transformations that these students undergo during the course of this fellowship,” she said.