Four Occidental College students have won prestigious Fulbright scholarships to work and study abroad.
Madolyn Hollowed '10, a biology major from Mercer Island, Wash., has received a research grant to work in public health in Costa Rica. English and comparative literary studies major Debbie Kim '10, from Cerritos, has received an English Teaching Assistantship to teach English and coordinate an arts program with children and adults in South Korea.
Benjamin Uy '10, a biochemistry major from Los Angeles, was given a research grant to study neuroscience at University College in London. Finally, biology major Luca Valle '10, who hails from Spokane, Wash., received an English Teaching Assistantship to teach English and work in an emergency medical clinic in Indonesia.
"I am also looking forward to achieving proficiency in another language, gaining humility from living in a developing nation, and reflecting on things that didn't enter into my fast-paced undergraduate experience," says Valle, who plans to become a physician.
The four are among 34 Occidental students and alumni who have won Fulbrights since 2003, including six in 2009 and 10 in 2008. They will join more than 1,500 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2010-2011 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
The Fulbright program, which covers travel, education, and living expenses, was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.
Founded in 1887, Occidental is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast. Since winning its first Rhodes Scholarship in 1907, the college has consistently won national and international recognition for academic achievement. U.S. News & World Report has ranked the institution in the top tier of liberal arts colleges since 1991.
For more information about the Fulbright Program, please visit: http://fulbright.state.gov.
