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This cash prize is awarded to the rising Columbia College senior majoring in Human Rights who submits the best proposal for a summer or term-time human rights internship, and is intended to be used to help defray the expenses of the internship.
This prize is awarded annually to the Columbia College student majoring in human rights who has the highest grade point average and a superior record of academic achievement in Human Rights.
This cash prize is awarded to the rising Columbia College senior majoring in human rights who submits the best proposal for a summer or term-time human rights internship, and is intended to be used to help defray the expenses of the internship. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, with priority admission dates of December 1 for Spring term submissions, and April 1 for Summer submissions. Alternatively, for general research or internship funding, students should review ISHR's undergraduate financial resources page. Please apply here: APPLICATION: Myra Kraft Human Rights Prize
Justin Holiman graduated from Columbia University in May 2020 with a degree in Human Rights and specialization in Political Science. He focused his studies on the American political and judicial systems and how they affect children’s rights. His senior year research analyzed the history of landlord-tenant law, as well as the right to housing counsel as a remedy for the negative impacts residential eviction has on children’s rights. This research built on the many legal internships he held during his time at Columbia, including at Legal Outreach, Inc. and Children’s Rights, Inc. Justin intends to build upon his passion for improving children’s well-being through housing law reform during his studies at the University of Chicago Law School in the fall of 2020. Beyond academics, Justin loves tending bar, watching every Academy Award-nominated film each year, playing guitar, and watching baseball.
Tessa graduated from Columbia University in 2019 with a degree in Human Rights, specializing in Latin American Studies. During her time at Columbia, her interest in law and justice reform led her to participate in Mock Trial and work for public defenders in Washington, D.C. and the Bronx, New York. She completed an undergraduate thesis on the racial and socioeconomic discrimination in the United States Family Court system, examining how international human rights norms might be deployed domestically to achieve a more equitable model for child welfare. Tessa also spent a semester studying in Argentina, where she researched strategies for combating the labor exploitation of Bolivian migrants.
Hannah Hollandbyrd is a recent graduate of Columbia College, where she studied human rights and was a member of UndoCU, an organization for undocumented Columbia University students. She is from the border city of El Paso, Texas and is interested in drug policy, migration, and human rights on the US/Mexico border. She hopes to get a Master's Degree and work towards more humane drug and immigration policy in Mexico and the U.S. Currently, she is an events coordinator with the Beto for Texas Senate campaign.
As a recipient of the Kraft Prize, Hannah worked at Project PODER, a Mexico City-based organization that works on corporate accountability and human rights in Latin America. As an intern with Project PODER, she researched the renegotiation of NAFTA and assisted the transparency technology department.
Eliana Kanefield graduated from Columbia where she studied Hispanic Studies and Human Rights with a specialization in Ethnicity and Race Studies. While at Columbia, Eliana co-founded and edited Portales, an international undergraduate research journal with a focus on Latin American and Iberian cultures, co-developed a literacy and nutrition program through Community Impact Leadership Program, learned about corporate social responsibility and public service through the Kenneth Cole Community Action Program, and taught classes in local public schools on conflict-resolution and genocide.
She has pursued her interests in human rights, diplomacy, and policy implementation through internships with the Gender, Human Rights, and Culture branch of the UN Population Fund, Human Rights Foundation, Office of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, and Center for Democracy in the Americas. She is currently teaching in Argentina at Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, as well as in rural communities, as a Fulbright Scholar.
