Olivia Wang ’25 Receives Fischlowitz Travel Fellowship

Olivia Wang ’25 is this year’s recipient of the Fischlowitz Travel Fellowship. 

Wang, an avid surfer, will explore the culture that surrounds the sport and its similarities and differences in locations around the United States. She will visit San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and San Diego in California, several cities along the East Coast, as well as locations in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Wang began surfing about five years ago while on vacation and has been enamored with the sport, its people, and the culture that surrounds it ever since.

“I started to think about surfing not just as a sport, but more like a lifestyle or culture,” says Wang. “It’s the way that you socialize with people and also demonstrate your own lifestyle, because surfing is really about lifestyle. Many of the people I’ve met through surfing really live a laid-back life and do a lot of related things that create a unique community. In general, they have a really healthy and sustainable lifestyle. These byproducts of surfing have really drawn me into the culture of the sport.”

The Fischlowitz Travel Fellowship provides an opportunity for Grinnell international students to pursue casual yet purposeful independent travel in the United States, focused on deep exploration of a chosen theme.

One award of $5,400 is available each year, made possible through the generous support of Teresa and Merle Fischlowitz ’53. Fischlowitz remembers his friendships with students from abroad as one of the most rewarding aspects of his time at Grinnell. He believes traveling independently in the United States has the power to enrich an international student’s education beyond what can be accomplished by living for a few years in any single community. This award was established to provide opportunities for meaningful travel to students who might not otherwise be able to pursue it during their time at Grinnell.