NWU Among Top National Producers of Fulbright Scholarships

NWU Among Top National Producers of Fulbright Scholarships

Published
  • Samantha Wessels
    Samantha Wessels ('13) is teaching English in Taiwan.
  • Michael Pirnie
    Michael Pirnie ('13) is teaching English in Taiwan.
  • Megan Meyerson
    Megan Meyerson ('13) is teaching English in Brazil.
  • Tom Schroeder
    Tom Schroeder ('13) is teaching English in Turkey.
  • Samantha Wessels
    Samantha Wessels ('13) is teaching English in Taiwan.
  • Michael Pirnie
    Michael Pirnie ('13) is teaching English in Taiwan.
  • Megan Meyerson
    Megan Meyerson ('13) is teaching English in Brazil.
  • Tom Schroeder
    Tom Schroeder ('13) is teaching English in Turkey.

Nebraska Wesleyan University is one of the top producers of Fulbright Scholarship winners among bachelor’s degree institutions in the country.

Four NWU students won Fulbright Scholarships during the 2012-2013 academic year. Megan Meyerson (’13, Spanish, K-12 Spanish education endorsement) is teaching English in Brazil, Tom Schroeder (’13, political science, Spanish) is teaching English in Turkey, and Samantha Wessels (’13, elementary education, special education) and Michael Pirnie (’13, political science, global studies) are both teaching English in Taiwan.

The list of top Fulbright Scholarship producers was compiled by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. The list was published in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international education exchange program. Nebraska Wesleyan was the only school in the state to be named to the list of bachelor's degree institutions.

Nebraska Wesleyan’s 2012-2013 Fulbright Scholarship Committee included Sarah Barr, director of global engagement, Rick Cypert, professor of English, Cathy Nelson, associate professor of Spanish, Steve Wills, assistant professor of history, and Meghan Winchell, associate professor of history. This committee works with students on their applications, interviews, and scholarship preparations. Rita Lester, professor of religion, and James Shea, assistant professor of English, also assisted students with the interview process.

In addition to the four student Fulbright fellows, Nebraska Wesleyan University English professor James Shea received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English at Hong Kong Baptist University for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Cathy Nelson, chair of Nebraska Wesleyan’s 2012-2013 Fulbright Scholarship Committee, was recently selected to the National Screening Committee for Fulbright Scholarship applications.

The 2013-2014 Fulbright Scholarship winners will be announced next spring.