On Oct. 2, the photography department at Mills College announced that students Anise Aiello, Walker Guinee, Cyrstal Gwyn and Yetunde Olagbaju will receive the 2018 Nancy Cook Travel Fellowship.
The travel will take place within one year of the award, and the student may use the money to go anywhere in the world. Each student was awarded between $1,000 and $4,000, which will cover travel expenses, materials and supplies. The students will participate in an exhibition with the finished products of their travel in Slide Space 123, a gallery located in the art department, next academic year.
The Travel Fellowship will come out of the Nancy Cook Endowment in Photography. The fellowship was made available to all students currently enrolled in a photography class at Mills. To apply, students needed to submit a proposal for their travel photography project, a budget outlining how the funds awarded would be spent and a timeline with approximate dates for their travel.
The Nancy Cook Endowment in Photography is a gift from the late Mills alumna Nancy Cook, who graduated in 1968. The endowment created a faculty chair in photography and the travel scholarship fund.
The Nancy Cook Chair of Photography, the position created by Cook’s endowment, is held by photographer Catherine Wagner, who has led the photography program for 35 years.
“The strong legacy of photography at Mills is here to stay with this kind of foundation,” Wagner said in the Mills College press release. “With this gift, we will be able to expand our academic offerings in photography and expand our scholarships to students working in this medium.”
Cook was passionate about travel, and wanted the some of the endowment to be used specifically for students to be able to travel. Cook wanted the fund to make photography and travel more accessible to women at Mills.
“I had the great pleasure of meeting Nancy late last year,” President Elizabeth Hillman said in the press release. “Learning about her Mills experience—and her passion for photography and travel—was truly inspiring. Her generous investment in Mills reflects an equally tenacious commitment to making such life-changing experiences possible for generations of future students.”
