The Program in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
Nine University of Pennsylvania affiliates—six fourth years and three recent graduates—have each received a 2024 Thouron Award to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. Each Thouron Scholar receives tuition for up to two years, as well as travel and living stipends.
Penn’s 2024 Thouron Scholars are fourth-years Maya Brawer-Cohen, Lynn Larabi, Crystal Marshall, Ellie McKeown, George Morcos, and Emma Søndergaard Jensen and 2023 graduates Sheil Desai and Joshua Yang; and 2022 graduate Sonali Deliwala.
Established in 1960 and supported with gifts by the late John Thouron and his wife, Esther du Pont Thouron, the Thouron Award is a graduate exchange program between Penn and U.K. universities that aims to improve understanding and relations between the two nations.
Ellie McKeown, from Philadelphia, is a triple-major: in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies with a concentration in health and disability; in biology; and in English in the College. McKeown, who identifies as an autistic self-advocate, is interested in studying autism in a sociological context, focusing on broadening autism research to better reflect the community it represents. They are currently working as an autism research assistant in the Edward Brodkin Lab at the Perelman School of Medicine, and as an archival assistant in the Rare Book Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia. McKeown is one of the founders and co-leaders of Advocates for Neurodiversity and a member of NeuroQueer at Penn, two new student groups. A Philadelphia Mayor’s Scholar, McKeown has received several research grants, including from the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program, College Houses and Academic Services Undergraduate Research Program, and the Penn Student Neurodiversity Advocacy Initiative. They also have been a consultant and organized autism and disability advocacy workshops for Penn, Temple University, and Drexel University. McKeown is also a board member of Stimulus Children’s Theater. As a Thouron scholar, McKeown plans to pursue a master’s degree in social research at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships serves as Penn’s primary information hub and support office for students and alumni applying for major grants and fellowships, including the Thouron Award.
For more information, please visit: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-announces-nine-2024-thouron-scholars