Thirteen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students and recent graduates, including three from the School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics, were offered Fulbright grants to pursue international education, research, and teaching experiences around the globe this coming year. Another six Illinois students were named Fulbright alternates.
Eleven of the students have accepted grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which builds international relationships to help solve global challenges. This flagship international educational exchange program of the U.S. government awards grants to students based on their academic and professional achievement, as well as their ambassadorial skills and leadership potential. The Fulbright student program will fund approximately 2,100 U.S. citizens to live abroad for the 2023-24 academic year.
“A full one-third of U. of I. Fulbright applicants were offered grants this year,” said David Schug, director of the National and International Scholarships Program at Illinois. “This is the university’s highest success rate in at least the past 20 years. This fall will find Illini representing the university on five different continents.”
Drew Gooding will go to Spain to teach English. They graduated in May with a degree in information systems and marketing and a minor in English as a second language. Gooding attended North Boone High School in Poplar Grove, Illinois. They are interested in working in Spain because of its status as a major host of migrants and its support of the LGBT+ community, both areas that Gooding plans to become involved with in Spain.
Alexandra Schneeberger was offered a student award, but instead has accepted a U.S. teaching assistantship, administered by Fulbright Austria through the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. An alum of Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, Schneeberger earned a master’s degree in Germanic studies in May 2023 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in Germanic languages and literature and a certificate in translation studies in 2021, both at Illinois. She plans to pursue a career as a German language professor and said this opportunity will allow her to grow as a teacher in a new environment. While working as a teaching assistant at Illinois, she often brought her guitar into the classroom as a teaching aid. She looks forward to doing the same in Linz, Austria, where she will be teaching.
Matthew Schultz will teach in Colombia. He graduated in August 2021 with bachelor’s degrees in Spanish, French and political science. A graduate of Prospect High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, he is interested in Colombian music and dance. He previously has worked as an English as a second language teacher in Morocco and Costa Rica. He plans to join the U.S. Foreign Service as an economic officer.
“Fulbrights continue to have universal cachet,” said Ken Vickery, director of fellowships in the Graduate College. “They’re recognized the world over as representing scholarly excellence, cross-cultural bridge building and integrity, and I know that our awardees will maximize the phenomenal opportunity that these grants allow.”
Maeve Reilly, Illinois News Bureau
Editor's note: This story first appeared on the Illinois News Bureau and College of LAS websites.