Two From Rutgers Awarded Luce Scholarships to Work in Asia
The death of a parent and a job loss during the 2008 Great Recession were turning points in the lives of the two newest Luce Scholars named from Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
Melanie Arroyave, a senior majoring in labor studies and employment relations with minors in public health and women’s and gender studies, and Shivram Viswanathan, a 2018 graduate who works as a senior research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, are among 18 Luce Scholars selected out of 165 candidates.
Their selection this year comes with a second distinction. Rutgers is one of only two universities in the United States to have two scholars selected for the nationally competitive fellowship program launched by the Henry Luce Foundation to enhance understanding of Asia.
“With 75 of the very best U.S. universities eligible to nominate, it is extremely difficult to have even a single Luce Scholar,” said Arthur D. Casciato, director of Rutgers’ Office of Distinguished Fellowships. “To have two students awarded this honor is truly extraordinary as well as a reliable measure of just how outstanding Melanie and Shiv are both as individuals and as examples of the kind of excellence Rutgers students can accomplish.”
Born to immigrant parents in Jersey City, Arroyave’s interest in health care and public policy was sparked after the death of her mother – who had been paralyzed in a car accident. Arroyave blames poor care she received in a nursing home that she says was due to a lack of adequate staffing.
“I remember being very angry when she died,” said Arroyave. “But I quickly realized the nursing home was so understaffed and the workers were so underpaid. Since this is one of the fastest-growing jobs where workers are the least paid, I think the gap is going to grow even larger and needs to be addressed.”
Viswanathan, a graduate of the Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences Honors Program who earned a degree in economics and mathematics, studies the health of the U.S. financial system through his job at the Federal Reserve Bank. He became interested in finance at 14 when his father lost his job as a software engineer and his family had to move from Ohio to West Windsor in Mercer County for work.
“I remember this being a cornerstone of my adolescent experience,” said Viswanathan. “I was livid about moving. But it made me interested in financial systems and economic downturns and has helped lead me to where I am today.”
Arroyave and Viswanathan are the fourth and fifth Luce Scholars from Rutgers, chosen through a competitive three-month interview-intensive selection process. The yearlong fellowship that begins in June provides stipends, intensive language training and individual professional placement in Asia aimed at enriching their future careers.
Arroyave, who in addition to being a Rutgers student is an active-duty servicewoman in the U.S. Coast Guard College Pre-Commissioning Initiative, wants to research the domestic worker surplus in Asia and the growing number of individuals seeking work overseas.
“These workers are treated like third-class citizens throughout the world,” said Arroyave, who is considering law school when she finishes her year in Asia. “They are the largest group of workers in Asia to leave, and I want to look at why this is happening.”
As an undergraduate, Viswanathan played a leading role in Rutger's victory over the University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Princeton and others in the 2016 College Fed Challenge, in which top schools analyzed the U.S. economy. He wants to research innovative policy that ensures global financial stability while improving economic opportunity in disadvantaged communities.
After his year in Asia – in which he hopes to have the opportunity to conduct research at a central bank in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia or Hong Kong, Viswanathan plans to enroll in a doctoral-degree program in the social sciences.
“My ambition and plan is to be a professor and consult on policy,” said Viswanathan, who is also an accomplished musician in jazz and qawwali, an ancient form of Sufi devotional music. “My research and music are both such important parts of who I am, and I look forward to spending time on both.”
