A record number of UGA students-10-have been selected to receive scholarships from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for research, study or teaching abroad during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Eight of the UGA recipients have accepted the scholarships. The English Teaching Assistantship Grant awardees, who will serve as language-learning assistants in schools or universities, include spring graduates Samantha Haggard, Jason Kim and Kelly Nielsen.
The recipients of the U.S. Student full grants for study and research opportunities include doctoral students Christine Beitl, David Porcaro, Julie Rushmore and Desiree Seponski plus Robert Kazer, who earned a bachelor’s degree in the spring.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is the largest international exchange program in the country.
Haggard will spend a year in Argentina. Kim will be in Portugal for a year. Nielsen is currently in Indonesia.
Beitl, who is pursuing a doctorate in ecological and environmental anthropology, will spend a year in Ecuador investigating how local fishermen in coastal communities adapt to environmental change and work to conserve and protect coastal resources via grassroots movements and organizations.
Porcaro, a doctoral student in learning, design and technology, will travel to Oman for a year and focus on creating a multimedia learning module for an existing instructional technology course at Sultan Quaboos University. Rushmore, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in ecology and a doctorate in veterinary medicine, will spend a year in Uganda conducting research on how close-contact pathogen transmission rates affect the conservation of African great apes.
Seponski, a doctoral student in child and family development, will travel to Cambodia for a year. Her dissertation research focuses on creating culturally responsive family therapy protocols for Cambodian therapists and clients. Kazer will spend a year in Jordan conducting research on the origins and establishment of Jordanian domestic policies focused on Iraqi refugees.
