NORMAN – Eight University of Oklahoma students and alumni were named Fulbright grant recipients, which are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, achievement and leadership potential:

• Nickolas Aguilera, Oklahoma City, graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in international studies. He will spend the 2018-2019 school year as an English teaching assistant in Spain.
• Blake Barrett, Oologah, Oklahoma, graduated in May 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and will spend the 2018-2019 school year as an English teaching assistant in Israel.
• Marisa Brumfield, Norman, Oklahoma, graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental sustainability and will serve as an English teaching assistant in Spain.
• Casey Cai, Tulsa, Oklahoma, graduated in May 2018 with a degree in mathematics and biology. She will be conducting computational biology research at the Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
• Holly Crawford, Clarinda, Iowa, graduated in May 2018 with a degree in international business, entrepreneurship and venture management. She will be pursuing a binational internship in Mexico.
• Ashlynne Macnee, Arlington, Texas, graduated in May 2018 with a degree in microbiology and Chinese. She will be conducting research at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.
• Mitchel McCormick, Ardmore, Oklahoma, graduated in May 2018 with a degree in Latin American studies. He will be pursuing a binational internship in Mexico.
• Carlee Wright, Norman, Oklahoma, graduated in May 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in international studies. She will spend the 2018-2019 school year as an English teaching assistant in South Korea.

In addition to the eight finalists, six OU students were named as alternates, which means they may be offered an award if additional funding becomes available. The alternates are Luke Bartz, Erin Donnelly, Erik Flom, Dominic Granello, Nour Kayali and Jeffrey Terry.

“We are very proud of our students and their talent and hard work, which enabled them to receive these prestigious grants,” said Bushra Asif, the Fulbright program adviser at OU.  “These eight grants are a testament to our outstanding student body and the university. We wish these students all the success in their future academic journey.”

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 380,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,900 U.S. students, artists and early career professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English and conduct research annually in over 140 countries throughout the world.

The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the United States Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.     

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright.