The MacArthur fellowship was founded in 2023 by Andrew MacArthur P ’23 in honor of his father, Bill MacArthur ’59. The fellowship provides recipients with funds for international gap year projects. Jack Louchheim ’20 is among the first three alums to be named a MacArthur Fellow.
What led you to attend Hotchkiss?
I joined the school as a new Lower Mid. I grew up in a little town on Long Island, and I loved my home, but by the time I was a freshman, I was getting a bit bored. I had a very small class and was exceeding what the curricula could offer. I had good friends, but I was ready to broaden my horizons and go somewhere I’d be able to meet kids from all over the country and the world.
What led you to apply to become a MacArthur fellow?
The fellowship is an opportunity for alums in college who are interested in international affairs. It allows them to travel, learn, and work abroad for one year, fully funded. Fellows create their own proposals for their year abroad, which is unique, because while there are a number of international opportunities open to college students, many don’t give students this freedom.
At Georgetown, I was studying science, technology, and international affairs at the School of Foreign Service. My biggest interests were renewable energy and energy development, especially in foreign countries. I was also interested in Latin America as a region— I had taken a number of classes about development in Latin America— and in finance, an area in which I had done some internships.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to combine these three interests into one work area. I really wanted to work abroad, but that was difficult, as I only have U.S. citizenship, and it’s hard to get someone to sponsor your visa.
The MacArthur fellowship appeared as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore my interests abroad, backed by funding and support. When opportunities like that come up, you have to take them.
What have you been doing on your fellowship so far and what do you have planned?
I decided to focus on renewable energy, investment, and development in Latin America. Latin America appealed to me because of its abundant energy resources in oil, solar power, and wind power.
Right now, I’m in Santiago, Chile working for an investment bank that focuses on business in Chile, Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, and Argentina, particularly on helping sell renewable energy projects. I will be here until January exploring who funds renewable energy projects, where they get the money to develop them, and who their investors are. After Santiago, my plan is to work for a company called Genneia, Argentina’s largest renewable energy provider.
A large part of this fellowship is working, but I think the most interesting part is learning to live in a place that’s completely different. I have yet to meet another American here.
Chile recently celebrated Chilean Independence Day, and a group of Chileans who go to college in Santiago invited me to go to the beach with them to celebrate. I was able to spend the festivities with them, but they didn’t speak any English. I spent time learning how to speak Chilean Spanish, dressing up in Chilean holiday gear, drinking traditional Chilean drinks, and doing a lot of asado, which is like barbecue. The complete cultural experience has been amazing.
What do you feel you are gaining from the fellowship?
I’ve spent my whole life on the East Coast of the U.S., and when you spend your whole life in one place, it starts to frame everything about you—your interests and your cultural expectations. When you go and live in a completely different place, it gives you a whole different perspective on everything you’ve grown up knowing and a greater appreciation for where you come from and the people there.
The only restrictions on the MacArthur fellowship are that you have to be abroad for an entire year, and you have to travel to places entirely new to you. The biggest challenge is getting by on your own in a completely new different place for twelve months without your support network beside you. Navigating this takes a lot of strength and courage. I’ve only been doing it for two months, but I feel I have already learned a lot about adulthood and independence.
How did your time at Hotchkiss shape the work you’re doing now?
I built some of my first relationships with people from around the world at Hotchkiss. Most people don’t have this experience until they go to college, and I got to have it starting at age fifteen.
Being able to make friends with people from different backgrounds, who spoke different languages, and who grew up in different worlds, made me a much more open-minded person. When I was starting college, my experiences made me really excited to meet new people. They shaped my mindset and my love of learning about new cultures and influenced my choice to join the Foreign Service School. They eventually led me to this fellowship. I get energy from being in new, different places around new, different people and learning to live in this way.
