For the third time in four years, Fairfield University’s Fulbright program has received top recognition due to the high number of students who were awarded the scholarship this past academic year.
Find out more about the program here
Fairfield placed first in the number of Fulbrights its students received among the 574 universities in the country that are ranked as master’s degree institutions in the Carnegie classification, The Chronicle of Higher Education announced this week.
Five Fairfield students from the classes of 2006 and 2007 are currently conducting research as Fulbright scholars in nearly every corner of the world.
The Fulbright students include Aamina Awan ’07, one of only two scholars selected to work in Bahrain, a small Arab country in the Persian Gulf. Awan is conducting independent research at the University of Bahrain on public policies that encourage more women to join the workforce.
Other scholars are Evan Berard ’07, who is studying the societal structure of Venezuela; Elizabeth Blake ’07, who is studying the implications of the beefed-up border patrol policy at the Canada-U.S. border; Kate Cota ’07, who is researching literature in the Republic of Georgia; and James Costa ’06, who is a teaching assistant in Italy.
The traditional Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year. The scholars go through an extensive, highly competitive application process and, if selected, earn one of the most prestigious academic titles.
Living in any foreign country can be challenging, yet many Fulbright scholars choose to immerse themselves in particularly turbulent societies.
Berard, who is studying in Venezuela, recently encountered tear gas at a political rally that turned semi-violent.
“I have made a few mistakes, such as not buying an umbrella and getting on the wrong bus, but nothing that I would consider a bad experience has yet occurred. I have loved every second of my time here,” said Berard.
Not surprisingly, scholars also find the teaching aspect of the grant particularly rewarding. Fulbright scholars are in charge of lesson planning and presentations.
“While I live in Reggio and continue to learn about the life and culture and language, here, these students ask me about our life and culture in the U.S. This is truly what Fulbright represents: the integration of cultures,” said Costa. “I am proud and humbled to be a part of it.”
A majority of Cota’s time in Georgia is spent in the classroom.
“I am spending a good amount of time in the schools in Georgia, sitting in on classes, talking with students, teachers and administrators about their opinions on the reforms. I am also working through the Ministry of Justice here on a school violence research project,” she said.
In 1993, Fairfield awarded its first Fulbright student. Since then, the school has had an additional 43 scholars.
This marks the first time Fairfield shares the top honor with another university: the University of Portland in Oregon.
University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx said he is particularly pleased with the success of the Fulbright program on campus because it represents “what we want our students to gain through the core curriculum and through the living and learning environment we foster: that they need to be prepared to live in a diverse world, bringing with them an empathy and curiosity for other peoples and cultures and a desire to serve.”
Miriam Gogol, director of the Fulbright Program at Fairfield who assisted student applicants, attributes the faculty’s expertise and commitment as well as the students’ high caliber to Fairfield’s success.
“These students are all academic stars. Everyone who went through the process from beginning to end is a star,” she said.
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