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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

19 students named Fulbright Scholars

The Fulbright U.S. Student Award allows IU students to travel the globe to do research, share their culture and teach English to students.

This year, 14 IU graduating seniors were chosen for the Fulbright U.S. Student Award and five graduate students received the Fulbright-Hays Award.
One IU student, Kyle Liston, was chosen for both but only accepted the Fulbright-Hays Award.

With 19 students chosen for these prestigious awards, IU has ranked 15th nationally and has tied for third place in the Big Ten in the amount of students chosen.

“In broad terms, the program is for student and faculty members to go abroad to learn about other countries’ cultures and share U.S. culture,” said Paul Fogleman, Fulbright
Program adviser for the IU Bloomington campus. “It allows them to engage with the world on a substance of issues.”

This year the students will be using their Fulbright Program grants to explore a wide range of countries and research topics. One student will study in the Netherlands with a renowned flutist, while another will study child obesity among New Zealand’s Pacific Islanders.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 by Senator J. William Fulbright to increase U.S. knowledge of other cultures and promote peace and friendship. Since then, more than 294,000 people have been a part of the program and studied in more than 150 countries.

Every year about 6,000 students apply and 1,500 receive awards to support their research projects or teach English in another country.

The Fulbright-Hays grants awarded by the Department of Education are given for dissertation research in countries beyond the scope of Western Europe. Those awarded the Fulbright-Hays grant possess advanced language skills, knowledge of the country’s cultural history and general knowledge in their field. The Fulbright-Hays program generally receives about 500 applications and chooses 160 U.S. citizens and permanent residents to receive the award to travel abroad.

The five recipients of the Fulbright-Hays grant from IU for the 2009-10 year will research countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and North Africa. The award amount varies based on country and project, but the average for this year’s recipients is $43,000.

Fogleman said that he believes many IU students were chosen for this prestigious award because of the combined efforts of the Office of International Affairs and the wide variety of faculty members who provide support and knowledge of cultures from around the world.

He said if students are interested in pursuing the award, they should seek out a professor whose focus is in the region they wish to study as soon as possible.
Brittany Woedl, a 2009 IU graduate and recipient of the Fulbright U.S. Student Award, will be traveling to South Africa to work as an English teaching assistant.

“I feel it will be beneficial for my career, and it’s something I think it will be fulfilling for me and helpful to others,” she said. “We are not super prepared, but it’s kind of like an adventure.”

Woedl said though she didn’t originally plan on going to South Africa, she is very excited about participating in the program.

She became interested in applying for the Fulbright Program because of an international studies class she took as a sophomore. She also studied in Tanzania and Senegal during her time at IU.

“I will be giving presentations on U.S. culture and leading small study groups there,” Woedl said. “The purpose of the program is to foster international cooperation and communication.”

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