12 UGA students, alumni receive Fulbright offers

12 UGA students and recent alumni have been selected to receive international travel-study grants offered through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the sixth straight year—and 10th time in the past 11 years—that UGA has received 10 or more offers.

Of the 12, nine were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Four received academic and arts grants, and five will be teaching English. Eight are students or alumni with Franklin College degrees:

Andrew Bonanno of Tivoli, New York, is a Ph.D. student in anthropology. He will spend his Fulbright year in Sierra Leone studying land tenure change and economic well-being.

Clémence Kopeikin of Le Mesnil Saint Denis, France, (and recently Alpharetta) graduated in August 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. She will work in Uberlandia, Brazil, in order to understand women’s perceptions of the institutional response to gender-based violence.

Vineet Raman of Marietta graduated in May with bachelor’s degrees in biology, Spanish and Latin American and Caribbean studies. He will be heading to India to research health inequities among tribal populations in southern Karnataka.

Cydney Seigerman of Detroit, Michigan, will conduct research in Ceará, Brazil. A Ph.D. student in anthropology and integrative conservation, she plans to study water insecurity at the individual and household levels, as well as the social and political relations that shape and are shaped by these experiences.

Congratulations to these outstanding students and alumni. The strong Fulbright tradition at UGA is its own advertisement for the strength of the liberal arts and especially language instruction at the university. The travel-study grants provide access to great opportunities on the road to making a difference, as they inspire current and prospective students interested in working abroad.

And speaking of international opportunities, the UGA Study Away Fair is in full swing today and tomorrow at the Tate Center Grand Hall.

Image: Ph.D. student in anthropology and integrative conservation Cydney Seigerman.