Wartburg College senior Andrew Buchheim is one of two students to receive an R.J. McElroy Graduate Fellowship.

Buchheim, who is majoring in political science and English, will receive up to $36,000 paid over three years as a fellowship recipient. He plans to pursue a doctorate in English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Andrew possesses a brilliant and inquisitive mind that elevates his academic work and drives his voracious independent learning. He believes deeply in the interdisciplinary power of the humanities to create a more equal, understanding and compassionate society,” wrote Wartburg President Rebecca Neiduski in her nomination letter. “His growing exploration of disability studies is one example of his ability to connect academic research and study to a greater awareness and understanding of the lived reality of marginalized communities around us. His prodigious talents have been noticed beyond Wartburg College – senior faculty from the Disability Studies Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Andrew’s first choice for his Ph.D., reached out to him upon his acceptance to the program to discuss his areas of interest and research.”

Buchheim presented his research on Shakespeare’s “Othello” at the Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium at Johns Hopkins University last spring. His work focused on the history of disability during Shakespeare’s time and analyzed how concepts of disability were represented in his work; he later tackled the analysis of Othello as a disability figure using historical links between race and disability.

The fellowship, established by the McElroy Trustees in 1983, is designed to “encourage persons of accomplishment, intelligence, integrity and leadership ability to pursue challenging academic careers.”

After earning his doctorate, Buchheim would like to teach at a university or college.

“I’m interested in teaching in the humanities because a holistic education positively impacts the individual. English, whether through literature or composition, is always going to be an academic discipline involving fundamental questions about language, culture and communication — these questions connect with virtually any other subject, and working through them helps us become more conscious and critical people as we engage with the world,” Buchheim said. “This is how I want to help future students grow. Research and writing offer another means for this kind of intellectual engagement, usually with a greater depth and specificity that I find very rewarding.”

In addition to his studies, Buchheim also has been active in the college’s music program and the Scholars Program, where he has served as president. An accomplished cellist, Buchheim plays in the Wartburg Community Symphony, Kammerstreicher and the St. George Quartet. He was recently named the Outstanding Senior in both political science and English. He also has served on the Wartburg College Democrats executive team.

For his final May Term before graduation, Buchheim was selected for a competitive internship at the archives in Eisenach, Germany. While there he will assist researchers with ongoing history projects, gaining experience in archival research and developing his translation and language comprehension skills.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to represent Waverly and Wartburg College in Eisenach. The sister city relationship has been very important over the last 31 years, and I want to help preserve and strengthen these ties as best I can,” he said.