Four Aztecs Named Fulbright Scholars
Recent SDSU alumni and graduate students will travel around the world as part of the flagship international exchange program.
This fall, SDSU ecology doctoral student Kimberley Miller will brave the Arctic climate all in the name of research. She and three other SDSU students or recent alumni have been selected for U.S. Student Fulbright grants for the 2012-13 academic year.
Each year, Fulbright sends about 1,700 students to one of more than 150 countries. More than 40 SDSU students have received Fulbright Scholarships since 2005.
As part of her Fulbright grant, Miller will examine the poorly-understood interaction of climate change and microbial methane production in wetland soils in the Lappi region of Finland, in affiliation with the Finnish Forest Research Institute and the University of Eastern Finland.
She said the opportunity to finish her research while experiencing a different culture and way of life is exhilarating.
“My research is on methane cycling in Arctic wetlands, so I was geographically bound to working in countries with Arctic regions and climates,” Miller said. “I am excited about learning Finnish, making and fostering friendships and professional relationships with people who are doing Scandinavian Arctic research and seeing the Northern lights while doing my field work in the winter.”
Teaching abroad
Jessica Floyd, '11 (English) will serve as an English teaching assistant in Turkey. She will draw upon her interest in how graphic narratives can shape national and collective identity.
Floyd, who previously studied abroad in New Zealand, said the opportunity to go abroad is one she can’t recommend enough.
“At the core of it, I hope to learn more about myself and to meet some incredible people who can teach me about their culture and way of life,” Floyd said.
Susan Phay, ’12 (sociology, M.A.) will travel to the Southeast Asian country of Laos, where her family is from. She will teach English at the National University of Laos and conduct research in early Lao immigration histories. She also plans learn about and document the country’s food history in hopes of turning it into a cookbook, helping preserve Lao culture abroad.
“I’m not sure what the experience will bring, but I hope to become a better educator and share what I learned in Laos with my community back home,” Phay said. “Most of all, I look forward to what the Lao people will teach me.”
Art Installation
Aran Skalman, a master’s student in fine arts-sculpture, plans to design, create and install a contemporary, collaborative, site-specific sculpture in India. The piece will be influenced by Modernism and informed by regional folk art practices. The sculpture will incorporate an interactive sound element, inspired by traditional Indian music.
Faculty Fulbright
In addition, SDSU film professor Mark Freeman received a Fulbright award to teach documentary filmmaking in Jakarta, Indonesia during the spring 2013 semester. Freeman plans to develop a new production there featuring contemporary Indonesian choreographers. He recently completed Queens Dream, a dance for film choreographed by Yolande Snaith and shot at the Niki de St. Phalle sculpture garden in Escondido.
Adrienne Richert, a staff member in SDSU's College of Extended Studies also received a Fulbright grant through the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and will travel to Germany for two weeks in the fall to explore study abroad options for SDSU students.
About Fulbright
The Fulbright competition is administered at SDSU by Dr. Pat Huckle through the Office of International Programs. Fulbright is the United States' flagship international exchange program.
Almost 1,700 American students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study have been offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English, and conduct research in more than 150 countries throughout the world beginning this fall.
Of the 1,700 Fulbright Scholars nationwide, 19 percent are at the Ph.D. degree level, 17 percent are at the master’s level, and 65 percent are at the bachelor’s degree level. Students receiving awards for this academic year applied through 600 colleges or universities.
