Three Florida Tech students have been awarded full fellowships to attend the prestigious Catholic Worldview Fellowship (CWF) program, a month-long academic and cultural immersion experience this summer in Europe.
The recipients, Shellbie Reed, a junior majoring in Aeronautical Science with Flight; Caleb Walker, a freshman majoring in physics; and Julia Pearson, a freshman majoring in marine biology and a member of Florida Tech’s NCAA Division II women’s swimming team, were selected based on their academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and a competitive interview process.
The CWF program runs from June 27 to July 24. It begins with three weeks at Schloss Wissen, a historic castle in Germany, followed by a week in Rome, Italy. Participants will engage in interdisciplinary studies in history, philosophy, theology and ethics, earning three academic credits for the study abroad coursework granted through Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
Cultural excursions will include visits to German cities such as Aachen, Cologne, Trier and Xanten, and major Roman landmarks like the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Colosseum. This year’s program is especially timely; it coincides with the 2025 Great Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church, an occurrence celebrated in Rome every 25 years that draws millions of visitors to the eternal city.
This year’s recipients continue the legacy of Florida Tech students attending the program. Last year’s Catholic Worldview Fellowship awardees, Ryan Christensen, a sophomore in Aerospace Engineering, and Joseph Federle, a sophomore in Aeronautical Science with Flight, had high praise for the program.
“The Catholic Worldview Fellowship allowed me to seriously reflect on the history of my faith,” Christensen said. “It showed me what the word ‘Catholic’ really means: universal, and how that word brings us together as a family across the world and across time.”
Sophomore Joseph Federle noted his appreciation for seeing so many different religious sites and how that “transformed not only my understanding of my culture, but also of how other cultures practice Catholicism.”
The annual program selects 36 students from universities across the nation.
