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For Immediate Release
April 26, 2007
wesleyan students win prestigious fulbright scholarships
LINCOLN, Neb. — Two Nebraska Wesleyan University students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships to study overseas next year.
Lindsay Priefert of Lincoln and Nicole Green of Omaha have each been awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, which is the United States’ flagship program for international education exchange. Only 800 American students and professors are selected to study abroad and conduct research in a variety of academic fields.
Priefert’s Fulbright Scholarship will send her to Indonesia where she will teach English. Her interest in Southeast Asia was sparked by a faculty-led trip to Sri Lanka where she assisted with Tsunami clean-up efforts.
“I want to live in the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world, knowing that creating mutual understanding regarding religion and culture is extremely important in today’s political environment,” said Priefert. “I am eager to get out of my comfort zone and challenge my western views by immersing myself in another culture.”
Priefert will graduate in May with majors in political science and psychology. Following the completion of her Fulbright, she plans to attend graduate school and study international development.
Green’s Fulbright Scholarship will take her to Germany where she will also teach English. Green’s interest in Germany began in eighth grade but developed more intensively when she enrolled at Nebraska Wesleyan and declared a major in German. She studied in Germany for a semester and is looking forward to a return trip.
“Since I began studying the German language, I have always held tightly to the dream of fluency in a second language,” said Green. “A year abroad is a priceless opportunity for me.”
Green will also graduate in May with majors in English education, German, and psychology. She plans to attend graduate school to study English and possibly pursue a career as a high school teacher of college professor. She also plans to pursue international volunteer opportunities.
In the past 10 years, 17 Nebraska Wesleyan University students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships.
Other student accomplishments:
*Junior Lynsey Crosby of Albion has received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the 2007-2008 academic year. Goldwater scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,110 mathematics, science, and engineering students who are nominated by college and university faculty. This year, the Goldwater Board of Trustees selected 317 recipients. Nebraska Wesleyan University was the only higher education institution in the state to have a Goldwater recipient.
*Sophomore Megan Larsen of Beatrice has been awarded a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship, an award designed to increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education. The scholarship provides up to $8,000 of academic assistance per academic year for a student's junior and senior years, a 10-week paid internship with NOAA, a housing subsidy and travel expenses for the internship. Larsen is one of 100 undergraduates nationally to receive the scholarship.
*Senior music major Icy Simpson of Omaha has been awarded the prestigious Harrington Fellowship, a competitive music scholarship that was awarded to only 16 students nationwide.
*Senior chemistry and biology major Greg Timblin of Greenwood has been selected to the Amgen Scholars Summer Research Program. He is one of 250 science students selected nationally to study at 10 of the nation's leading science universities; he is one of 25 selected to study at the University of California, Berkeley. Amgen scholars participate in research projects, scientific seminars, and work under some of the nation’s top academic scientists.
*Seniors Gordie Coffin of Osceola and Jed Droge of Pawnee City have each been awarded $7,500 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. Nebraska Wesleyan is rated sixth among all NCAA Division III schools with a total of 31 student-athletes receiving this scholarship, including 26 since 1997.
*Senior Lindsay Priefert of Lincoln and Sophomore Deseree´Johnston of Clearwater have each been awarded a National Security Exchange Program Scholarship. The scholarship provides funding for American students to study in world regions that are critical to U.S. interests. Both Priefert and Johnston have been selected to study in India. Megan Hershiser of Lawrence, Kansas, was selected as an alternate for an NSEP Scholarship to Thailand.
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