St. Kate’s: Full of Fulbright fellows
Have you ever thought about what you wanted to do after graduation? Does the idea of living in Europe while having your graduate school tuition fully paid for appeal to you? Do you have a research project that you would like to pursue in a foreign country? Perhaps you’ve considered being paid to teach English abroad in Asia.
The Fulbright Scholarship is a prestigious exchange program which allows recent graduates and young professionals to take on various opportunities abroad. Awardees can undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, or primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. Every year, they award approximately 2,000 grants for more than 140 countries worldwide.
St. Kate’s has quite a history of Fulbright applicants. Marie Schimanski was first awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1952 to pursue painting and filmmaking in Italy, and we have had 24 alums receive the award since.
This year, four students at St. Kate’s have been named semi-finalists for the Fulbright. While the final selection process occurs from March to May, this is still a great achievement; only one in five students receive a Fulbright Award, and these students are on their way to becoming part of that statistic.
Last year, we had two students receive the Fulbright Scholarship: Erin Nelson ‘20 was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Aberystwyth University in Wales, and Addison Cross ‘20, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to research the community-level relationship between individual aid programs and people’s likelihood to migrate in El Salvador.
The opportunities from a Fulbright scholarship are endless. The program truly allows graduates to continue fostering the culture of academic excellence and social justice that is so embedded in St. Kate’s culture. Through international experiences, students will be able to promote international goodwill and develop mutual understanding among nations.
If interested in applying, the requirements to be a Fulbright Scholar include: being a U.S. citizen, having very strong academic achievement, and being proficient in the language of the host country. The Fulbright website includes that, “Fulbrighters share a strong academic background, leadership potential, and a passion for increasing mutual understanding among nations and cultures, and the adaptability and flexibility to pursue their proposed Fulbright project successfully.”
While the prestige of the program may seem daunting, the Competitive Fellowships Office at St. Kate’s provides support for interested applicants and is dedicated to helping outstanding students achieve post-graduate success. Experienced faculty members help interested applicants through every step of the application process as you decide which program would be best for you. Along with the Fulbright Program, they also offer guidance for the Truman Scholarship, Gilman Scholarship, Newman Civic Fellowship, and Phi Kappa Phi, among numerous others. Interested applicants should head to St. Kate’s Competitives Fellowship Page to determine their eligibility, or email fellowships@stkate.edu to speak with one of the mentors.
