“MARIO POSSATI” MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIP 2024 AWARDED TO NADEZHDA IVANOVA

Nadezhda (Nadya) Ivanova is the recipient of the 2024 “Mario Possati” Memorial Fellowship, now in its thirty second year of assisting a gifted young Eastern European person to complete their education to international standards. The Fellowship, promoted and financed by Confindustria Emilia Area Centro and Marposs, is named after Mario Possati, Founder of Marposs and is dedicated to talented young students specialising at Bologna's SAIS (School of Advanced International Studies), a division of the American Johns Hopkins University.

Nadezhda Ivanova is from Sofia, Bulgaria and she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Government with a minor in German Literature and Culture from Franklin & Marshall College (F&M), Lancaster PA, in 2023, where she received the Williamson medal, the highest student award at F&M, and spoke at the commencement ceremony in May. 

In 2021, Nadya interned at the Congressional Office for International Leadership, sparking her interest in soft power's role in international relations, which she explored in her honors thesis. Her thesis examined the balance of power in the Middle East since 2011, analyzing the use of hard and soft power, and she successfully defended it in May 2023.

The award ceremony, held on 16 May at the Johns Hopkins University, featured Stefano Possati, Marposs Chairman, alongside his brothers Edoardo and Alberto, respectively Vice-Chairman and a Member of the Board, the Director General of Confindustria Emilia Area Centro, Tiziana Ferrari, and the Rector of Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe, Renaud Dehousse with the Director of Development, Gabriella Chiappini.

Who's who of Mario Possati Memorial Fellowship