Out of the 10 applications submitted by Whittier students and alumni/ae and endorsed by the College this year, Christina Ibarra ’17 and Leslie Caamal ’17 have been selected as Fulbright U.S. Student Program Semi-finalists. If selected as finalists, the two would have the opportunity to travel abroad to teach English and engage in community service as well as conduct side projects in their areas of scholarly interest.
Ibarra applied to be an English teaching assistant in Mexico and hopes to volunteer at an agency dealing with immigration rights and education reform. Caamal applied for an opportunity to teach in Europe and said she is very “happy and humbled to have made it this far for such a prestigious award that has thousands of applicants all over the country.”
Under the guidance of Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Fellowships Rosemary Carbine, Ibarra and Caamal applied for the program and have already met with prospective applicants for the fall 2017, offering advice and encouragement to the next round of Whittier students and alumni/ae who will apply.
All applicants are notified in January as to whether they were designated as semi-finalists by the Fulbright National Screening Committee. Their applications have now been forwarded to the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy in the host country for final review.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Program operates in over 160 countries worldwide.
