Furman Fellows
The Furman Fellows award, among the highest honors bestowed on Furman students, recognizes five seniors based on their accomplishments, contributions and potential.
Students apply to become a Furman Fellow in the spring of their junior year. Applicants are required to propose and execute a project during their senior year and present their work at Furman Engaged. Proposed projects may include but are not limited to independent research (e.g., thesis, continuation of a summer or course project), a creative work (e.g., recording, theater production, art installation), a community project (e.g., on-campus or in the Greenville community), or an entrepreneurial endeavor (e.g., creation of a business or piloting/prototyping an idea).
Furman Fellows are selected based on the content of their application, including the project they propose, as well as faculty and staff recommendations. Successful applicants are those who aim to make a difference at Furman and in the broader community, bring creativity and imagination to their daily lives, demonstrate distinctive problem-solving abilities, and are respected by their peers and faculty.
Each Furman Fellow receives $10,000 thanks to the generous philanthropy of Trustee Emeritus Bob Buckman and his wife, Joyce Mollerup. The award is intended to encourage recipients to pursue their academic, creative and professional pathways.
Applications for the Furman Fellows Class of ‘26 are now open and are due by Friday March 14, 2025.
Class of 2025
A Studio Arts and Theatre double major, David T. Jones will develop a fashion collection, “Everyman: Son of Eros”, as a modern reinterpretation of the morality play Everyman. The show will collaborate with various fields: Sustainability Studies, Theatre Arts, Art History, Sociology, and Anthropology and aims to engage audiences with sustainable clothing practices. “Where the original represents everyone, the modern interpretation does not. I want to explore this idea of being alien from what society tells you to be and that reminder permeating the world surrounding you,” said Jones.
A Theatre Arts and English double major and Musical Theatre minor, Seth Milton Jones has written a nine-person play, “SPARTA”, about a high school wrestling team that will be produced as part of the 2024-2025 Furman University Theatre Departmental Main Stage Session. “As an early career playwright, going through the development process will let me understand and strengthen my particular style of writing, what it means for me to take criticism, and see how my work affects people, not only on an analytical level but also on an emotional level. As a producer, I will learn about a larger side of theatre that deals with the logistics of creating and putting all the pieces of a project together,” said Jones.
A Biology and Studio Art double major, Torrey Kridel’s project is “The Integration of Art”, a juried art exhibition solely for undergraduate students. Juried exhibitions are highly respected in the art world but it can be difficult for undergraduates to compete with seasoned artists. “This project aims to foster community and opportunities for shared experiences among participating artists through workshops and a midpoint critique… [and provides an opportunity to show] they can be successful with an art career and open up conversations around the intentional choices between different disciplines,” said Kridel. “Students will also walk away with a powerful portfolio showpiece.”
A Computer Science major, Jalen Livingston will develop a single-player, Sci-Fi RPG (Role-play game) experience on ROBLOX, an online multiplayer platform consisting of innovative and free-to-play games. The objective of this project is to reduce and lessen the challenges persons with disabilities (motor, visual, cognitive) typically face when attempting to play video games on their consoles, computers, or mobile devices. “I aim to create a game for not only a specific group of players, but for everyone. I want to write an inspiring, imaginative short-story narrative and implement it into a video game setting.”, said Livingston.
An English Writing major and Film Studies and Visual Strategy minor, Stephen Turner will create series of animated educational videos about being an adult with autism called “My Life as Neurodivergent”. “I have always wanted to tell a story, and Furman has only encouraged that drive in me through the wonderful writing classes from the English Department. Not only have those classes taught me the ins and outs of unity, style, and revision, but they have also shown me the importance of looking inward for your story, either for nonfiction storytelling or for educational content”, said Turner.