Baruch College Student Wins Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship

April 13, 2018

Karishma Malhotra (’21), a Macaulay Honors student at Baruch College, was awarded the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship.

The Watson Fellowship, an innovative three-year program, provides outstanding undergraduates from 12 New York City colleges with personal, professional, and cultural immersions in the U.S. and abroad. At the center of the program are paid summer internships at leading nonprofit, government and private enterprise organizations in New York City and around the world.

Malhotra, who is majoring in financial mathematics at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, is the fourth Baruch College student since 2016 to become a Watson Fellow.

“I am very excited about each and every unparalleled opportunity offered by the Watson Program,” said Malhotra, “I am most looking forward to studying abroad and working with a non-profit organization overseas,”

Malhotra added, “I want to work to further women’s educational rights in developing countries as I believe that will help them gain financial independence. If I succeed in educating even a single girl, I will feel accomplished. Furthermore, I will gain a new perspective and cosmopolitan view of the world that cannot be achieved by sitting in a classroom.”

With hopes to establish her own charity, Malhotra knows that “being a Watson Fellow will help carve my career path by providing hands-on experience in different fields and continued guidance and mentorship that will open me up to new possibilities.”

“Having a strong network of inspired peers will be invaluable as I set out on my journey to creating myself. I look forward to pursuing my interests and developing new ones along the way.”

“As a first year student, Karishma is characteristic of how Baruch attracts outstanding students who are equipped to compete for and take advantage of prestigious fellowships like the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship,” Valeria Hymas, Director of  the Office of National and Prestigious Fellowships Advising.

“I hope her success for this award encourages other Baruch students to realize their potential for competitive fellowships and explore these opportunities,” she added.

About the Watson Foundation

In 1961, Jeannette K. Watson created the Thomas J. Watson Foundation in the name of her husband, Thomas J. Watson Sr., best known for building IBM. Through one-of-a-kind programs, the Foundation provides fellows with cultural, professional and personal opportunities that challenge them to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, and build the confidence and perspective to do so for others. In 2015, the Foundation organized as a public-facing organization, unifying its programs under the Watson Foundation.

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