DENTON (UNT), Texas — A record four World Languages, Literatures and Cultures students have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for English Teaching Assistantships for the 2018-2019 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
These students are among the over 1,900 U.S. citizens who will study, conduct research and teach abroad for the 2018-2019 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.
“We want to congratulate all of our students for their achievements, awards and scholarships this year,” said Marijn S. Kaplan, chair of the world languages, literatures and cultures department. “We would also like to acknowledge all of our esteemed faculty members who supported these students in their applications and endeavors. These prestigious successes indicate our competitive capabilities and put us on the map of educational excellence.”
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 380,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,900 U.S. students, artists and early career professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English and conduct research annually in more than 140 countries throughout the world.
In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.
In addition to Fulbright awards, UNT World Languages, Literatures and Cultures students were awarded other esteemed fellowships, scholarships and won high honors in foreign language speech competitions. Awards are as follows:
Arabic
The U.S. Department of State Critical Language Enhancement Award at
the Arab-American Language Institute in Meknes, Morocco
- Rachel Shafer
Chinese
The U.S. Department of State Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program scholar to Taiwan
- Karina Barbosa
The "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition
- Ryan Moye — first place
- Karina Barbosa — second place
- Julia Wong, Brittani Jefferson, Derrick Berry — third place
- Mirandy Mcneely
- Margaret Molnar
French
U.S. Department of State Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship
U.S. Department of State Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program
- Adam Abdelghaffour
Teaching Assistant Program in France
- Adam Abdelghaffour
- Caleb Powers
- Sydney McCormick
German
The U.S. Department of State Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program scholar to Germany
- Gabriele Canavan
- Phillip Carnell
U.S. teaching assistant in Austria
- Rebekah Simon
- Sarah Holmen
- Stephanie Kisling
- Gabriele Canavan
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Émigré Memorial German Internship Program with the German Bundestag (parliament)
- Gabriele Canavan
Cultural Vistas Fellowship Summer 2018: Civic engagement and youth involvement
- Kaitlin Young
Japanese (UNT is one of only two Texas Universities that offers a Japanese foreign language program)
Texas State Japanese Language Speech Contest
- Frenci Nguyen—first place
Dallas Regional Japanese Language Speech Contest
- Frenci Nguyen—first place
- Cas Beaty—third place
- Brittany Ajoku—fourth place
- Melissa Dube—fifth place
Russian
The U.S. Department of State Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program scholar to Russia
- David Oostenbrug
The U.S. Department of State Critical Language Enhancement Award
- David Oostenbrug
The American Council of Teachers of Russian Post-Secondary Russian Scholar Laureate Award
- Stefanie Gbra
The American Council of Teachers of Russian National Russian Essay Contest (NREC)
- Stefanie Gbra