Four New College of Florida Students Earn Fulbright Awards for Study Overseas

April 24, 2012 — New College of Florida has garnered four Fulbright scholars for 2012-13, bringing the college’s historical total to 69 Fulbright recipients. With this year’s awards — all from the 2012 graduating class — New College has produced more than 30 Fulbright scholars in the past five years. This year’s Fulbright recipients are Kathleen McQueeney (Boynton Beach, Fla.), Christopher Mulholland (Bradenton, Fla.), Susanna Payne-Passmore (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Dana Ziegler (Niceville, Fla.).

Here is a look at this year’s Fulbright recipients:
Kathleen McQueeney (Boynton Beach, Fla.)
Fulbright to Netherlands
Kathleen McQueeney’s research interest is focused on macroeconomics in an international context. Her interest in the Netherlands stems both from her familial roots and her desire to study a country with a relatively strong economy despite the worldwide recession. With an area of concentration in economics, McQueeney has been active at New College as a teaching assistant, orientation leader, admissions blogger and in student government. In lieu of her Fulbright grant, McQueeney will pursue doctoral studies at Brandeis University on a full-ride scholarship. She hopes to work as an economist for an international think tank.
Christopher Mulholland (Bradenton, Fla.)
Fulbright to Germany
At New College, Mulholland focused his work in biology with several independent study projects on epigenetics and molecular biology. He conducted his senior thesis research work at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, N.M., where he took on the challenge of identifying regions of DNA methylation within single cancer cells in culture. During his Fulbright year, Mulholland will continue this research to better understand the connection between epigenetic changes, the chemical modifications made to the DNA in genomes, and cancer at the Center for Integrated Protein Science at the Ludwig-Maximillians-Universität in Munich, Germany. Fully proficient in German, Mulholland plans to enter a doctoral program in the field of epigenetics in preparation for a research career.
Susanna Payne-Passmore (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Fulbright to Georgia
Susanna Payne-Passmore will teach English in Georgia where she will also use her studies in music composition at New College to introduce American culture to her students. Payne-Passmore first became aware of the country during a concert in Philadelphia of the Anchiskhati Ensemble, a polyphonic choral group from Tbilisi. At New College, she fully realized her interest in contemporary classical music, as a composer and listener, and has been a teaching assistant in several music courses. She also created the NEW Ensemble, a chamber group dedicated to performing student works as well as contemporary classical work. After her Fulbright year, Payne-Passmore plans to attend graduate school in music composition.
Dana Ziegler (Niceville, Fla.)
Fulbright to Indonesia
Dana Ziegler will teach English during her Fulbright year in Indonesia. She plans to integrate her studies in political science and her passion for music into the curriculum. At New College, she has served on the student government as vice president of public affairs and has been a teaching assistant for statistics. An avid saxophone player, Ziegler also directs the New Cats Jazz Band, co-directs the New Ensemble chamber ensemble and has been involved in many New Music New College projects. After her Fulbright year, Ziegler plans to attend graduate school.
In addition, student Michael Waas and alumnus Sam Greenspan ’04, who applied through New College, were named alternates to Greece and Brazil, respectively.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program has provided approximately 300,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at 941-487-4153 or [email protected].
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