Salisbury, MD – From studying capuchin monkeys in Brazil and conducting cancer research in Poland, to teaching English in Europe, Africa and South America, nine recent Salisbury University alumni received the opportunity of a lifetime when they were selected to study abroad as 2022-23 Fulbright Students last spring.
What they didn’t know at the time was that they were also helping SU set a new benchmark. Today, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named SU the nation’s No. 1 producer of Fulbright Students in the Master’s Carnegie Classification for 2022-23.
The Fulbright is the country’s flagship international exchange program. Top-producing campuses were highlighted in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“For over 75 years, the Fulbright Program has been the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program in the world. To be named the nation’s number one producer of Fulbright Students in the Master’s Carnegie Classification is a distinct honor that reminds us of what exceptional faculty and students we have at Salisbury University,” said SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre. “Academic excellence is a cornerstone of the SU experience, and these recognitions reinforce the exemplary work our faculty and students are doing both in and out of the classroom.”
This marks the sixth consecutive year SU has been named among the top Fulbright Student producers in the U.S.
“Salisbury’s students work very hard for these successes and are engaged inside and outside of the classroom,” said Dr. Kristen Walton, director of SU’s Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office. “Even more importantly for their success, though, is the close relationships they develop with their faculty on campus and the opportunities they are given that can allow them to thrive and win awards like the Fulbright.”
SU’s record nine Fulbright Student recipients for 2022-23 included Kimberly Arriaga-Gonzalez ’21; Abigail Boltz ’21; Christian Ciattei ’22; Aida Dodoo ’22; N’tumahawa Kamara ’21; Morgan McGlone-Smith B.A. ’20, M.A. ’22; Nathaniel Sansom, ’21; Melanie Staszewski ’22; and Kylie Webb ’22.
Arriaga-Gonzalez, an English and philosophy major from Millsboro, DE, was awarded an English teaching assistantship (ETA) in Peru.
Ciattei, a geography major from Nottingham, MD, earned a research award to study capuchin monkeys at Brazil’s Carlos Botelho State Park and Una Biological Reserve to determine whether human activity that has degraded some of the country’s natural primate habitat has affected their social and navigational capacities.
Dodoo, a French and international studies major from Salisbury, received an ETA in Madagascar.
Sansom, a political science and conflict analysis and dispute resolution major from Eden, MD, receive an ETA in Slovakia.
Staszewski, a biology major from Poolesville, MD, received a research award to travel to Poland to join the team of Dr. Tomasz Wojdacz, whose research has suggested that methylation may play a role in the manifestation of breast cancer.
Webb, an exercise science major from Gilbertsville, PA, received an ETA in the Czech Republic.
Three of SU’s 2022-23 Fulbright recipients declined their awards to focus on other opportunities: Boltz, a finance major from Delmar, MD, received a research award for Finland. Kamara, a public health major from Hyattsville, MD, earned an ETA in Bulgaria; and McGlone-Smith, an English M.A. student from Waldorf, MD, won an ETA in Romania.
SU has had 34 Fulbright Students since its first in 2012. 22 SU students have applied for 2023-24 Fulbright awards. More than 100 SU students have won national and international fellowships, scholarships and awards in the past decade.
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Some 1,900 U.S. students are offered Fulbrights annually. The program operates in over 140 countries.
SU students or alumni who are interested in applying for Fulbright awards or other fellowships may contact Walton for assistance at kpwalton@salisbury.edu. For more information visit the SU Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office webpage at https://www.salisbury.edu/administration/academic-affairs/nationalfellowships.
Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.
