Eleven University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students have received 2008-2009 U.S. Student Fulbright Program awards to study, teach or conduct research in other countries.
Eleven University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students have received 2008-2009 U.S. Student Fulbright Program awards to study, teach or conduct research in other countries.
Nationwide more than 1,450 students were chosen for academic or professional achievement and leadership potential.
The nation’s largest international exchange program, the Fulbright operates in more than 155 countries. The late Sen. J William Fulbright of Arkansas established the program in 1946 to build mutual understanding among people of the United States and the rest of the world.
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. At UNC, it is administered by the Center for Global Initiatives.
“First and foremost, Fulbright programs promote cultural exchange,” said Beth-Ann Kutchma, UNC program adviser. “Through their documentary projects, dissertation publications and community service, these students link the Carolina campus to the world.”
This year’s Fulbright scholars and their projects, listed alphabetically by North Carolina town and by state, are:
North Carolina
Apex
Kyle Beaulieu, a political science major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will focus on international relations education in Austria while studying at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. His studies will center on social justice, democracy, human rights and cultural understanding.
Charlotte
Anthony Dest, a Latin American studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will study conflict resolution at La Universidad de los Andes in Columbia. His research will focus on social and economic development.
Tamara Johnson, a geography major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will analyze post-apartheid South Africa to better understand citizenship, belonging and identity in landless communities. She also will analyze narratives and cultural expressions.
Durham
Brenda Baletti, a geography major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will research efforts to reduce land conflicts in the Brazilian Amazon. Her research will include a case study of conflict between small and large property holders.
Hendersonville
Emily Laborde, an English and French major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will teach English in secondary schools in South Korea and complete community-based service work with women and families. She will work to understand the social and support service needs in rural communities.
Salisbury
Alana Wilson, a geological sciences major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will study glacier ice systems in Mongolia. Wilson holds a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a full, four-year merit award to UNC that includes four summer enrichment experiences.
California
John de Lancie, a peace, war and defense and Arabic major in the College of Arts and Sciences from South Pasadena, will create a documentary on three Iraqi and Jordanian families to discover the relationship between their two communities. De Lancie holds a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a full, four-year merit award to UNC that includes four summer enrichment experiences.
Texas
Anna Lassiter of Dallas, a comparative literature and Romance languages major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will teach English in South Korea. Lassiter holds a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, a full, four-year merit award to UNC that includes four summer enrichment experiences.
Marion Lensgraf, an international studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences from Houston, will work to help non-native English teachers in Argentina better communicate with their students. She also will complete a Spanish course designed to prepare her for a career in international education policy.
Virginia
Cassandra O’Lenick of Annandale, an environmental sciences and engineering major in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, will travel to Poland and study environmental law, policy and scientific procedure. She also will study Poland’s cooperation with the European Union’s environmental policy.
Waitman Beorn of Powhatan, a history major in the College of Arts and Sciences, will conduct archival research in Germany to understand the complexity of German soldiers’ participation in the Holocaust on the Eastern Front.
Web sites: Fulbright Program for U.S. Students: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html
Fulbright Program contact at UNC-Chapel Hill: Beth-Ann Kutchma, (919) 843-6842, bkutchma@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589