Local Man Awarded Fulbright Grant

James Hurlbert of North Hampton, a member of the Boston College Class of 2012, has been awarded a prestigious J. William Fulbright grant, a coveted post-baccalaureate study, research or teaching award given annually to the nation's best and brightest college students.

An English and Sociology major, Hurlbert graduated summa cum laude from Boston College on May 21. He was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa, a prestigious academic honor society.

Among other academic distinctions, he received a Scholar of the College designation at commencement, which is awarded to exceptional students who have excelled academically in their undergraduate studies and done substantial, independent work of the highest quality for a significant part of their senior year under the supervision of faculty scholars.

With his Fulbright award, Hurlbert will travel to Germany for an English Teaching Assistantship and will do a research project on the integration of East and West Germany. He plans to attend graduate school in the future.

“I think doing a Fulbright will be a good chance to take some time away from school while doing something useful,” said Hurlbert.

Among his BC activities, he was a member of the English Association and the BC Ski and Snowboard club.

Hurlbert is one of 16 Boston College winners of Fulbrights this year. Boston College is consistently among the nation's top producers of Fulbright award winners.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946, at the end of World War II, to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. The program honors Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, long-time chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who sponsored the legislation establishing the program.

Information submitted by Boston College.