10 Clark Students Get Fulbright Scholarships

WORCESTER, Mass.--Ten Clark University graduate and undergraduate students received funding fromThe Fulbright U.S. Student Program and other competitive programs for teaching assistantships, research and study abroad, according to an announcement from Clark.

Three recent graduates received grants to fund their teaching abroad for the 2017-18 school year. Aviv Hilbig-Bokaer received a grant from Fulbright Austria to teach English to high school students in Vienna, and focus on art and human rights. Hilbig-Bokaer recently received a bachelor of arts in comparative literature and international development and social change.

Maia Moore and Madeline Phillips received U.S. Fulbright Teaching Assistantships to teach English in Argentina and Germany, respectively. Moore also plans to volunteer with children to learn more about mental health in Argentina; she received her master of arts in teaching in May, and majored in Spanish. Phillips will teach English at Friedrich Ludwig John Gymnasium in Greifswald, Germany. She received her bachelor of arts in English and German studies in May.

In addition, the following Clark doctoral students received Fulbright research awards:

• Samantha Lakin will travel to Rwanda to do research for her dissertation. She will conduct interviews with local genocide survivors, former perpetrators, and ordinary citizens to understand their perspectives on memorial sites, commemorations, and justice in the aftermath of genocide. Lakin also received a Boren Fellowship to continue her study of the Kinyarwanda language in Rwanda while doing her Fulbright research. Lakin expects to complete her degree in 2019.

• William Collier will do research for his doctoral dissertation in Kenya. Serving as visiting researcher and lecturer in the Faculty of Environment and Resources Development at Egerton University in Nakuru, Kenya, he will collaborate with faculty and local NGOs to better understand the intersections of forest governance and agricultural production. Collier expects to complete his degree in 2018.

• David Lukens a doctoral candidate in geography, will do research for his dissertation “Emerging Forms of Urban Renewal: Private Actors and Social Impacts” in Seoul, South Korea. Lukens expects to complete his degree this year.

Recent graduates Cassidy To, Keane Gately and Sam Spinner were accepted into the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, a competitive employment opportunity that allows young professionals to live and work in cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan.

Additionally, Thomas Hutto received an award from the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Chinese at the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan, this summer. Hutto has studied on and off in China for the last two years with the help of a Gilman Scholarship and a Boren Scholarship. Scott Odell, a doctoral candidate in geography, received an Inter-American Foundation Fellowship to fund his fieldwork on mining and hydrosocial issues in Chile. Odell expects to complete his degree this year.

“We, at Clark, are proud to have such a large and outstanding cohort of Fulbright and other award winners this year. The scope of their research projects, teaching assignments, and country placements is a testament to the quality of these terrific students and graduates,” said Michael Butler, associate professor of political science, who serves as Clark’s Fulbright Program Adviser, in a press release. Butler was a Fulbright Scholar in 2014-15.

“The fact that ten of our students have received such highly competitive and prestigious awards in eight different countries on four continents speaks to the global reach and reputation that Clark enjoys,” said Butler in a statement. “I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Information submitted by Clark University

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