Six students win Fulbrights
Six St. Olaf College students have been named Fulbright fellows for 2013-14.
Three of the students will use their Fulbright awards to conduct research on topics ranging from social activism to cochlear implant use. The other three students will take on English teaching assistantships.
All but one of the St. Olaf Fulbright recipients are seniors. The group brings the college’s Fulbright total to 93 since 1995.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is sponsored by the Department of State and awards more than 1,500 grants to U.S. students every year. The program operates in more than 140 countries, seeking to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries” and “contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.” Program participants are chosen based on many factors, including leadership potential and academic merit.
The St. Olaf Fulbright recipients and their projects:
Kristell Caballero-Saucedo ’13 will be in Oaxaca, Mexico, researching the social activism of Afro-Mexicans in the Costa Chica region. She plans on interviewing activists and elected officials and will then analyze their responses and the literature on social activist strategies. Caballero-Saucedo is a participant in the St. Olaf TRiO McNair Scholars Program and TRiO Student Support Services.
Lauren Carlson ’13 will conduct public health research with the Universidad de San Francisco Quito in Quito, Ecuador.
April Curtis ’12 will work as an English teaching assistant in Bulgaria.
Kelsey Klein ’13 will be investigating the factors relating to the variable outcomes of cochlear implant users in Oslo, Norway. She will join a research group working at the University of Oslo and the Oslo University Hospital to help gather data through various cognitive tests and self-report surveys.
Martha Nielsen ’13 will work as an English teaching assistant in a university setting in Argentina from March to December.
Brynn Rathjen ’13 will work as an English teaching assistant in Malaysia. She will be working in primary or secondary schools, leading activities that teach English language skills and demonstrate culture from the United States, along with helping with various extracurricular programming.
In addition, five St. Olaf students — seniors Christopher Bowman, Reed Deardorff, Benjamin Keisling, Catherine O’Connor, and Andrew Rudd — were named Fulbright alternates.