Nine CU Boulder students have been offered Fulbright awards, and five more have alternate status, according to the Office of Top Scholarships.
CU Boulder students who are interested in pursuing a Fulbright for the 2020鈥�21 academic year should contact Deborah Viles at viles@colordado.edu for more information. The campus deadline to apply is Sept. 6, 2019.
Since its establishment in 1946, under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Student Program has given more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
Fulbright recipients address critical global challenges in all disciplines while building relationships, knowledge and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.
CU submitted 27 applications this year, 16 of which went on to become semifinalists, said Deborah Viles, the office鈥檚 director.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gratifying to have so many qualified students apply for this prestigious award,鈥� Viles said. 鈥淭hese students represent the tremendous depth and breadth of talent at our university, and it鈥檚 been an honor and pleasure to work with each of them.鈥�
The Fulbright, the nation鈥檚 flagship international educational exchange program, works to increase mutual understanding between the United States and other countries. The program鈥檚 primary source of funding is an annual congressional appropriation to the U.S. Department of State and its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Host institutions, corporations and foundations in other countries and the United States and sponsoring governments abroad also provide direct and indirect support.
Fulbright grant recipients are selected on the basis of academic and/or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. CU Boulder students are among more than 2,100 U.S. citizens who will conduct research, teach English and provide expertise abroad for the 2019鈥�20 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
CU Boulder Fulbright grant recipients
Nicollette Laroco, an environmental engineering doctoral candidate, has been offered a Fulbright grant to study and conduct research in Barcelona, Spain. She will contribute to the work of an internationally recognized biogas research group with the goal of developing a novel approach to biogas purification. Current purification methods are limiting the recovery of this valuable resource due to their energy intensive nature and high capital and operational costs. Laroco鈥檚 Fulbright will contribute to improving environmental impacts and energy recovery in both developed and developing economies worldwide.听
Suzanne Mapatano, who is graduating this May with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in psychology and minors in French and business, has been offered an English teaching assistantship in Belgium. Mapatano is using her passion for youth development to work with Boulder-area youths. Her interest in cultural anthropology in European immigrant communities led her to apply for a Fulbright grant, and she is excited to teach English in Belgium, to engage with local students听and to learn more about Belgium鈥檚 rich history and culture.听听
Zeena Nisar, who is majoring in molecular, cellular and developmental biology and minoring in English literature, has been offered a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Kyrgyzstan. Passionate about space research, Nisar conducted bioastronautics research at BioServe Space Technologies. She also has been actively engaged with nonprofit work in the Central Asia region. She looks forward to teaching English in Kyrgyzstan and assisting with the Satellite Girls program, which aims to build Kyrgyzstan's first CubeSat to be launched into space.
Chayla Rowley was awarded a Fulbright grant to study and conduct research for one year at Dublin City University in Ireland. She graduated from CU Boulder in 2012 with bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in civil engineering and will complete a master鈥檚 degree in refugee integration, focusing on the integration of refugee children through STEM-based activities. She will also explore the historic ties her Chahta ancestors have with the Irish. Rowley is excited about the opportunity and grateful to those who believed in her and helped her achieve this milestone.
Valeria Serrano is from Medell铆n, Colombia, and graduated from CU in the spring of 2018 with a master鈥檚 degree in art history. Her Fulbright will allow her to travel to Germany with an English teaching assistantship. While she was a听master鈥檚 student, she taught recitation sections for 12 world art history classes, earned a certificate in college teaching from the Graduate Teacher Program听and helped curate various art exhibitions. Serrano has been named gallery manager for Union Hall, a new art gallery that will open in Denver in May.
Natalie Sharp is a black, queer writer, dancer and educator from Savannah, Georgia. She received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English from Georgia College & State University in 2013 and will receive a master鈥檚 degree of fine arts in creative writing with a concentration in poetry from CU Boulder this May. She serves as lead learning technology consultant in the CU Office of Information Technology. Sharp鈥檚 writing has appeared in or is forthcoming in print and online journals, and she will embark on a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Armenia.
Serene Singh was offered a Fulbright English teaching assistantship to Malaysia. She will decline the award to attend Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Singh will graduate with听degrees in political science and journalism this May. She鈥檚 active in the Sikh community on and off campus, and has participated in numerous leadership activities. She serves as Supreme Court justice for the CU Student Government (CUSG) and has interned with the Dalai Lama and with the Obama Foundation鈥檚 Global Girls Alliance.
Isabel Villalon graduated from CU Boulder in 2018 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in ecology and evolutionary biology and earned a certification in peace and conflict studies. With her Fulbright grant, she will study and conduct research in Nicaragua. Since graduating, she has been involved with the Denver Justice and Peace Committee to develop educational platforms for local schools discussing human rights and environmental and baby直播app justice issues in Latin America. Before her grant begins, she will live and work in Guatemala City as a human rights accompanier for the Network in Solidarity for the Peoples of Guatemala. In Nicaragua, Villalon will collaborate with the La Isla Foundation and the University of Le贸n to better understand the social and humanitarian impacts of chronic kidney disease of unknown origin among sugar cane farmers and their communities in the Chichigalpa region.
Jessica Yan is receiving a bachelor鈥檚 degree this May in information analytics and leadership with a minor in biochemistry. She has been offered an English teaching assistantship in South Korea. Yan is a strong advocate for international education as a means of fostering mutual understanding, which she views as the core of the Fulbright South Korea English-teaching program. Passionate about tackling inequity at the intersection of science, analytics and policy, Yan worked at the Office of eHealth Innovation under Gov. John Hickenlooper, advocated for accessible health care for local women, and conducted original research on pain stigma. In her time at CU, she directed the Distinguished Speakers Board and was recognized as one of the Leeds School of Business Outstanding Graduates of the year.
Fulbright alternates, who will receive study or research grants if additional funding becomes available, include Sam Albert, Ellis Aune and Madeline Polmear, who would like to travel to the Netherlands; Lee Frankel-Goldwater, who would like to travel to Kenya; and Kathryn Randall, who would like to travel to Germany.
