Abel Sapirstein (HMC '21) Earns Watson Fellowship

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's swimmer Abel Sapirstein, a mathematical and computational biology major at Harvey Mudd, earned a prestigious 2021 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, the Watson Foundation announced this week.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent exploration outside the United States, awarded to graduating seniors nominated by one of the Watson Foundation's partner institutions. A total of 42 students from around the country were chosen for the Watson Fellow Class of 2021. 

Sapirstein will spend his Watson year exploring healthcare access and disparity in urban and rural communities in the global north and south. He was previously worked as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, coding spatial models aiming to reduce geographic liver allocation policies in the United States, and has also served as a "grutor" at Harvey Mudd, grading and tutoring for data structures and program development. 

In the pool, Sapirstein competed in the distance events and individual medley for the Stags, ranking ninth in program history in the 1650 (16:03.38). He was an honorable mention Scholar All-America from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America as both a sophomore and junior, and was a SCIAC All-Academic team selection every year. He was part of a program that won the last SCIAC championship in 2020

To learn more about the Watson Fellowship, visit the foundation's website at the link below: 

Watson Foundation