We recently sat down with former Luce Scholars to answer frequently asked questions about the Program.
Warisha Siddiqui was a Luce Scholar in 2024-2025. She spent the year in Indonesia.
Aspiring foreign diplomat Warisha Siddiqui spent her 2024 Luce year working in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the international women’s organization Rifka Annisa.
“I wanted to cultivate a career in which I was going to be an empathetic diplomat. To immerse myself in cultures and be able to connect with people and use that knowledge and information to formulate comprehensive and holistic policies. For me to be able to do that, I needed to be on the ground to learn those skills of cross-cultural connection and cultural competencies, and the Luce year was the only opportunity that I found that gave me the opportunity to cultivate those skills.”
Siddiqui distinctly remembers practicing these skills during the daily and pleasantly surprising discussions of American foreign policy with her Gojek drivers. 
Advice for Future Luce Scholars
“Be open to exploring anything and everything. There is no such thing as failure. Everything is a learning opportunity to help you grow. And, embrace every connection. No matter how small.”
What are the Characteristics of a Luce Scholar?
“I think a Luce scholar is very curious about the world and very passionate about storytelling.” Warisha goes on to elaborate that humility is central to the scholarship as well. “You know that you are there to observe and you are there to witness. Then you take that knowledge and let that inform what you do later on in the future.”
Siddiqui recorded voice memos throughout her entire journey to capture the highest highs and lowest lows— from going her first full day without speaking any English to her first volcano hike to the inevitable homesickness. She has given herself the gift of a library of vocal memory that she can carry with her into all of her future endeavors.
If not for Luce…
“I would not have some of the best friends I have now from my cohort. People who I truly cannot remember how to live life without.”
When I think about my Luce year…
“The first thing that comes to my mind immediately is me being behind a pottery wheel. And fully just immersed in the motions and the clay and the earth. Taking in all the sensory experiences. Sometimes it was the rain falling or fruits falling off the palm trees around me.”
