On May 19, the College announced that 12 students and alumni were awarded Fulbright scholarships, in which they will either pursue graduate study, conduct research or teach English abroad, according to the Fulbright Program website. This year’s Fulbright recipients will travel to various countries including Luxembourg, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, New Zealand and Indonesia.
Shera Bhala ’22, Matthew Chen ’21, Margaret Ferris ’22, Alexandra Hawley ’19, Lucas Joshi ’23, Sophia Miller ’22, Dominique Mobley ’22, Ethan Moon ’22, Zonía Moore ’16, Mia Nelson ’22, Samuel O’Brien ’22 and Ian Reinke ’22 were each awarded Fulbright scholarships for 2022-2023.
The Fulbright scholarship program is sponsored by the U.S. government and offers educational programs in more than 140 countries, with the goal of connecting Americans with communities around the world, according to the College’s announcement.
According to English professor and assistant dean of faculty for fellowship advising Christie Harner, advising for a fellowship typically begins the spring term a year before a student is planning on applying.
“When students start thinking about it, they begin to think about which countries would make sense for them, and that has something to do with languages they speak, interesting research they may have done, family connections to particular countries, previous study abroad and they are also thinking about the type of Fulbright,” Harner said.
Harner noted that there are three types of Fulbright scholarships: A year-long English teaching assistantship in a foreign country, independent research for one year in affiliation with an existing organization or an academic mentor and enrollment in a master’s or doctoral program in another country.
The Fellowship Advising office assists students with the application process by helping brainstorm essay topics and identifying who would be the best recommender, while also reading and giving feedback on student applications later in the process. Those applications are then read by a College committee that interviews applicants in September, after which they receive further feedback before the application deadline in October, according to Harner.
“I think the most important thing for people to know is that fellowship advising is there, and it’s never too early to start the conversation,” said Harner.
Chen — one of this year’s recipients — is a recent graduate from San Marino, Calif., who majored in quantitative social science as an undergraduate. He was awarded an English teaching assistant grant in Taiwan.
“I was really interested in going abroad for a year. I had gone to Taiwan previously to learn Mandarin, and I really wanted to return one day. I just really aligned with the goals of Fulbright and the idea of cultural exchange,” Chen said.
Chen will be assisting English language classes in rural Taiwan alongside another Taiwanese teacher. After his Fulbright year, he said that he plans to attend medical school.
Joshi, a Hispanic and Lusophone studies major from Easton, Md., was awarded a research and study grant in India.
For nine months, Joshi said that he will be working in Goa alongside other professors from Goa University who have expertise in Indo-Portuguese culture and literature, and have familiarity with his research project from prior experiences. At the end of the project, he said their joint research will “hopefully” be published in a journal article.
Because of the pandemic, Joshi said that both of his study abroad programs — one in Madrid and the other in São Paulo — were canceled. As a result, he said his inability to immerse himself in another country during his time at Dartmouth is partly what prompted him to apply for the Fulbright scholarship.
“Most of my research has been concentrated in Goa, India, and looking at different questions of Afro-Asian identity, mourning, memory, and post-colonial legacies,” Joshi said, “I knew that after working on this project here at Dartmouth, I wanted to see it come to fruition in person.”
Following his Fulbright year, Joshi said that he will begin graduate school at Brown University in the fall of 2023.
Chen said he felt lucky for all the resources afforded to him through the College and at home that made the scholarship possible for him, specifically research at the Geisel School of Medicine and involvement with the Upper Valley speed skating club.
“I think this fellowship is an embodiment of the fantastic community around me both at Dartmouth and at home,” Chen said.
Shera Bhala ’22, Dominique Mobley ’22 and Mia Nelson ’22 are members of The Dartmouth staff.
Correction appended (May 26, 4:30 p.m.): A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Lucas Joshi's research is focused on Afro-African identity. Joshi's research is on Afro-Asian identity. The article has been updated.
