Karavikar Svetasreni, the daughter of Kannikar Svetasreni and Suraphon Svetasreni of Bangkok, has been named a McDonnell International Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, and she has received a corporate fellowship from the Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, international relations from Chulalongkorn University, which is one of 15 leading Asian universities partnered with Washington University in St. Louis in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.
Ms. Svetasreni is pursuing a master of business administration degree in the Olin School of Business and expects her study to continue for two years. Her career goals include applying her skills and background to the integration of business and society, in particular working to alleviate problems of poverty and inequality in Thailand and developing countries. She is supported in her research by a fellowship awarded to her by Nestlé Purina PetCare Co., based in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., which is a leader in the pet products industry, offering pets and their owners a wide variety of innovative, high-quality and nutritious products. Ms. Svetasreni has previously worked for the company, and the award offers her special internship opportunities.
“The Nestlé Purina PetCare Corporate Fellowship is a very prestigious award, and we are delighted that Ms. Svetasreni has received it,” said James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences and Director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy. “She is precisely the kind of individual who will be able to take maximum advantage of the Academy’s efforts to build a network of future leaders in Asia and beyond.”
The McDonnell International Scholars Academy is both new and unique. Employing an unusual structure and approach, it brings together top scholars from many countries to pursue world-class education and research while forging a strong network with one another. Key to this are partnerships Washington University has established with top universities and corporations around the world with an eye to increasing opportunities for joint research and global education.
The McDonnell Academy Scholars are considered future world leaders in their fields. As such, they are provided not only rigorous graduate instruction, but a thorough cultural, political and social education designed to prepare them as leaders knowledgeable about the United States, other countries, and critical international issues.
Once selected for this highly competitive program, each scholar is matched with a distinguished member of the Washington University faculty who serves as a mentor for the scholar and also as an “ambassador” to the university partner from which the scholar has graduated. The ambassador assists the McDonnell Scholar in academic and professional life and travels annually with the scholar to the partner university to build relationships between the two institutions.
Gautam N. Yadama, Ph.D., director of international programs and associate professor in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, is Ms. Svetasreni’s faculty mentor-ambassador. Yadama’s expertise includes the countries of Thailand, India, Nepal and Turkey as well as community partnerships, poverty, social policy and sustainable development. In 1995, he was invited by the United Nations’ Regional Office for Asia and Pacific to prepare a resource paper on gender dimensions of Joint Forest Management program in Andhra Pradesh, India.
The Academy scholars are funded by a sustaining endowment gift from John F. McDonnell, additional endowment pledges and 11 multinational corporate sponsors. Sponsoring corporations also offer internships and on-site educational opportunities for the Academy’s Corporate Fellows.
The McDonnell Academy Scholars receive funding for full tuition, living expenses and travel to and from St. Louis. Most of the scholars reside in two fully equipped and furnished apartment buildings near campus.
Funding is provided through a sustaining endowment gift from John F. McDonnell, vice chairman of the Washington University Board of Trustees and retired chairman of the board of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, additional endowment pledges, and 11 multinational corporate and foundation sponsors. Sponsoring corporations also offer internships and on-site educational opportunities for the Academy’s Corporate Fellows.