Liya Endale, educational psychology, Ph.D. student, shares some great news with us. A while ago she learned she was a finalist for the Fulbright Student Program. More recently, she got word that she is now an alternate recipient for the award.
For Fulbright an alternate recipient¹ is a candidate who can become a finalist if there’s more funding.
To put numbers to this during the 2017-2018 year over 10,000 students applied for a Fulbright. Applications thinned to roughly 3,600 and from there 1,600 students received the award. Competition for this prestigious grant is merit-based. Factors that gauge selection include academic performance, personal qualifications and leadership skills.
Overall, since it’s beginnings in 1946 over 390,000 “passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems,” have been awarded.² Read more about the history of the Fulbright ».
Another factor for selection fits with Endale’s project. It involves how projects help advance the Fulbright’s aims. This includes “promoting mutual understanding among nations through engagement in the host community, among other activities.”³
Endale wrote about her Fulbright proposal, “In Ethiopia, public school is taught in English after the elementary level while students in impoverished areas mostly speak one or more of the 75 different ethnic Ethiopian languages — creating a significant gap in educational accessibility. In response to this dilemma, Wollo University established a first-ever community English Language Improvement Center (ELIC) for which I propose to conduct a qualitative program evaluation in order to gain insight into its effectiveness.”
We wish Endale all the best and look forward to hearing more about her Fulbright experience. Her advisor is Dr. Ann Kruger, [email protected].
¹ https://us.fulbrightonline.org/information-for-recommended-candidates
² https://fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org/the-fulbright-program
³ https://us.fulbrightonline.org/about/factors-in-selection