Study Abroad News & Upcoming Events

UR Study Abroad Returnees Win Prestigious Fulbright Fellowships

Congratulations to the following three members of the class of 2008, who were awarded Fulbright Fellowships! Would you like to join their ranks? Contact Belinda Redden, Director of Fellowships in the College.

Christine Kenison '08 (B.A., German / French; Certificate in Polish & Central European Studies)
Kenison is from Londonderry, NH, and attended Londonderry High School. She will spend her Fulbright year in Poland studying Polish literature of the 1950s at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. She is a Renaissance Scholar and has received numerous academic honors since her arrival at UR, including election to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and prizes in both German and French from the Department of Modern Languages & Cultures. Kenison spent her junior year abroad in Germany on the Cologne Exchange Fellowship and has also studied in Poland and France. She has had the principal flute chair in the Wind Symphony and also participates in the Symphony Orchestra. Kenison plans to pursue a Ph.D. in comparative literature following her Fulbright year abroad in Poland. She is the third UR undergraduate to win a Fulbright to Poland since 2004.

Rebekah Porter '08 (B.A., Linguistics; minors: Chinese, Music)
Porter is also a Renaissance Scholar and National Merit Scholar and came to UR from Pittstown, NJ; she attended North Hunterdon High School. She will spend her Fulbright year in Taiwan as an English Teaching Assistant in an elementary or junior high school while pursuing fluency in Chinese and studying the political relationship between mainland China and Taiwan. Porter has received the Book Award for Chinese from the Dept. of Modern Languages & Cultures and studied abroad in Beijing during her junior spring; while in China she volunteered on weekends to teach English in a local community of migrant workers. She spent last summer living in an orphanage in Delhi, India, where she tutored children in English. At UR, Porter is a TA in linguistics, a member of After Hours a capella ensemble, the UR Gospel Choir, and Grassroots. She aspires to attain TEFL certification and live and work in the Chinese-speaking world. Porter is believed to be UR's Fulbright Scholar to Taiwan.

Ashley Van Vechten '08 (B.A., German / History)
A Reniaissance Scholar, Van Vechten hails from Rochester, NY, and attended Brighton High School. She will spend her Fulbright year in Germany as an English Teaching Assistant in a secondary school while also continuing her study of German language and history. She has been a leading member of the women's varsity soccer team since her freshman year, garnering honors a host of honors and recognitions, such as the 2008 Garnish Scholar Athlete Award, All-UAA First Team, NY State Defensive Player of the Year in 2006, NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America in 2006. Van Vechten has studied abroad twice, first in Berlin on the Dept. of  Modern Languages & Cultures' summer program in 2006, and during spring of her junior year at the University of Ghana in Legon, on a UR-affiliated program. While in Ghana, Van Vechten also volunteered to teach math and science in a nearby village secondary school. She is a member of the Keidaeans senior honor society and has published an article on the genealogical history of her paternal family in Rochester. She hopes to pursue graduate study in German history following her Fulbright year abroad.

Sixteen UR Students Receive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship during 2008-2009

Ten University of Rochester undergraduates were named recipients of the the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for the Spring 2009 semester and six UR students received this scholarship for study during the Fall 2008 semester.

Fall 2009

Amber Baig is spending the fall semester at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Isthier Chaudhury is studying during the academic year in Beijing, China with CIEE.

Jeffrey Conserette is headed "down under" for the fall semester in Sydney, Australia with IES.

Meaghan Dewaters is enjoying the fall semester in Arezzo, Italy.

Eun Hea Kim is spending the fall semester in Barcelona, Spain with IES.

Andrew Korn is studying during the fall and spring semesters in Milan, Italy with IES.

Julia Munteanu is spending the fall semester with IES in Delhi, India.

Shanis Navas is enjoying the fall semester in Tokyo, Japan with IES.

Christy Zheng is studying in Beijing, China with IES this fall.

 

Spring 2009

Laura Dobrzynski is participating in the IES program in Delhi, India.

Jessica Gambacurta is at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

Damian LaRue is studying on the IES program in Tokyo, Japan.

Shirley Liang is currently completing an internship in London as part of the UR Internships in Europe program.

Libby Miga is in Dakar, Senegal on a CIEE program.

Natalie Scott went to Legon, Ghana on a CIEE program.

Stephen Supoyo is in Cape Town, South Africa with IES.

Ashley Tamilio-Awed also went to Legon, Ghana with CIEE.

Rachel Twardowski is enjoying the land down under this semester on an IES program in Melbourne, Australia.

Victoria Yam is exploring Berlin, Germany while studying on an IES program.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Institute of International Education, this program enables students who have limited financial means the opportunity to participate in study abroad opportunities worldwide. The program provides awards of up to $5,000 for undergraduate students who are U.S. citizen to pursue study abroad opportunities. To be eligible students must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application. For more information, full eligibility criteria, and the online application please access the Gilman Program website at http://www.iie.org/gilman

UR Student Garners an Honorable Mention in IES Annual Photo Contest

Scott Walter, a UR undergraduate who studied abroad through IES, received an honorable mention in IES's annual photo contest. Click here to read more and see his photo. This is the second year in a row that UR students have received top awards in the IES photo contest.

If you are a study abroad returnee and have news that you would like to share with us please email abroad@admin.rochester.edu. Thank you!