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University of Rochester graduating senior Alexandra (Sasha) Bilow has been named a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar to France.

Bilow will spend the academic year, which runs from October 2007 to May 2008, in an underprivileged French suburb as an English teaching assistant while also pursuing university coursework to better understand French culture, language, and new approaches to teaching foreign languages. Upon completion of the program, Bilow will return to the United States to teach through the national Teach for America Program.

Bilow, of Syracuse, N.Y., is a dual major in French and Spanish. She received the Iota Book Prize from the University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and was also elected to the honor society. Bilow is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and is completing an honors thesis in French on a novel by Boris Vian. She tutors both French and Spanish and is a teaching assistant for introductory Spanish classes in the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering. She has studied abroad in Rennes, France, Grenoble, France, and in Oaxaca, Mexico. Additionally, she is the French chair for the Modern Language and Culture Undergraduate Council and also leads the French Conversation Hour Group. In past summers, she has worked as a French instructor and camp counselor at GirlSummer, an academic summer camp at the Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. Bilow is also a leader in Grassroots, the Catholic Newman Community, a member of the St. Sebastian Society and the Alpine Ski Team.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and designed to promote mutual understanding and peace between the United States and other nations through educational and cultural exchange, the Fulbright Program offers opportunities for career-launching study, teaching, and research abroad. Scholars design their own programs and arrange institutional affiliations in the host countries. The grants cover expenses such as travel and health insurance and also provide a monthly stipend.