Georgia State
University has set a new
record this year, with three current and former students receiving prestigious
Fulbright fellowships for travel abroad. A fourth Georgia State
student was named as an alternate for the program.
Recent graduates Nakisha McNeal
(B.A. Sociology, 2005) and Andrew Flippo (B.A. German, December 2007) have been
accepted as English Teaching Assistants, a Fulbright program that has expanded
in recent years. McNeal will work in South Korea
for the year, and Flippo in Germany.
Vanja Petricevic, a Ph.D.
student in Political Science, will use her Fulbright to work as an invited
Visiting Research at the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels, Belgium.
Petricevic will be researching the impact of educational campaigns conducted by
the European Union on national policies toward ethnic minorities.
Emma Lacey-Bordeaux (B.A.,
Interdisciplinary Affairs, 2008) was named as an alternate for the English
Teaching Assistant program in Turkey.
The Fulbright Program, which is
sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is America’s flagship international
exchange program. This year, the program is sending about 1,450 students abroad
for cultural exchange and to pursue international scholarly ventures. The award
is granted to students who have demonstrated academic excellence and who have
demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
There will be a change in the
way the program is administered on campus for next year, said Leigh Essex
Walker, Director of Study Abroad Programs in the Office of International
Affairs. Walker
has headed up the on-campus portion of the application process for several
years. Next year, however, Essex will hand it off to the University Honors Program, where
it will be overseen by Marilynn Richtarik, who is also an associate professor
of English.
“It’s been very rewarding to
work with students who apply for a Fulbright,” Walker said. “They’re all so different, and
all so special.”
