Markal Kelly, a Miami, Florida, native, was raised in Broward County. He is a recent graduate from Morehouse College where he studied international affairs and Portuguese. Previously, he worked for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Office of Economic and Regional Affairs in the Bureau of African Affairs. He recently concluded his internship with Global Ties where he contributed to the global projects proposed by the exchange alumni.
Markal is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Gilman Scholarship, the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange Scholarship, the United States Foreign Service Two-year Internship, and the Charles B. Rangel Scholarship. Additionally, he has been named a Panda Cares Scholar, an Oprah Winfrey Scholar, and an Exchange Alumni Ambassador. Markal aspires to become a diplomat and promote international education. Following his Fulbright experience, he plans to attend Johns Hopkins University in Italy to receive his master’s in international service as a Thomas R. Pickering fellow.
Since Markal believes that “how we live” is intrinsically related to “how we die”, his Fulbright-Nehru study relates the notions of life and death. His research is examining how social systems like religion were created to answer life’s existential problems and how sacred religious rituals are to different civilizations. Markal’s research in India is set to provide a deep understanding of Hinduism, its ethical–philosophical discourses, and the economic implications of Indian death rites. He is also investigating how societal systems, such as India’s caste hierarchy, influence how and what behaviors people engage in, based on their financial and social standing. Besides, he is evaluating how globalization, changes inside India, and even global conflicts have affected traditions and practices. Through this research, he will also be concluding his narrative about one of the holiest towns in the world for Hindus, Varanasi, which is ironically regarded as a place where people come to both “live” and “die”. By the end of his research, Markal hopes to have properly identified and comprehended the narratives of death rites that are inherent to the Hindu scriptures.