Amanda Tukaj on the JK Watson Fellowship

Amanda Tukaj, Verrazano Class of 2019, is studying Communications with a Journalism concentration. She talks about the influence  her prestigious JK Watson Fellowship has had on her life thus far.

Amanda Tukaj

This time last year, I was contacted via email by Michele Callahan from the

Office of Scholarship & Fellowship Opportunities. She recommended I apply for the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship, a prestigious and selective three-year fellowship for NYC undergraduate students that provides paid internships for their fellows each summer. In addition, each fellow can spend up to two of these summers interning abroad.

At first, I wasn’t sure whether to apply. Aside from filling out an application online, applicants must also go through a series of competitive interviews. I felt certain I wasn’t going to be selected. However, just a few weeks before the internal application deadline, I decided to give it a shot. If anything, I thought going through the interview process would improve my communications skills and let me practice for future interviews. 

So when I found out in March of 2017 that I had been selected as a fellow for the JK Watson Class of 2019, my world was turned upside down. A few months prior to this, I had been worrying about finding a journalism internship to complete my major requirements. I worried I wouldn’t have any professional work experience related to my field prior to graduating, and although I always wanted to go abroad, I never thought would have the financial means to do so.

Watson changed all of that. Suddenly, I had the opportunity to pursue all of the goals that once seemed impossible. 

Amanda, lower right, with Watson cohort

During my first summer with Watson, I interned at Gotham Gazette, a non-partisan New York City digital news publication focused on increasing government transparency and reporting on city and state policy issues. For ten weeks, I got to work as a real journalist. I interviewed public officials, sat in on City Council hearings at City Hall, watched bills get voted into law, stood in front of Mayor Bill de Blasio at his rallies for the 2017 election cycle, attended academic symposiums to learn more about the issues facing New Yorkers, and, for the very first time, had articles published with my byline. 

 Oh, and I got to shake John Avlon’s hand at a fundraising event. He is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and can be frequently seen on CNN as one of their political analysts. I was so starstruck that I didn’t have the courage to give him one of the business cards Watson provides their fellows with (a missed opportunity, I know).

It all felt surreal. It still does. Right now, I’m in the process of self-initiating, which means I get to apply for internships with organizations all across the globe. I don’t know where I’m going to end up next summer, but I’m hoping to either go to Washington, D.C. to be closer to the national political scene or abroad to Europe. Some of the places I’ve been applying to have included Radio Free Europe in Prague, Reporters Without Borders in London, The Hill in Washington, D.C., and the UN’s Girl Up. I should know which organization I’ll be matched with in a few weeks. 

And while Watson’s internships are life-changing and prepare fellows for future professional careers, I think the best part of my Watson experience thus far has been getting to know the other fellows in my cohort as well as those who have been with Watson longer than I have. Whenever I feel nervous about everything in store for me, I know I can turn to them for support. They’re all absolutely incredible, and I know each and every one of them is going off to do amazing things. Shahrukh Khan and Joseph Gyasi, CSI students and Watson fellows from the Class of 2017 are both already making an impact in the world.

Watson has become my second family, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to express how grateful I am to have been given this opportunity.

And it’s all because I actually checked my CSI email and saw that message from Michele Callahan! It’s funny how little moments can forever change the direction of your life. So, always take that chance and seize an opportunity when you stumble across one because it might just make a big difference. It did for me, and I can’t wait to see where my Watson journey takes me next!