Pomona College sophomore Corinne Bobb-Semple has been selected as a 2021 Frederick Douglass Global Fellow. 

The winners of the award were announced March 17 at a St. Patrick’s Day roundtable where the fellows were congratulated by Vice President Kamala Harris and Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin. 

The honor awarded Ms. Bobb-Semple a full scholarship to represent Pomona College in a summer study abroad program focused on leadership, intercultural communication and social justice. 

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs will co-sponsor the 2021 Frederick Douglass Global Fellows in Dublin, Ireland, to honor the 175th anniversary of the meeting between 27-year-old abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the Irish reformer Daniel O’Connell in Dublin in 1845. 

Along with Vice President Harris and Prime Minister Martin, the winners were congratulated by Nettie Washington Douglass, the great-great-granddaughter of Frederick Douglass.

Ms. Bobb-Semple is one of 14 high-achieving diverse student leaders selected for this prestigious award. 

A double major in political science and English language and literature, she was selected because of her academic excellence, communication skills, and commitment to social justice. She has a passion for helping others develop the technical skills to describe their experiences in writing, so they can use their voices to change a reader’s world view. She helps students sharpen their writing as a fellow at Pomona College’s writing center, and she created her own tutoring program for elementary school students in her community.

In Ireland, Frederick Douglass Global Fellows will study leadership, effective communication, and strategies to affect positive social change as they explore the life stories and legacies of Frederick Douglass and Daniel O’Connell.