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When Rutgers University seniors graduate this month, some will spend the summer backpacking across Europe. Avi Smolen will backpack across Africa -- but not like you think.

Smolen's trek will be one of social justice and interfaith education, not hostels and dinner for five bucks a day. That's because the New Milford resident was selected last month as one of 30 fellows for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, a global initiative launched by the former prime minister of the United Kingdom. Smolen and his peers from the United States, Canada, and the U.K. will spend 10 months in the program raising awareness about malaria, including six weeks in the African countries of Mali, Malawi, and Tanzania.

"I've had a very strong Jewish upbringing... and I've learned a lot in college about other faiths," Smolen said. "Religion can inspire people, can motivate them to do great things. I don't have the idea that I'm going to do it all myself, but I think that this is a really good initiative that can certainly make an impact. I'm a big believer that every step can make an impact."

The 21-year-old's interfaith partner in the program will be Randa Kuziez, vice president of the national Muslim Students Association and a graduate student earning a master's degree in international affairs at Washington University in St. Louis. Smolen will likely go to graduate school himself, although he wants to see where the fellowship leads him before choosing a course of study.

Smolen, a Conservative Jew, is one of only a dozen Americans in this year's crop of fellows, which includes Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus. All will train in London -- meeting Blair himself along the way -- and Chicago, headquarters of the Interfaith Youth Corps, which has teamed up with the Blair Foundation for the malaria program. And while Smolen is excited to help educate people about how malaria kills an estimated 1 million people a year in Africa, it's the social action angle of the fellowship that appeals to him most.

The past president of Rutgers Hillel sees an interfaith approach to attacking global problems as a change agent, especially when many see dogma as a volatile wedge between groups.

"Religion, unfortunately, has the potential to be divisive, but I think what religion is really about is making life and the world a better place," Smolen said, later adding, "The more groups there are like the Interfaith Youth Core, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the more fellowships they have -- it's our job to spread the word. We're the messengers."

Blair himself couldn't agree more.

"Faith communities around the world have historically achieved great things to combat global problems," Blair said in a statement.

Smolen's selection as a fellow is just his latest achievement since graduating from Solomon Schechter Day School in West Orange. He joined Hillel as a freshman, quickly rising through the leadership ranks. Two years ago, he traveled to Nicaragua with American Jewish World Service, and last summer, he went to the Balkans with a group called Abraham's Vision.

"I've been able to recognize the privilege that I have," Smolen said. "It makes me want to give back. I probably won't make as much money as my friends going into investment banking, but I'm not looking to make millions of dollars in my life. I'm looking to make a difference."