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Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement Distinguished Scholarships Program

WSU Fulbright U.S. Student Awardees Heading to Germany and Vietnam

Shown from left to right are Fulbright award winners for 2022: India Dykes and Lauren Hudson.

Washington State University’s latest recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student awards—India Dykes and Lauren Hudson–will study, research, and teach in Europe and Southeast Asia this coming year. “With support from Fulbright, they will be exceptional representatives of WSU and the U.S. and will boost their scholarship and skills to make tremendous contributions to their fields,” said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program. It is part of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement. Seehafer mentored the awardees through their application process. Dykes is headed on her Fulbright to the Tri-Ankle Project at Fraunhofer IGB Institution, a partnership with the University of Stuttgart in Germany. Hudson’s Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) assignment is at Hạ Long University in Uông Bí, Quảng Ninh Province, Việt Nam.

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University’s latest recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student awards—India Dykes and Lauren Hudson–will study, research, and teach in Europe and Southeast Asia this coming year.

“With support from Fulbright, they will be exceptional representatives of WSU and the U.S. and will boost their scholarship and skills to make tremendous contributions to their fields,” said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program. » More …

WSU Fulbright Awardees Bound for Hungary to Teach, Research

Fulbright 2022 recipients Amethyst Freibott and Annie Lu.

Washington State University math major Annie Lu and alumna and staff member Amethyst Freibott have received Fulbright awards to research and teach, respectively, in Hungary, the Distinguished Scholarships Program said. “Both Annie and Amethyst have detailed plans for their Fulbright experiences that start this fall, and they will be excellent ambassadors in Hungary for both WSU and the U.S.,” said April Seehafer, DSP director.

PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University math major Annie Lu and alumna and staff member Amethyst Freibott have received Fulbright awards to research and teach, respectively, in Hungary, the Distinguished Scholarships Program said.

“Both Annie and Amethyst have detailed plans for their Fulbright experiences that start this fall, and they will be excellent ambassadors in Hungary for both WSU and the U.S.,” said April Seehafer, DSP director. » More …

Daphne Weber is WSU’s First Fulbright-Hays Recipient

Daphne Weber in all white robes at Thai monastery.

Washington State University Ph.D. candidate Daphne Weber in anthropology has received the institution’s first Fulbright-Hays award and will live for a year in Thailand with female bhikkuni Buddist monks to learn about their healing effects of their ordination. Her experience there will be her third, following two previous related to her work toward her WSU master’s degree.

Daphne Weber in all-white robes at Thai monastery.
PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University anthropology doctoral candidate Daphne Weber is the institution’s first recipient of a Fulbright-Hays. a prestigious, nationally competitive award, said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program.

Part of the renowned Fulbright suite of awards, the Fulbright-Hays is uniquely funded by a Congressional appropriation to the U.S. Dept. of Education. The award supports research and training efforts overseas that focus on non-western foreign languages and area studies. Weber’s award is in the category of Fulbright-Hays: Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad.

With it, Weber will spend a year living with and interviewing Thai female monks, formally known as bhikkhuni. She will conduct extensive research for her Ph.D. dissertation on the healing effects of ordination. While female monks are recognized in East Asia, where people mostly practice Mahayana Buddhism, bhikkhuni are not officially recognized within the predominately Theravada tradition of Southeast Asia.

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WSU’s Newest Fulbright Scholar Recipient Headed for Research in Germany

Owen Canterbury, 2021 Fulbright winner.

Washington State University biochemistry major Owen Canterbury has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to conduct research at Germany’s Heidelberg University, said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program. “I am pleased to be selected as a Fulbright recipient and I think it will be a really good experience both academically and personally,” said Canterbury.

Owen Canterbury, 2021 Fulbright winner.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University biochemistry major Owen Canterbury has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to conduct research at Germany’s Heidelberg University, said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program.

“I am pleased to be selected as a Fulbright recipient and I think it will be a really good experience both academically and personally,” said Canterbury.

Seehafer said, “Owen continues WSU’s long tradition with the Fulbright organization, dating back to our first recipient in 1949. He is our 66th student to receive a Fulbright to continue their education.”

Canterbury will investigate the mechanisms involved in bacterial ribosome-associated protein quality control (RQC) under the mentorship of Heidelberg professor Claudio Joazeiro, an international leader in the study of proteolysis.

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WSU Senior Headed to Wales on a Fulbright to Study Human Impact on Marine Ecology

Fulbright 2020 recipient Thomas LeClair.

Washington State University senior biology and music double major and future veterinarian Thomas LeClair is the 2020 recipient of a prestigious, nationally competitive Fulbright Student Award that will fund his master’s degree studies in marine biology in Bangor, Wales. “I’m humbled to be able to go to Bangor University on a Fulbright and am excited for the opportunities this will provide and the future doors it can open,” said LeClair.

MEDIA CONTACT:  April Seehafer, Director of the WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Fulbright 2020 recipient Thomas LeClair standing outside of Bryan Hall on the WSU Pullman campus.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University senior biology and music double major and future veterinarian Thomas LeClair is the 2020 recipient of a prestigious, nationally competitive Fulbright Student Award that will fund his master’s degree studies in marine biology in Bangor, Wales.

“WSU has a long tradition with the Fulbright organization, dating back to our first recipient in 1949,” said April Seehafer, director of the Distinguished Scholarships Program, part of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement (DAESA). “Thomas is our 65th student to receive a Fulbright to continue their education. His unique academic pursuits and interests are an excellent fit for this Welsh university.”

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Fulbright Summer Institute to the U.K. Award Takes WSU Sophomore Ava Beck to Wales

Ava Beck, recipient of a 2019 Fulbright Summer Institute to the U.K. award.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Ava Beck, recipient of a 2019 Fulbright Summer Institute to the U.K. award.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University linguistics major and Spokane native Ava Beck will study at Aberystwyth University in Wales for three weeks this summer, thanks to a Fulbright U.K. Summer Institute award.

Beck is one of around 60 U.S. students selected to undertake short academic and cultural programs at any of nine hosting institutions throughout the United Kingdom. At Aberystwyth, on the country’s western coast, Beck will join fellow Americans exploring contemporary issues in identity and nationhood “through the lens of Wales”. She will attend classes in the university’s Dept. of International Politics, explore the city, visit the National Library of Wales, and learn a bit of the Welsh language.

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WSU’s First Fulbright-Nat Geo Storyteller Award Takes Bee Researcher Melanie Kirby to Spain

Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship 2019 recipient Melanie Kirby.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship 2019 recipient Melanie Kirby.PULLMAN, Wash.—Though career coaches encourage job applicants to say “yes” with a can-do attitude, answering “no” to a Peace Corps question 22 years ago set Washington State University student Melanie Margarita Kirby on a career and academic path like no other. It’s one that will take her to Spain this fall for a nine-month Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship—WSU’s first.

“In 1997, the Peace Corps questionnaire asked if I would mind working with stinging insects,” the 45-year-old mother of two recalled, “and by saying ‘no, I wouldn’t mind,’ my life changed forever. I was introduced to beekeeping as a volunteer in Paraguay, and that led to my own small farm back in New Mexico, raising honey bees and breeding queens.

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Fulbright Takes WSU Pianist Garrett Snedeker to London

Fulbright 2019 recipient Garrett Snedeker.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Fulbright 2019 recipient Garrett Snedeker.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University senior Garrett Snedeker has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance to explore the topic “harnessing music’s ability for social change” in the coming year.

“I’m always happy to perform and share music, but I want to introduce listeners to new ways to process and think about what they are hearing,” said Snedeker. “Thanks to the Fulbright, I will be thoroughly educated to accomplish that goal in a more informed manner throughout my career. I also appreciate the chance to absorb a new and creative environment in the U.K.” » More …

WSU History Student Ryan Booth Receives Fulbright to Study in India

Fulbright 2019 recipient Ryan Booth.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Fulbright 2019 recipient Ryan Booth.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University history doctoral student and future professor Ryan W. Booth has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to spend nine months in India exploring socio-cultural characteristics attributed to indigenous soldiers during the British Raj up to a century ago.

His work adds an international element to his dissertation, and may well lead to a new global thread of research in the area of military history. » More …

WSU Vancouver alumna Imee Williams lands Fulbright Scholarship to research in the Philippines

Fulbright 2018 winner Imee Williams.

MEDIA: April Seehafer, WSU Distinguished Scholarships Program director, 509-335-8239, seehafer@wsu.edu

Fulbright 2018 winner Imee Williams.PULLMAN, Wash.—Washington State University Vancouver neuroscience alumna and future physician Imee Williams has received a 2018 Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to investigate sociocultural aspects surrounding families raising children with disabilities in the Philippines.

“Being a Fulbright Scholar is a great honor for me personally, and it is certain to open doors for me in my native country and lead to opportunities to improve lives there,” said Williams. » More …