Eleven William and Mary students receive Fulbrights
Eleven students and alumni from the College of
William and Mary will study or teach abroad on Fulbright U.S. Student
scholarships during the coming academic year.
The scholars will work in countries around the world including Oman,
Germany, Taiwan, Poland and Hungary. Many of the scholars will work as
part of English-teaching assistantships, while others will conduct
research on topics ranging from cross-cultural interchange through
mathematics to musical connections across the Mediterranean.
In recent years, greater numbers of William and Mary students have been
selected for the Fulbright program. Since 2000, 50 William and Mary
students and alumni have been selected as Fulbright scholars. To keep
that number growing, the College implemented a new pre-application
process for students applying this year. The Fulbright scholars
received help in pursuing the scholarships through the College’s Peer
Scholarship Advisor program. Peer advisors held weekly office hours in
the College’s Charles Center and helped students put together
applications, write essays and prepare for interviews.
“This is the second year that all of the grantees have worked with Peer
Scholarship Advisors,” said Lisa Grimes, director of fellowships and
associate director of the Charles Center. “I believe that in doing so
they were able to improve the quality of their applications a great
deal.”
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and
was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late
Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. It operates in more than 150
countries across the globe and supports building mutual understanding
between the people of the United States and the rest of the world. The
scholarships fund one year of study or teaching for each of the
scholars. Scholars are selected on the basis of academic or
professional achievement as well as on demonstrated leadership
potential in their fields. This year more than 1,300 U.S. citizens will
travel abroad for the 2007-2008 academic year through the Fulbright
U.S. Student Program.
The scholars from William and Mary are: Chuck Abbott, Amy Benoit, Will
Dolive, Helen Wong, Neah Monteiro, Amanda Norris, Jean Rose, Hakan
Seyalioglu, Laura Smith, Catherine Williams and Aisa Martinez.
This year’s scholars will explore a wide range of global issues. For
example, Martinez ('06) will be traveling to Oman and studying the
activities of the Omani Women's Association throughout the country.
“Oman as a country is quite diverse in people and region, so I'm really
looking forward to traveling around the country and learning as much as
I can,” Martinez said. “At William and Mary, I've gotten the chance to
study the Middle East. Now it's time for me to go and actually live it,
which is very, very exciting.”
