Five Top Tier Fulbright Scholars From USF

This information comes from the University of South Florida: 

Five University of South Florida students are among recipients of the most competitive postgraduate Fulbright Scholarships offered. A professional soccer-playing biomedical researcher, two musicians, an anthropologist and an engineer share the honor. 

Zak Boggs, a USF graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and a master’s degree in marketing, and Ryan Salazar, a senior Honors College student majoring in music education, have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program Study Grant scholarships to the United Kingdom. Charles Dillon Swift, another music major, has been awarded the corresponding scholarship to study in Germany. Also headed to Europe is Trina Halfhide who was awarded the Fulbright US Student Program Research Grant scholarship to Norway. Anthropology graduate student Anne Pfister is receiving the Fulbright-Garcia Robles Research Grant to Mexico.

In each case, the recipient is among a select few and together they represent USF’s first appearance at this top echelon of the Fulbright program. The Fulbright grants will cover their costs of round-trip transportation abroad and maintenance for the academic year.

In the most competitive of the programs, Boggs and Salazar are two of only 35 students to study in the UK, Swift is one of only 80 students to study in Germany, Halfhide is one of only 15 students awarded a full grant for research in Norway and Pfister is one of only 18 students awarded Garcia Robles Research grants to Mexico.  They are among over 1,600 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2012-2013 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Program. 

“This is another break-out moment for the University of South Florida and adds to a record of notable firsts this year,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Ralph Wilcox. “Earlier, we were delighted to learn that senior electrical engineering major Jean Weatherwax has been awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for postgraduate study in London. And now we also celebrate the announcement of USF’s first Udall Scholarship winner, Shaza Hussein, who becomes one of just 80 undergraduate students nationwide — and the only one in Florida — to earn the $5,000 award."