Fulbright Scholars Named
Esteemed artists, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and CEOs make up the ranks of prominent Fulbright recipients. This year, three recent Carnegie Mellon alumni and one staff member have been added to this exclusive group.
Selected on merit and for their leadership potential, the recipients are awarded grants to study and teach internationally — representing the United States abroad.
Alumni Megan Larcom, Nathan Hall and James Harrell will travel to Egypt, Iceland, and Hungary, respectively, during the 2010-2011 academic year through Fulbright's U.S. Student Program.
Larcom, a 2010 graduate with majors in business administration and global politics, has received an English teaching assistantship. She will teach at Suez Canal University in Ismailia, Egypt, while studying Arabic and completing an independent research project.
Larcom completed several study abroad experiences during her undergraduate career. This summer, she studied Arabic in Morocco through the U.S. Department of State's Critical Languages Scholarship (CLS) Program. She previously studied abroad at the CLS Program's Tunisia location and at Carnegie Mellon's campus in Doha, Qatar.
"I have been to the Middle East and North Africa on quite a few occasions, but always with the constant support of an institution such as the State Department or Carnegie Mellon," Larcom said. "This time, I will be working, living and learning independently."
Hall, a 2008 graduate of the Masters of Music Composition Program, will travel to Iceland to write music based on how people interact with the country's landscapes. He plans to work with local artists and musicians to create a multimedia installation that depicts Iceland's hot springs, volcanoes, waterfalls and glaciers.
He also plans to complete a month-long artist residence at the Association of Icelandic Visual Artists (Samband Íslenskra Myndlistarmanna) in Reykjavík.
"The Fulbright is an excellent bridge from my current position as an administrator at the Mattress Factory museum to my enrollment as a doctoral student in the fall of 2011," Hall said.
Harrell, a 2009 graduate with a major in policy and management, will conduct research and teach political science at Peter Pazmany Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary. He plans to use this experience to prepare him for a career in academia.
"I aim to be a university-level professor, focusing my research on immigrants' adjustment to the U.S. education system," Harrell said.
Stephanie Wallach, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education and director of the Fellowships and Scholarships Office and the Undergraduate Research Office, has been selected to participate in the International Education Administrators Program, Oct. 16-30 in Germany.
"The seminar will provide me a chance to learn about the country's higher education system," Wallach said. "This is important for opening up opportunities for Carnegie Mellon students in undergraduate research, especially in science, technology, engineering and math. Germany also offers a wide variety of summer and postgraduate fellowships and funds a large number of Fulbright scholarships."
Wallach will join a delegation of administrators visiting Berlin and other German cities to learn about the German educational and political systems.
Pictured: Megan Larcom (TPR’10) in Egypt, Dec. 2007
Related Links: Fellowships & Scholarships Office | Fulbright