Allison Kindig is a senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, studying industrial engineering, global health studies and business administration at the University of Iowa. Two years ago, she was the recipient of a Stanley scholarship to travel to Cameroon. Since then, she addressed economical solar energy as a UI College of Engineering Grand Challenge Scholar. This fall, Kindig was named the 2014 Iowa Homecoming Queen. Read on to learn more about Allison's journey throughout her college experience.

In a guest opinion column for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, UI graduate student Eli Asikin-Garmager reflects on his two months living in a village in Indonesia where he conducted research on a local language and completed requirements toward his graduate degree in linguistics. The language found on Lombok Island in Eastern Indonesia — called Sasak — is spoken by some 2.5 million people, but relatively little documentation of the language exists.

Kelsey Frisk, a senior at the University of Iowa, lived in Malå from January through July as part of the study abroad program. There, she researched policies and cultural issues affecting the Sámi people. Her research included investigations of herders practicing reindeer husbandry, who she said make up about 10 percent of the Sámi people.