STUDENTS EARN NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY ABROAD

Arizona State University, Tempe
May 17 2006

Next year, at least 21 ASU students will be studying abroad on
prestigious national scholarships, increasing the outreach and impact
of the university. Ten students have won Fulbright Scholarships,
and 11 undergraduates have won National Security Education Program
(NSEP) awards to study overseas.

ASU ranks among the top public universities in the country for both
awards, according to Janet Burke, associate dean of the Barrett Honors
College and director of the national scholarship advisement office. In
addition, five Fulbright applicants and six NSEP applicants from ASU
have been named alternates.

“The increased attention the university is paying to global studies,
the proliferation of foreign languages offered, and the cutting-edge
research in which so many faculty members are engaged all translate
into a student body that is well informed and well disposed to study
and research in foreign countries,” Burke says. “The faculty members
at ASU also tend to be very helpful to students in formulating their
plans and projects, and supportive in helping them establish the
necessary contacts overseas.

“Then there is the fact that success breeds interest. When one student
in a department or college wins a major award, I typically will see
a stream of students from that department coming into my office the
next year.”

Fulbright students apply for a particular country and find specialists
who are willing to work with them on their chosen course of study,
receiving full travel, living and academic expenses for an academic
year. The NSEP awards provide up to $20,000 for a year’s study
in countries that are outside Western Europe, Australia and New
Zealand. They provide a base of future leaders for the United States
who understand less familiar languages and cultures.

Two of the Fulbright students will study in Indonesia. Chris Lundry,
a doctoral student in political science, will study the country’s
success at incorporating ethnic and religious minorities on the
island of Sumba. Willow Paule, a fine arts graduate in photography,
will teach English and create a photography project.

Naomi Bellot, a doctoral student in justice studies, will study
the impact of HIV/AIDS on Carib women in Dominica. Boyd Branch, a
graduate in theater, will go to the Netherlands to study contemporary
Dutch and European theater at the University of Utrecht. He also will
intern with a leading Dutch theater festival.

Kate Murray, doctoral student in clinical psychology, will spend the
year in Australia studying the effects of resettlement programs on
refugees, compared to those in Phoenix. Noah Theriault, graduating in
anthropology, will study a coastal resource management project in the
Philippines. Christopher Graham, graduate in environmental studies,
will research drought in Mauritius .

Others who will teach English while pursuing their research interests
are Liz Dreeland, graduate in Spanish, teaching in Uruguay; Naomi
Moland, doctoral student in multicultural languages and literacy,
in Spain; and Akshai Patel, master’s student in curriculum and
instruction, in Chile.

Of the NSEP award winners, all but two of them are undergraduates
enrolled in the Barrett Honors College, and most of them have double
majors in other ASU colleges. They will be studying languages and
cultures in Asia , the Middle East and eastern Europe.

They include Steven Cottam, majoring in world religions and history,
and Erin Hutchinson, international relations and history, both going
to Armenia; Natalia Anker-Lagos, philosophy and Slavic languages,
and Scott Legler, Slavic languages and literatures, both going to
Tatarstan; and John Wulsin, economics and Chinese languages, and Jia
Yi, finance and marketing, both going to China.

Others are Melissa Archibald, political science and Slavic languages,
who will study in Russia; Eva Farnsworth, environmental engineering,
Jordan; Jamie Forseth, political science and music, Poland; Hannah
Mensing, mechanical engineering, Turkey; and Madelyn Yribarren,
social anthropology, Egypt.