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Six students win Fulbrights

By Alexandra Wertz '12
May 6, 2010
St. Olaf seniors (L-R) Caitlin Marine, Alex Schmidt, Maija Witte, and Sarah Jacobson have been named Fulbright fellows for 2010–11. Not pictured are Shoshana Blank '10 and Sarah Dorman '09.

St. Olaf students Shoshana Blank '10, Sarah Jacobson '10, Caitlin Marine '10, Alex Schmidt '10, and Maija Witte '10, plus Sarah Dorman '09, have been named Fulbright fellows for 2010–11. The six seniors and alumna take the college's Fulbright total to 70 since 1995. Anna Larson '10 was named an alternate for the program.

The flagship international educational program sponsored by the United States government, the prestigious Fulbright program "aims to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills."

"St. Olaf's continuing success with the Fulbright Program stems from a dedicated group of faculty who work with students throughout the early fall and a talented pool of students who are willing to commit their time and talents to the arduous process," says faculty member Bruce Dalgaard, executive director of the Center for Experiential Learning and adviser to the Fulbright students throughout the application process.

The projects
Blank will work with a nongovernmental organization in India to reduce health and environmental problems by creating cookstoves that produce fewer emissions.

 

Dorman plans to study Arabic for nine months at the Arabic Language Institute of the American University in Cairo. She also received a Critical Language Enhancement Award to study Arabic in Egypt for an additional six months.

Jacobson will study gender and sexual health in Cape Town, South Africa, where she will work with the Hospice and Palliative Care Association and take classes at the University of Cape Town Public Health School.

Marine will study grouse populations and how they relate to hunting data and land cover in Norway, where she also would like to get involved with a Nordic ski team. Marine hopes to follow a career that bridges scientific research, outdoor education, and conservation.

Schmidt will return to Xining, a city in China's Qinghai Province, where last year he studied the societal effects and perceptions of environmental changes. His Fulbright research will look at the factors that push members of minority groups to attend college and influence their post-graduate decisions.

Witte plans to teach English at a gymnasium (high school) in Elsbethen, Austria. Her father's Austrian heritage helped shape her plans, which include in-depth learning about the culture and people and "further discovering my passion for teaching."

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.