Scholarship and Fellowship Awards
Awardees for 2012-2013
For more information visit www.fulbrightonline.org or email: clemansd@pdx.edu. – For help with writing the Fulbright Essay: Click Here for 58 minute audio session from Spring 2012 (approx. 6.8 mb).
Fulbright U.S. Student Program Recipients:
- Mandy Elder – Mexico
Researcher – Young women’s educational experiences- Mandy, a native of Roseburg, Oregon, majored in Child and Family Studies and Spanish Language in 2012. She’s a McNair Scholar who conducted undergraduate research in Oaxaca, Mexico on cultural barriers to education for women and it’s impacts on families. She will return to Mexico as a Fulbrighter to continue her research on young women’s educational experiences, with a focus on the transition to college. In the future she plans to obtain a graduate degree and continue working on the gaps in educational attainment for marginalized population.
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- Olivia Kulander – Indonesia
Researcher – Biogeography and acoustics of the eastern tarsier- Olivia is a master’s student, studying under Dr. Luis Ruedas in PSU’s biology department. After receiving her B.A in anthropology from Reed College, she worked as a photographer and bicycled across Asia – where the sheer diversity of wildlife and the scale of habitat destruction motivated her decision to study biology and conservation. Olivia will be studying the biogeography and acoustics of the eastern tarsier (a tiny, nocturnal primate that resembles a gremlin) in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia.
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- Andrea Gorman – Serbia
English Teaching Assistant- Andrea earned a BA in Social Science and minored in International Studies in June 2012. While attending Portland State, she studied abroad in Spain, taught English in South Korea, and volunteered with microfinance projects in Mexico. She worked as Undergraduate Mentor for the University Studies department. While working for the department, she co-founded the FRINQ Legacy Garden, a program that promotes undergraduate leadership through food, art, and sustainability. She has been awarded a Fulbright to work as an English Teaching Assistant at the State University of Novi Pazar in Novi Pazar, Serbia. While living in Serbia, Gorman will pursue a storytelling and photography project that aims to depict the humanity of the Serbian people.
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- Rebecca Haley – Spain
English Teaching Assistant- Becky graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish in Spring 2012. She will teach for a bilingual high school in Madrid during her Fulbright year. She will also organize a pen-pal exchange with a Portland high school and lead a Model UN club in Spain. In her spare time, she plans to put her nursing assistant experience to good use by volunteering in a Spanish medical clinic. She has worked for Portland-area schools as a Spanish and ESL tutor and her plans include completing a Master’s degree and becoming a middle or high school teacher.
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- Cyan Solis-Sichel – Ecuador
English Teaching Assistant- Cyan is a native of Portland and a PSU graduate of 2009 majoring in Social Science with a double minor in Spanish and Civic Leadership, and a Certificate in Chicano/Latino Studies. During her time at PSU, she became involved with the Latino community through various volunteer opportunities. Since graduating, she has worked as an academic social worker with Latino youth in Portland Public Schools. Her love for travel and determination to understand and see cultures that are different from her own have led her to Asia and Latin America. Her project will include volunteering with organizations that serve disadvantaged youth in the host country.
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David L. Boren Scholarship and Fellowship Award Recipients for 2012-13
For more information visit www.borenawards.org or email: clemansd@pdx.edu.
- Jacob Parsley – Russia
Russian Language Study- Jacob graduated summa cum laude from Portland State University in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. He joined the United States Peace Corps and served in Kazakhstan, where he worked as an English teacher in secondary schools in the capital of Astana and in the south of the country. Peace Corps unexpectedly suspended its Kazakhstan program in December of 2011 and Jacob returned to United States, where he joined the PSU Russian Flagship Program. His Boren Scholarship will help fund his participation in the 2012-2013 Russian Overseas Flagship Program in St. Petersburg. He is considering going into the U.S. Foreign Service once he has completed his studies.
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- Inna Makheddinova – Russia
Russian Language Study- Inna is currently a senior at PSU double majoring in International Studies and Russian as well as minoring in Political Science. She has actively participated in the Russian Flagship Program for nearly three years and will be completing the Russian Overseas Flagship Program next academic year in St. Petersburg,. Her academic experiences include participation in the Engalitcheff Instituted on Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University in Washington, DC and study abroad in Paris, France. She has had internships with Conservation International and the World Affairs Council of Oregon and has volunteered for LEAD International. In the recent past, Inna was selected to accompany a delegation of PSU jazz musicians to Khabarovsk, Russia, as part of a cultural exchange project supported by the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association. Inna’s various interests, which include the United Nations, conflict resolution and intercultural communication, have led her to participate in Model United Nations conferences across the country. After graduation, Inna will continue her education at the graduate level and pursue a career within the U.S. Department of State.
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- Jacqueline LaBerge – Russia
Russian Language Study- Jacqueline is a student at PSU majoring in Russian language and enrolled in the Russian Flagship Program. She will go to St. Petersburg during 2012-2013, taking advanced language classes and completing an internship with an organization in the city. Jacqueline’s background includes a bachelor’s degree in English literature, two years spent as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, and an internship at a university in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, where PSU has a sister-school partnership. After graduation, Jacqueline hopes to utilize her language skills and her varied experiences by living and working abroad.
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- David Duke – Morocco
Arabic Language Study- David is working on a Master’s degree in Comparative Politics and International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa. His Boren Fellowship will allow him to further his study in Rabat for one year studying Arabic and doing research on tolerance and equality in civil society in Morocco. His background includes work as an AMIDEAST intern in Tunisia, a pharmaceutical sales rep, and a US Army Captain. He has received CLS and FLAS scholarships, among others, to further his language studies (Critical Language Scholarship, Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship) and most recently went to Istanbul and Ankara as a Consulate General of Turkey Scholar. He enjoys sports such as snow boarding, scuba diving and motorcycling. Upon graduation, David plans to work for the Dept of Defense, the Dept of State, or USAID.
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Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Recipients of Summer 2012
To learn more about this opportunity to study language overseas during the summer, go to https://clscholarship.org
- Simon Peters – China
- Simon is in his second year at PSU pursuing a degree in Applied Linguistics and is most interested in language policy and endangered language maintenance and revitalization within the Chinese context. After completing the CLS program in Shanghai this summer, he is attending Portland State’s sister school in Kaohsiung, Taiwan where he’ll further develop Chinese language skills. In the spring, he plans to participate in an SIT Study Abroad program in western China where he’ll have the opportunity to engage in undergraduate research on endangered languages among some of China’s minority communities. Once he returns to Portland State the following year he’ll use this research as a basis for his Senior Thesis in the Honors Program.
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- Shelby Macy – Russia
- Shelby is currently studying fourth year Russian in PSU’s Russian Flagship Program, and is working her way towards a double major in Russian and Applied Linguistics. As a Flagship student, she will spend her final year of study in St. Petersburg, where she will gain experience as an intern and complete her senior capstone project. She plans to use her Russian language skills, as well as the cultural insight which she’ll gain studying abroad, in order to serve her country as a language analyst working for the federal government.
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- Karen Lickteig – Jordan
- Karen is currently studying International Studies with a focus on the Middle East, with minors in Arabic language and Business Administration. She is particularly interested in issues surrounding Middle Eastern urban development, sustainability, citizen journalism and cross-cultural communication. She also currently serves as the Office Coordinator for PSU’s Middle East Studies Center. Karen grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and before transferring to PSU last fall, she attended Lewis & Clark College and studied as a William Jefferson Clinton scholar at the American University in Dubai. Karen has traveled to the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and recently took a trip to Qatar on a PSU short-term faculty-led program. She studied Advanced Arabic in Amman, Jordan this past summer and is excited about her next adventure in pursuing fluency in Arabic.
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- Mitchell Souter – Russia
- Mitchell is a senior here at Portland State University. He began his college career after spending 5 years in the Army. He is studying Political Science and Russian. He hopes to work for the State Department after graduation where he plans to apply language skills from the CLS scholarship in Russia. When he’s not studying he keeps busy hiking, playing with his dog, or exercising.
Congratulations to all the 2012 Critical Language Scholarship recipients from Portland State University!
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2013-14 Gilman Award Recipients
Summer 2013 Programs
- Cassandra Moore – China
- Cassandra is in her last year at PSU, completing an English and Creative Writing degree. She grew up in the high desert of southwest Colorado, and before transferring to PSU last fall, she studied at Middlebury College in Vermont. While friends and family may have expected her to pursue literature studies in England, she has chosen to pursue a lifelong interest in alternative medicine and is going to southwest China to study Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduating from PSU this year, it remains to be seen whether she will pursue a master’s in acupuncture or venture into Health Communications.
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- Brooke Perry – France
- Aftering growing in Las Vegas, Brooke decided to look for cooler weather and headed to the Northwest. She is currently a junior, completing her first year at Portland State. She is majoring in Art Practices with a focus on painting and sculpture, as well as minoring in the French Language. This summer she will travel to Angers, France to participate in an intensive language program at l’Université Catholique de l’Ouest. Once there, she will not only have the opportunity to fully engage with native speakers, but also be able to conduct research on both modern and gothic art, as well as their influences on the city’s culture. While studying, she will pursue the production of a cohesive body of work to be shared at PSU upon return, displaying her own experiences in Angers, the intertwinings of artistic expression and culture in hopes to inspire other young artists to study abroad.
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- Rose Sleanbeck – Kyrgyzstan & Belarus
- Rose is a senior undergrad studying anthropology at PSU. In Kyrgyzstan she will be studying the Russian language in a six week immersion course where she will explore the city of Bishkek. Later she will travel to Minsk, Belarus where she will join up with a folklore preservation team who will travel to a remote village where she will participate in ethnographic folklore preservation with the elders of the village. Academic interests include heritage and folklore preservation, Ethnographic study of European indigenous populations, specifically agricultural practices through time, mytho-historical narratives, socio-cultural life ways, and historical archaeology of the Caucuses Mountains and Black and Adriatic Seas regions.
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- Serena Worthington – Argentina
- Serena is double majoring in Spanish and Health Studies with a focus in Aging Services. She is participating in the Council on International Education Exchange’s 2013 Summer Community Public Health program in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this program, she’ll have the opportunity to examine and participate in the health system in both Argentina and Uruguay. Looking at the social determinants of health and issues faced by people with disabilities, Serena will learn from government, non-profit, and public health officials about the successes and failures of the healthcare system in these countries.
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- Serena is double majoring in Spanish and Health Studies with a focus in Aging Services. She is participating in the Council on International Education Exchange’s 2013 Summer Community Public Health program in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this program, she’ll have the opportunity to examine and participate in the health system in both Argentina and Uruguay. Looking at the social determinants of health and issues faced by people with disabilities, Serena will learn from government, non-profit, and public health officials about the successes and failures of the healthcare system in these countries.
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2012-13 Gilman Award Recipients
| Summer 2012 Programs | Country | $ Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Jonae Cope | Egypt | $8,000 |
| Valeria Spirko | Russia | $2,500 |
| Fall 2012 Programs | Country | $ Amount |
| Noah Al-Saffar Kubacki | Egypt | $8,000 |
| Mathew Ensign | South Korea | $4,500 |
| Joshua Hunt | Japan | $5,000 |
| Ma Zhi | Japan | $5,000 |
| Anna Ropalo | Russia | $5,000 |
| Angela Rowe | Senegal | $5,000 |
| Corrie Rushford | Peru | $3,000 |
| Cammie Tomlin | Ecuador | $3,500 |
| Vinh Tran | Russia | $8,000 |
| Adam Walters | Japan | $5,000 |
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2011-12 Fulbright Scholars Program (Faculty):
- Kelly Doherty – Germany
Fulbright International Education Administrators Seminar- This October, Kelly will go to Germany to participate in the German Administrators Seminar through Fulbright Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). She will participate with a group of fellow university and college administrators to learn about the German higher education system through briefings, government appointments, campus visits and cultural events. Kelly is the Assistant Director of Marketing and Recruiting at PSU’s School of Business Administration.
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- Jeff Gerwing – India
Fulbright Scholar- From October 2011 to January 2012, Jeff will be in India researching the role of community-based monitoring in collaborative forest management. This is a field of study that has grown rapidly over the past two decades and it’s goals are to increase of social equity and improved forest management. Results have been mixed and this research aims to make improvements by involving the community to achieve success. Jeff is an Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Management in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
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- Mark Kaplan – Sweden
Fulbright Senior Specialist in Public/Global Health- In April of 2011, Mark started a six-week project at the University of Gothenburg’s Neuropsychiatic Epidemiology Unit in Sweden in order to deepen and broaden scientific and pedagogical programs to enhance their expertise. His research is in the field of public health, with a special focus on suicide, alcohol-related problems and social determinants of mental health over the life cycle. Mark is a Professor in PSU’s Department of Community Health in the College of Urban and Public Affairs.
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- Dannelle Stevens – Turkey
Fulbright Senior Specialist in Education- In October of 2011, Dannelle Stevens will go to Ankara, Turkey, as a Fulbright Senior Specialist to participate in a project that will help establish a center for academic excellence at Atilim University. The center and its workshops will orient faculty to use current research-based methods in their teaching so they can develop better academic studies, improve teaching, implement new methods, share their experiences with other faculty and motivate students to be lifelong learners. Dannelle is a Professor in the Curriculum and Instruction Department, Graduate School of Education.
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2011-12 Award Winners
| 2011-12 Fulbright Awards | Country | Project Title |
|---|---|---|
| Erica Charves | United Arab Emirates | Women’s Participation & Leadership in Emirati Urban Planning & Sustainability |
| Sandra Derrick | Azerbaijan | English Teaching Assistant with a project on Muslim Women Voices |
| Samuel N. McLain-Jesperson | Morocco | English Teaching Assistant with a project on hip hop in North African youth culture |
| Nick O’Gara | Turkey | English Teaching Assistant with a community project on interfacing with local culture through music |
| Julia Ruppell | Laos | Ecology of Crested Gibbons (primate research) |
| Sarah Taylor | Germany | English Teaching Assistant, with Projects on German K-12 Educational System & American Culture Clubs |
| 2011-12 Boren Awards | Country | Program |
| Katherine Fuxia Stankus | China | Mandarin Language Study |
| Alisha M. Reinhart | Russia | Russian Language Study |
| 2011-12 Fulbright Scholars Program (Faculty) | Country | Program |
| Kelly Doherty | Germany | Fulbright International Education Administrators Seminar |
| Jeff Gerwing | India | Fulbright Scholar |
| Mark Kaplan | Sweden | Fulbright Senior Specialist in Public/Global Health |
| Dannelle Stevens | Turkey | Fulbright Senior Specialist in Education |
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2010-11 Award Winners
| 2010-11 Fulbright Awards | Country | Project Title |
|---|---|---|
| Jean-Paul Zagarola | Chile | A Community-based, Eco-system Services Approach to Watershed Management and Conservation |
| Robin Pipkin | Croatia | English Teaching Assistant |
| 2010-11 Boren Awards | Country | Program |
| Ghislaine Cravalho | Japan | International Studies and Business |
| Kelsey Lundgren | Jordan | Conflict Resolution |
| Daniel Auger | Turkey | International Studies and Business |
| 2010-11 Freeman Indonesian Non-Profit Internship Program Scholarship | Country | Program |
| Fraya Saquin | Indonesia | Business Administration |
| 2010-11 Boesch Awards | Country | Program |
| Claire Adamsick | Germany | Conflict Resolution |