Hampton University Student Receives Prestigious Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship

To Study Abroad in Cape Town

PORTLAND, Maine (May 5, 2020) – Hampton University freshman Cameron Lovings has been selected as a 2020 Frederick Douglass Global Fellow, an honor awarding him a full scholarship to represent Hampton University in a summer study abroad program focused on leadership and intercultural communication that will be held in Cape Town. Cameron is one of 10 high achieving students from Minority Serving Institutions across the country to earn the prestigious award.

“Congratulations to Mr. Cameron Lovings for being selected for this prestigious award. We know that he will represent Hampton University with character and will maintain the Hampton University Standard of Excellence during this service trip abroad,” said Hampton University President, Dr. William R. Harvey.

The 2020 Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship program was originally scheduled for July 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. However, due to the global impact of COVID-19, this cohort of Fellows will study abroad in 2021 instead.

“I am very much aware of the fact that I am following in the footsteps of great student-leaders, and I look forward to giving this program my all,” said Lovings, who got his first taste of international education during high school with a service trip to New Zealand.

Lovings is a member of the Hampton University Freddye T. Davy Freshman Honors Program and the William R. Harvey Leadership Institute. He is a political science major who aspires to work for the United Nations, and put his adaptive, service, and cultural leadership skills to use helping others.

The Frederick Douglass Fellowship, which launched in 2017, is representative of efforts by the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) to expand access to an international education to underrepresented students.

“Now more than ever, the world needs individuals with strong leadership skills who have the ability to work across cultural divides,” said James Pellow, CIEE’s president and CEO. “Frederick Douglass was transformed by his international experience and returned to the States in 1847 as a free man who spent the next 50 years of his life agitating for positive change in our world. We hope that the lives of these Fellows are changed as well, and that this experience will prepare them to become bold, globally conscious, service-oriented leaders.”

Nettie Washington Douglass, chairwoman and co-founder of Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, and the great granddaughter of Frederick Douglass and great, great granddaughter of Booker T. Washington, declared, “My grandfather realized the importance of education and how it changes lives, especially when that education includes developing the wisdom gained through an international perspective. We are excited to partner with CIEE in the development of leaders that are taught the value of intercultural awareness and molded to be change agents in their communities like Frederick Douglass.”

To learn more about the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, visit ciee.org/fdgf.