NISO Fulbright Week 2016
February 12, 2016
By Emma Alexander, Honors Communications Intern
The National and International Scholarships Office (NISO) hosted Fulbright Week this week. Essentially, this entailed a week of events designed to inform the Purdue Community about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. These events included activities such as information sessions for anyone seeking to learn more about the program, callouts for those planning to apply for grants to go abroad during the 2017-18 school year, and a dinner event where U.S. students could speak with foreign students studying at Purdue through the Fulbright Foreign Student Program.
With this special week of events coming to a close, we sought more information from the Director of NISO, Veronica Schirm. For students who were unable to attend any of the week’s events, Veronica shared what students should know about the Fulbright Program.
[The Fulbright U.S. Student Program] is a post-baccalaureate program through which U.S. Citizens can spend 9-12 months abroad conducting research, teaching English, or pursuing graduate degree studies.
As far as program recipients go, Purdue boasts three current Fulbright recipients. The first of which is Allison Turner, an undergraduate alumna of the Honors College who graduated with dual degrees in Political Science and Natural Resource & Environmental Sciences. She is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in Canada. The next recipient, John Fahey, is a Ph.D. student in History, completing his research in Poland. Purdue’s final recipient, Summer Forester, is a Ph.D. student in Political Science and Women’s Studies, using her time abroad to complete her research in Jordan.
In reflecting on the week’s events and effectiveness, we asked Veronica what she hoped students gained from participating in Fulbright Week activities.
I hope students learned about the Program and considered how such an international experience will fundamentally affect their personal and professional development.
Although the official week of events has come to a close, NISO is always available to assist students in their exploration of these scholarships and programs as well as provide guidance during the application process. If you are interested, you can visit their website here for contact information, drop-in hours, or schedule an appointment.
