Four University of Oklahoma students have been named as recipients of Fulbright Grants:
Taylor Jack McKenzie of Oklahoma City, graduating this month with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in European studies and German, will study the decline and persistence of squat culture in Germany under a research fellowship in Berlin.
Sara Chilson of Norman, graduating with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in linguistics and anthropology, will serve in an English teaching assistantship in Thailand.
Tasha Overpeck of Guymon, Okla., graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern studies, will serve in a teaching assistantship in Jordan.
Ashley Wood of Keller, Texas, graduated May 2013 and will serve as an English teaching assistant in South Korea.
“The awards of Fulbright Grants to four of OU’s outstanding students in the same year is truly exceptional!” said OU President David L. Boren. “It places the university in the top academic ranks of all U.S. universities.”
“Each of these students were successful in winning a Fulbright grant because of the hard work they put into their applications and their academic success during their studies at the University of Oklahoma,” said Karl Rambo, OU associate professor of anthropology and the university’s faculty Fulbright liaison. “The Fulbright program attracts some of the best prepared and smartest graduating seniors and graduate students in the nation. That the students from OU have consistently had success in getting Fulbright grants to do research and teach overseas is a testament to their abilities and the increasingly international focus of the university. These students will return to the United States with experiences and skills that will have a long-term impact on their lives and careers.”
Students were chosen for the Fulbright Grants after a national competition among more than 6,000 applicants. The Fulbright Student Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, supports students for up to a year of research, coursework or teaching practicum in more than 155 countries around the world. It is designed to give recent graduates, graduate students and young professionals international experience.
The U.S. Congress created the Fulbright Program in 1946, immediately after World War II, to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. Today the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s premier scholarship program. Fulbright Grants are available to students studying most subjects in the sciences, humanities, social sciences and in professional programs.
