W&L’s Mansi Tripathi ’22 Awarded Fulbright to Colombia Tripathi will teach English to students in Colombia for 10 months.

By Erica Turman
April 21, 2022

Washington and Lee University senior Mansi Tripathi ’22 has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Colombia. At W&L, Tripathi is double majoring in politics and sociology and minoring in Poverty and Human Capability Studies. Tripathi is a native of Charlottesville, Virginia. She graduated from St. Anne’s-Belfield School.

Tripathi will teach English to students in Colombia for 10 months. She has not yet been placed in a specific locality. While abroad, she will also work on a supplementary project.

“I am interested in immigration, and many people often immigrate to the United States from or through Colombia because of its unique geographical position,” said Tripathi. “Additionally, I have seen firsthand the barriers to communication and accessing services for people in the U.S. who do not know English well. I hope to be able to help people learn the language to try to reduce and eliminate these barriers.”

Tripathi, a Bonner Scholar, has committed more than 1,800 hours of her undergraduate experience to community service and leadership training. Through the Bonner Program, she has volunteered for four years with Project Horizon, a local resource for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. On campus, she is involved in the Shepherd Program and served as a Volunteer Venture pre-orientation leader for three years before co-coordinating the program this academic year. Tripathi also works with the Shepherd Advisory Board to recruit incoming students. She is president of SPEAK, W&L’s student club dedicated to educating and preventing sexual misconduct, and serves on the Healthy Sexual Culture Committee.

Tripathi also is the public relations and social media chair for Traveller, W&L’s student-run safe-ride organization. In addition, she is an ambassador for the Office of Inclusion and Engagement and a member of W&L’s Amnesty International Chapter. Tripathi is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honors society, and Pi Sigma Alpha, an honors society for political science, and she just accepted a nomination for Alpha Kappa Delta, an honors society in sociology.

“Mansi has a stunning ability to balance structure and autonomy, warmth and professionalism, curiosity and caution, and independence and collaboration,” said Marisa Charley, W&L Shepherd Program associate director. “She is among the top students I would select as a leader for any group trip or experience, and I trust her judgment tremendously. Mansi quickly takes the initiative in unstructured spaces to create a more peaceful and productive environment for all, but always leads with an eye for inclusion. She lives her ethics in tangible ways and, in doing so, demonstrates her commitment to valuing the dignity of every person.”

After Tripathi returns to the United States in the summer of 2023, she hopes to live in Washington, D.C., and pursue work related to criminal justice reform, immigration, poverty and homelessness, or sexual and domestic violence. After working for a few years, she plans to go to law school.

“I am so honored to be among many of my incredible peers, past and current, who have received this award,” said Tripathi. “The Fulbright Program is an incredible opportunity to learn, grow and hopefully make a positive impact. Since hearing the news, I have received an outpouring of love and support from friends, family, professors and even peers and teachers from elementary, middle and high school. I feel incredibly humbled and lucky to have received this Fulbright.”

The Fulbright Program was established more than 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Washington and Lee University is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2021-2022 Fulbright U.S. Students for the fourth consecutive year.

If you know a W&L student who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.