Baylor Senior Earns Prestigious Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship

Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-709-5959
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Baylor University senior Isabella Zárate, an international studies and environmental studies double major from Katy, Texas, has been awarded the highly competitive Charles B. Rangel Graduate Fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by Howard University. Zárate is the third Baylor undergraduate to receive the Rangel Fellowship that supports “extraordinary individuals” who want to pursue a career in the Foreign Service, where they can help formulate, represent and implement U.S. foreign policy.

A Truman Scholarship finalist in the spring, Zárate is a student in the Honors Program and Baylor Interdisciplinary Core in the Honors College, Head Delegate of Baylor’s Model United Nations Team, a Trailblazer Scholar, Provost Scholar and a student director of Baylor's Leadership, Education and Development Living-Learning Community (LEAD LLC) program. The Rangel Fellowship aligns with her aspirations to become a diplomat, focusing on global interests in resource insecurity, climate resilience and education access that she developed while studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, interning with environmental nonprofits and government agencies and participating in Model UN.

“Before I started Baylor, I was very unsure about what I wanted to do after college, but joining Model UN and meeting Dr. Rebecca Flavin defined my career goals. Her support and commitment to having students learn about the importance of international diplomacy and the constant opportunities for simulating this in conferences showed me that international cooperation was my passion and that is what ultimately led me to apply for this fellowship,” Zárate said. “When I learned I received the fellowship, I was overwhelmed and filled with disbelief. I genuinely never thought I would have been able to earn an opportunity like this as a first-generation student and first-generation American. It is such an honor to be selected for such a prestigious program and I could not be more grateful to the Baylor faculty who helped me get to this point.”

The Rangel Fellowship will support Zárate through a two-year master’s program in international affairs or an area of relevance to the Foreign Service at a university based in the U.S., while also providing a stipend, a Foreign Service Officer mentor and internships on Capitol Hill and overseas at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Fellows who successfully complete the Rangel Program and Foreign Service entry requirements will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers. She follows former Baylor Rangel Graduate Fellows, Gabbi Mucerino (2020) and Sophia Fulton (2021), both of whom completed the requirements and are serving internationally as FSOs.

Engaged learning

As a Truman finalist last spring and finalist this year for the Rangel and Pickering fellowships, Zárate worked closely with the Office of Engaged Learning in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences throughout the application process. OEL is a central hub of programs in which faculty and staff help students maximize their undergraduate experience, including through competitive national and international fellowships and awards. Baylor has been highly successful in this area, with students earning the Fulbright, Truman, Marshall, Churchill, Goldwater, Boren, Critical Language Scholarship and more.

“We in the Office of Engaged Learning are positively thrilled for Isabella, and along with anyone who knows her at Baylor, completely unsurprised she won the Rangel Fellowship. She has excelled and helped others flourish across Baylor's campus as well in the Waco and Washington, D.C., communities,” said Daniel Benyousky, Ph.D., director of major fellowships and awards with OEL. “Winning the Rangel Fellowship is a fitting culmination of her time at Baylor, one that is ideal for someone aspiring to be a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State because it sets winners on a rocket trajectory to the Foreign Service. We cannot wait to see where in the world this takes her. Wherever she goes, she will be dedicated to diplomacy, promoting peace and pursuing mutual cultural understanding.”

Among Zárate’s most influential Baylor mentors, she lists LEAD LLC program director Alyssa Harrington, B.B.A. ’19., M.S.Ed. ’21, for her commitment to “connecting with students and making sure that they can call Baylor their home,” and her Model UN advisor Rebecca Flavin, Ph.D., lecturer in political science and director of engaged learning curriculum in OEL, for being “so genuinely invested and committed to the well-being and success of her students.”

Flavin describes Zárate as “rare among undergraduates” for cultivating interconnected undergraduate experiences within and outside the classroom that position her to be a leader in the field of climate action. She cited Zárate’s wide range of involvement at Baylor and beyond, from Model UN and the Mycology and Foraging Club, which she co-founded; internships with Interfaith Power & Light, USDA Forest Service, Rootes and Routes IC, and NPower; and service work with a local afterschool program.

“Isabella seeks every opportunity afforded to her – ranging from academic, professional and service – to learn more about climate change and its impact on vulnerable populations as well as manageable approaches for advancing global sustainability, the area of Foreign Service she hopes to work in upon completing her education,” Flavin said. “Isabella has experienced firsthand the devastating effects of natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, and her internships have afforded her the opportunity to serve other groups and to build cross-cultural dialogue. She is uniquely positioned to serve these groups as both a first-generation college student and the child of immigrants from Chile and Honduras.”

Choosing Baylor University

Zárate hasn’t finalized her decision for her master’s degree through the Rangel Fellowship, but she is considering programs at Georgetown, Columbia and Johns Hopkins. For her undergraduate study, Baylor University was her single choice after touring campus as a high school senior. 

“First, Baylor's beautiful campus seemed like a great place to live and grow as a person. As someone from Houston's suburbs, it was amazing to see so many large trees and historic-looking buildings - Baylor's campus felt like the ideal campus to represent higher education,” she said. “Second was Baylor's focus on community. During my tour, I had never felt more welcome at a place where I had never been before. I have been very close with my family my whole life and I was very afraid to move away to a place where I could not feel at home or feel like I belonged. Visiting Baylor showed me that I could find belonging here, and as a Baylor student, I truly did. I could never imagine picking another university because of the opportunities, friendships and experiences that I've been given by Baylor.”

For more information, visit the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program website.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.