New College Announces Five Fulbright Scholars
New Fulbright Scholars join a host of other award winners from the College this past year New College of Florida today announced five Fulbright Scholars among its Class of 2008. This year’s scholarship winners once again place the College among the nation’s leading undergraduate institutions for per-capita production of Fulbright recipients.
Over the past 14 years, New College has produced 36 Fulbright Scholars, ranking the College among the nation’s Top 10 liberal arts colleges in terms of per-capita Fulbright production. Since New College’s founding in 1960, 41 students have earned recognition as part of the Fulbright program.
Here is a look at this year’s Fulbright recipients, plus some of our other scholarship and award recipients from the past year:
Mariah Arnold (Apopka, FL)
Fulbright Grant to Malaysia
A biology major at New College specializing in marine science, Mariah earned a Fulbright to Malaysia where she will conduct research with scientists at the University of Malaysia’s Institute of Tropical Aquaculture in Terengganu seeking to develop a fish-breeding technology for use by local fishermen. Upon completion of her Fulbright, Mariah plans to attend Duke University where she hopes to earn a Ph.D. in biology or fisheries management.
Jonah Butler (Essex, MA)
Fulbright Grant to Philippines
Like Mariah, Jonah will graduate from New College this May with a major in biology. His Fulbright grant will take him to the Philippines to analyze the efficiency of the first two constructed treatment wetlands in that country. In addition, he will conduct an ecological survey of plant diversity in the country, which he hopes will enable him to recommend ways to improve the rate of pollutant removal through adding specific plants to the wetlands. Upon completion of his year abroad, Jonah plans to attend graduate school toward a Ph.D. in wetland ecology.
Anthony Circharo (Bradenton, FL)
Fulbright Grant to China
An international relations major and former president of the New College Student Alliance, Anthony will graduate in May and then head to Beijing, where he will participate in intensive Chinese language classes before launching into his year-long Fulbright Research Grant at Xiamen University. While in China, Anthony will study the ways in which think tanks influence foreign policy development in the country. Anthony’s Fulbright Grant marks his third trip to China as a New College student, and now alum. His future plans include the pursuit of a graduate degree either in political science or international affairs with an emphasis in Asian Studies and then joining the U.S. State Department or an international-related organization.
Erin Boggs (Tallahassee, FL)
Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Germany
A former Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship winner and foreign languages major at New College, Erin will travel to Germany to teach English on a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship. While there, she hopes to integrate her language and theater skills in helping German students better understand American society. Erin hopes eventually to become either a professor of German in the United States or a professor of English in Germany.
Nausherwan Hafeez (Apollo Beach, FL)
Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Malaysia
A history and international and area studies major while at New College, Nausherwan earned a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Malaysia, where he plans to teach English and study Malaysian development as it relates to industrialization and globalization. His future plans include earning an advanced degree in international relations and working in the field of international development.
In addition to a stellar crop of Fulbright Scholars, New College students once again also earned distinction from numerous other scholarship and grant programs this past year. Here is a quick look at some of the distinctions earned by our students either during the 2007-2008 school year or for 2008-2009:
* Graduating seniors Mary Lancaster and Dana Trejo earned teaching assistantships from the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme to teach English language and culture;
* Graduating senior Katelyn MacKenzie received a French Government Teaching Assistantship to teach English language and culture in France;
* Graduating senior Danielle Smith received a $4,000 scholarship from the Longboat Key Garden Club;
* Third-year student Joshua Abbott received a prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for 2008-09, one of only 321 Goldwater Scholars selected nationwide in math and science fields
* Third-year student Jolene Elberth was awarded a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship through the U.S. State Department to study Spanish and Latin culture in Bolivia in 2008
* Third-year student Ryan Tisdale received a scholarship to attend the Ecological Society of America’s federally-funded SEEDS artic ecology field trip to Alaska in May 2008
* Students Alejandro Castano, Adele Fournet, and Brian Oberlander premiered original compositions with the Florida String Quartet as part of the College’s ongoing collaboration with the Florida West Coast Symphony.