Fulbright entrants sent to national level for review

The 38 students who completed their Fulbright Scholarship applications can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that the process is over. Results will be announced in early February.

Charles Inouye, the administrator responsible for facilitating the application process, was pleased with the number of applicants. "It's wonderful to see [students] be ambitious and take on some project that will make this world a better place," he said. "It shows me what these students can do."

Inouye likens the preparation for a Fulbright scholarship to planning for a junior year abroad: one makes the decision to study at least six months before leaving, and students must declare majors and go through applications and an essay-writing process as well.

Political science major Kathryn Sutton knew since her sophomore year that she wanted to apply for a Fulbright to study successful women entrepreneurs in Tanzania. She said that John Jenke, Assistant Director of International Relations, proposed the idea to her early on, and ever since she has tailored her academic profile to fit this goal.

For senior Mitchell Lunn, biology and French major, "the most challenging part of the application process was getting a project essay polished enough so that it would be easily understandable by a general audience." If he receives a scholarship, he will be studying spinal muscle atrophy (SMA) in France under the guidance of Dr. Judith Melki, who he met at an SMA conference.

Inouye inherited his role with Fulbright applicants from his former position, Dean of the Colleges. James Glaser, who took over Inouye's position September, with the new title of Dean of Undergraduate Education, chose to remain on the sidelines this year. Because Glaser was transitioning into his new role during a period of particularly heavy work on these applications, he opted to take "learning role," with Inouye handling the main responsibilities.

Inouye has worked with students for the past four years to help them prepare the perfect scholarship application, and he now has the process down to a science. When a student comes into Inouye's office, he hands them a 20-question quiz that addresses a range of topics, including the student's intellectual passions, leadership history, and future goals. Inouye then presents the student's options for scholarships based on these answers. According to Inouye, anyone who can confidently answer all of the questions has about a 40% chance of being awarded a Fulbright scholarship.

Glaser was impressed by the "intellectually large pool of highly talented applicants." He "can only hope to replicate the success" of his predecessors. The key tasks for him will be providing students with resources, advice and encouragement.

Inouye believes all students and faculty should be in closer contact with one another, and he sees the work on scholarship applications as an exercise in this. Glaser agrees that the greatest resources for students are the faculty and the faculty committees.

Public health major Rachel Jervis was surprised how closely she worked with faculty members. Her meetings with different faculty members on campus were "beyond helpful," Jervis said. She hopes to study in Haiti should she be awarded the scholarship.

The US Congress created the Fulbright Program in 1946 "to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange." To date, the Fulbright Program has recognized the leadership potential of over 250,000 participants by presenting them with the award. Accepted students are given one year to pursue a specific course of study and work towards a project, or to teach English in specified countries. Preference is given to those with a proficiency in the language of the host country and to students who have not spent more than 6 months in a foreign country.