Ten UGA students and recent alumni have been awarded international travel-study grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Eight accepted the grants, which allow students, scholars and professionals an opportunity to pursue advanced research projects, graduate study and teaching assistantships in more than 160 countries worldwide.
“We are thrilled to see so many outstanding UGA students and alumni once again win Fulbright awards,” said Maria de Rocher, assistant director of the Honors Program and chair of the Fulbright selection committee at UGA. “Each recipient demonstrated a remarkable commitment to public service and to establishing long-lasting relationships of trust with communities in their host countries.”
Six of UGA’s Fulbright Scholars received English Teaching Assistantship grants, while two received public policy and research grants.
Aaron Sayama, who received his bachelor’s degree in international affairs in 2010 and his master’s degree in public administration and policy in 2013, is the recipient of the Hillary Rodham Clinton Fellowship. The Columbus native will serve in Timor-Leste as a special assistant in the Southeast Asian nation’s Ministry of Justice.
Emily Horton, who is pursuing a doctorate in anthropology and integrative conservation, received a research grant to Brazil. She will live and conduct research with island-based communities that practice small-scale fishing and are located in a marine extractive reserve.
UGA’s recipients of English Teaching Assistantships are McKinley Alden, a Decatur native who recently received his degree in German and Slavic languages and linguistics and will serve in Bulgaria; Tiffany Chu, a Lilburn native who recently received joint bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and English education and will serve in South Korea; Maggie Johnston, a Chattanooga, Tennessee, native who received her bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2013 and will serve in South Korea; Pete McDonald, a Decatur native who received his bachelor’s degree in mass media arts in 2012 and will serve in Greece; Ashleigh Starnes, a Grayson native who received her bachelor’s degree in English and linguistics in 2014 and will serve in Turkey; and Adrienne Winzer, a Villa Rica native who recently received her bachelor’s degree in English and will serve in South Korea.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. international exchange program. The program awards about 1,900 grants each year in all fields of study.