Fulbright Program Sends Students, Alumni to Sites Around the World

Several students and recent alumni were awarded scholarships by the Fulbright Student Program during the 2015-16 academic year to pursue their interests at destinations around the world in the coming year.

Three were awarded study/research grants, four were selected to participate in the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program (ETA) and one student was accepted as a Fulbright Summer Institute participant. One student was also selected as an alternate for the ETA program.

The research grants and ETA are awarded through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

“Fulbright awards are a great honor that allows our students to do research, teach and gain experience across the globe,” says Ford Maxwell Professor of South Asian Studies and Professor of Anthropology Susan Wadley, the campus Fulbright representative. “Whether graduate students doing dissertation research or recent graduates teaching English, this experience will have long-term effects on their careers and lives.”

The students are among the more than 1,900 U.S. citizens who were selected for the 2016-2017 academic year. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.

“Our 2016 Fulbright winners are a truly outstanding group, and they are well-suited to carry out the goals of the Fulbright program:  to promote mutual understanding and cultural exchange,” says Jolynn Parker, director of the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA), assistant director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program and a campus Fulbright program adviser. “These students have earned a unique opportunity to share their academic interests, culture and skills with the people they meet in their host country, and to learn extraordinary amounts in return.”

The following students were awarded Fulbright Study/Research Grants:

• Adrienne Atterberry G’12, G’15, a media studies graduate of the Newhouse School of Public Communications who earned a certificate in South Asia through SU’s South Asia Center and is currently a graduate student in sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, will be traveling to India to research how Indian American youth navigate educational options and sense of belonging in both the U.S. and India.
• Sean Reid, a graduate student in anthropology in the Maxwell School, was awarded a grant to travel to Ghana to research the pre-Atlantic history of the Central Region of Ghana and its later intersections with the Atlantic World through trade in gold and enslaved peoples.
• Alisa Weinstein, a graduate student in anthropology in the Maxwell School, will also be heading to India to study how tailors in Jaipur, a center for block-printed textiles and apparel production, are responding to dramatic transformations in the garment industry.

The following students were selected for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Programs in Taiwan, Thailand, Ecuador and France:

• Clara Echeverria-Ng ’15, an international relations graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, Taiwan
• Kaitlyn Hobson ’16, an English and textual studies and magazine graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Newhouse School, Thailand
• Haley Kulakowski ’16, an international relations and policy studies graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, Ecuador
• Binta Jammeh ’12, an international relations and public relations graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Maxwell School and the Newhouse School, France
• Kaitlin O’Rourke ’16, a math education, Spanish and mathematics graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education, was selected as an ETA alternate to Uruguay.

Hannah Butler

Hannah Butler ’19, who is studying management and public relations in the Whitman School of Management and the Newhouse School, was selected to participate in the Fulbright-Scotland Summer Institute through the US-UK Fulbright Commission—a program targeted at first- and second-year undergraduates. The award will fully fund her for six weeks of study in Scotland at the University of Dundee and the University of Strathclyde. Students gain a unique perspective on the cultural and political forces that have shaped modern Scotland, with a strong emphasis on its pioneering role as a technological nation.

CFSA works with students to help them determine which scholarships might fit their academic goals and facilitate the application process for various grants and scholarships. CFSA also organizes information sessions and workshops, with other advisors on campus, such as the faculty Fulbright representative, to assist students with writing compelling essays.