Clark University Students Receive Fulbright Scholarship

From Clark University: Eleven Clark University graduate and undergraduate students received funding from The Fulbright U.S. Student Program and other competitive programs for teaching assistantships, research and study abroad.

“The fact that 11 of our students have received such highly competitive and prestigious awards in nine different countries on four continents speaks to the global reach and reputation that Clark enjoys. I couldn’t be happier for them," said Michael Butler, an associate professor of political science who serves as Clark’s Fulbright program adviser.

“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 Butler, who was a Fulbright Scholar in 2014-15.

Three recent graduates received Fulbright 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, where he will focus on art and human rights. Hilbig-Bokaer recently received a bachelor of arts; he majored 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 and psychology. Phillips will teach English at Friedrich Ludwig John Gymnasium in Greifswald, Germany. Phillips graduated in May with a major in English and a self-designed major in German studies.

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

• William Collier, a Ph.D. candidate in geography, will do research in Kenya for his doctoral dissertation. 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.
• Samantha Lakin, a Ph.D. candidate at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 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.
• David Lukens, also a Ph.D. candidate in geography, will do research in Seoul, South Korea, for his dissertation titled “Emerging Forms of Urban Renewal: Private Actors and Social Impacts.” Lukens expects to complete his degree this year.
• 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.

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, an economics major, has studied on and off in China for the last two years with the help of a Gilman Scholarship and a Boren Scholarship. Hutto expects to finish his degree in August.

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.

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