UA Graduates Receive Fulbright Awards for 2016-17

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Seven University of Alabama alumni and graduate students have won Fulbright awards for 2016-17.

Two UA graduate students received Fulbright research awards:

• Rebecca Beamer, from Tuscaloosa, a 2016 MFA graduate of the School of Library and Information Studies Book Arts Program in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, received a Fulbright research award. She will gather personal narratives of women in Lusaka, Zambia, to magnify their voices in the discussion of pregnancy and health.

• Pandora White, from Fayette, Mississippi, a doctoral student in chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, received a Fulbright research award to Poznan, Poland. Her work will investigate the mechanisms of action of trivalent chromium and bitter melon in enhancing insulin signaling in rats.

Five UA graduates won awards as teaching assistants to research and teach abroad:

• Brandon Hooks, a graduate in international studies and economics with a minor in Spanish from Wetumpka, to teach in Spain.

• Perrin Lowrey, a graduate with majors in psychology and German with a minor in the Blount Undergraduate Initiative from Tuscaloosa, to teach in Germany.

• Evan McIntyre, a graduate in elementary education from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, to teach in South Korea.

• Christian Shannon, a graduate in chemical engineering with a minor in business from Dallas, to teach in Poland.

• Abigail Thompson, a graduate in applied economics and political science from Columbia, Missouri, to teach in Russia.

The highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually-designed study and research projects or for English-teaching assistantships. More than 11,000 applicants compete for approximately 1,500 awards each year. The program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, is the largest U.S. international exchange program, offering opportunity for students, scholars and professionals.

“Congratulations to UA’s 2016-17 Fulbright winners,” said Dr. Teresa E. Wise, associate provost for International Education & Global Outreach. “Globally focused academic opportunities and study abroad experiences provided to our students help them develop into world citizens who foster international understanding through programs like Fulbright.”

The program allows participants to undertake international graduate study, advanced research and teaching in more than 150 countries. Recipients of Fulbright scholarships receive funding for an academic year.

“We celebrate the achievement of these outstanding students,”  said Dr. Beverly Hawk, UA Fulbright program adviser and director of global and community engagement in the Center for Community-Based Partnerships. “Through their individual community engagement activities, these graduates will contribute to mutual understanding across the world and bring home memories that will last a lifetime.”

Students interested in applying for next year’s Fulbright competition can learn more from Capstone International Center, 135 B.B. Comer Hall,  international.ua.edu and us.fulbrightonline.org.