This year, 22 ASU students were awarded a Fulbright grant, placing ASU fifth in the nation for producing Fulbright students.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards the Fulbright scholarship, a prestigious grant that allows undergraduate to graduate level students to study abroad in more than 150 countries. Students can study at a foreign university, conduct their own research project or teach English in another country.
Kyle Mox, director of the Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarship Advisement, said the flexibility provided by the award contributes to the overall challenge of the application.
"It’s very flexible, but the hardest thing about Fulbright is that it’s very flexible," Mox said. "In many cases, students have to completely design and conceive a project of their own and find a host in the country they want to go to.”
However, Mox said ASU’s success in the Fulbright award wasn't all that surprising and ASU has historically been very strong in Fulbright representation.
“Nine times in the past 11 years, we’ve been among the top 10 producing schools in the nation,” he said.
Five of the 22 ASU students from the 2015-2016 Fulbright class are currently studying abroad in countries including Israel, the Netherlands, Turkey, Nepal and South Korea.
Rachel Gur-Arie, a 2015 graduate, focuses on science research based at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, Israel. She's leading a project in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, concentrating on evaluating influenza vaccinations.
"It’s a huge two-year study, so this is a really incredible opportunity for me to experience large-scale international collaboration with major players,” she wrote in an email.
Linnea Bennett, another 2015 alumna, took a different angle with her grant — teaching English in Turkey at Karabük University.
“I teach first-year university students 20 hours a week in the classroom, but one of the coolest things I do outside of that is run (English) speaking clubs," she said.
Bennett said the speaking clubs are weekly meetings where she facilitates student discussion over an English news article, Ted Talk or various pieces of other English news media.
However, she said she almost didn’t accept the award.
“I’m actually embarrassed that I almost didn’t take this grant because I had been living in Washington, D.C., and had a pretty good gig there," Bennett said. "I just knew something like this only comes around so many times in your life.”
Bennett’s experience contributed tremendously to personal growth as well. She said she was in a place of comfort in D.C., surrounded by friends and stability. But she said living in another country not only allowed her to see the world in a new perspective, but look at the U.S., more specifically, with new eyes.
From researching suicide prevention in Nepal like graduate student Ashley Hagaman to working with ESL students in South Korea like graduate Jenna Smith, the Fulbright scholars each take a new path in exploration with the money provided.
"I've grown immensely this year from living in such a foreign place," Smith said. "I am extremely grateful for this global experience and the opportunity to work with some of the world's brightest students.”
Related Links:
Ten Flinn Scholars heading to ASU
Students study, teach abroad with Fulbright Scholarship Program
Reach the reporter at sdave1@asu.edu or follow @simdave15 on Twitter.
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*In a previous version of this story, the Fulbright Student Program, was referred to as the Fulbright Scholar Program. It has now been corrected.
