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Twelve U.Va. students receive Fulbright U.S. Student Award to teach, research abroad

Brazil, Russia, Taiwan among countries recipients will travel to

<p>Twelve current and former University students received the Fulbright U.S. Student Award.</p>

Twelve current and former University students received the Fulbright U.S. Student Award.

Twelve current and former University students received the Fulbright U.S. Student Award to teach or research in various countries around the world.

Fulbright U.S. Student Awards are generally awarded on the basis of academic and professional achievements, as well as the “extent to which the candidate and the project will help to advance the Fulbright aim of promoting mutual understanding among nations through engagement in the host community,” according to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program’s website. About 1,900 Fulbright U.S. Student Awards are given each year.

The University’s recipients are Hayley Anderson, Nicholas Fenton, Mirenda Gwin, Corey Haynes, Christopher Hiebert, Tiffany Hwang, Libby Lyon, Samantha Merritt, Sara Pancerella, Melissa Roggero, Elizabeth Stone and Mitch Wellman.

Fulbright students, or “Fulbrighters,” commonly apply for the grant under the terms of either serving as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant or in a research position. Other paths are also possible, such as working towards a postgraduate degree. Fulbright applicants applying to study and research apply for programs in specific locations, while ETA applicants apply to serve in certain countries and are then assigned to specific places.

The recipients will study or serve in Brazil, Russia, Bulgaria, Laos, India, Taiwan, United Kingdom, South Korea, Colombia, Sweden and Spain.

Hayley Anderson, a fifth-year in the Batten School, will serve in Brazil teaching English at a public university. Anderson says the ETA program was appealing to her because it was less structured than a research position, which will allow her more time for community involvement.

“I started learning Portuguese there and fell in love with it and continued to take it at U.Va., tying it into my focus on Latin American studies and politics, and that’s what lead me to apply for Fulbright in Brazil,” Anderson said. “Brazil places you in a federal university, and the students are normally very affluent … so what I really want to do outside of my teaching is go into more less advantaged communities and have Fulbright be a way that I could get involved in after-school programs or the Jewish community, which I’ve been involved with here.”

Fifth-year Curry student Tiffany Hwang will also participate in the ETA program, but chose to apply for the program in Taiwan.

“Selecting Taiwan was the easiest decision I have ever made [because] my family tree is deeply rooted in Taiwan, [and] my interest in diversity in education pointed to embedding myself in Taiwan's rigorous school system,” Hwang said in an email to The Cavalier Daily. “My experience tutoring and mentoring kids made me curious about the popular after-school centers in Taiwan, [and] my research experience in developing social and emotional learning and science lessons led me to wonder about their cross-cultural applicability [there].”

Elizabeth Stone, a doctoral candidate in the McIntire Department of Art, said she will be conducting research in Sweden and said Fulbright was the best fit for her academic needs.

“Fulbright offers an amazing community of scholars and facilitates seamless cultural immersion, [and] I knew that my research necessitated prolonged engagement with archival material, so Fulbright was a perfect fit,” Stone said in an email statement.

In addition to teaching or researching, Fulbright offers elements of cultural exchange through its immersive and involved nature. Mirenda Gwin, a 2015 College graduate who will serve as an ETA in Bulgaria, was drawn to Fulbright in part due to the cultural exchange.

“I am excited to learn about my students’ perspectives and contrast their thoughts and feelings about political change with those of their parents, and of their grandparents, [as well as learning] more about the country, politics, culture and religion,” Gwin said in an email statement.

According to Anderson, the application process for the ETA Fulbright grants consists of two essays — a personal statement and a grant statement of purpose — as well as language evaluations and questions regarding interests in supplementary involvements.

Andrus Ashoo, associate director for the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, said the University engages directly with prospective Fulbrighters by holding information sessions, offering advising through the process and arranging interviews to strengthen applications.

“We think the most important part is the application process itself, so advising is paramount — we want every interaction with our office to contribute positively to the development of the students with whom we interact,” Ashoo said in an email statement. “We host information sessions, workshops for group advising, and various one-on-one tutorials [and] we structure the on-Grounds interview for the Fulbright in a way that is beneficial for the students as they put the finishing touches on their applications.”

Fourth-year College student Sara Pancerella said those who are interested should pursue and explore the application, utilizing resources such as professors.

“Apply even if you're not sure about it — writing the essays is a great way to explore yourself and help you organize what you want in the future,” Pancerella said in an email statement. “My past teachers and advisors were also an invaluable resource and were extremely supportive.” 

Correction: This article previously directly quoted a source who was not meant to be quoted. This article has also been updated to include more details about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The article’s original description of the qualities of successful applicants mistakenly applied to the Fulbright Scholar award for faculty. Additionally, the original article mistakenly described the placement process for all students as not involving a process to assign students to specific locations after they apply to a country .

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