16 SMU Students Named Fulbright Semi-Finalists
DALLAS (SMU) – Sixteen SMU students representing disciplines and majors from across campus have been named semi-finalists for the Fulbright Scholarship. These applications will be advancing to the final round of selection for the Fulbright Student Program for the 2022-2023 academic year.
The FulbrightU.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities to students and young professionals for international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 2,000 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.
With these 16 students, SMU continues a strong trend of increasing Fulbright semi-finalist numbers over the past five years, including 20 semi-finalists from the 2021-2022 cycle.
The seven SMU undergraduates and nine graduate students named semi-finalists represent Cox School of Business, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Lyle School of Engineering, Meadows School of the Arts and Simmons School of Education and Human Development. Those selected as finalists will be notified later this spring, with grantees receiving eight to ten months of funding to support their studies, research, or teaching abroad.
The SMU semi-finalists are:
Zena Amran (graduate, Simmons School) – Spain, English Teaching Assistant Award
Laura Bell (graduate, Lyle School) – Andorra, English Teaching Assistant Award
Xxavier Carter (graduate alumnus, Meadows School) – Norway, Arts Award in Installation Art
Dani Ezor (graduate, Meadows School) – France, Study/Research Award in Art History
Sydney Fitzgibbon (graduate, Meadows School) – France, Fulbright/French Government English Teaching Assistant Award
Isabelle Galko (undergraduate, Dedman College) – Indonesia, English Teaching Assistant Award
Austin Hickle (undergraduate, Dedman College) – South Korea, English Teaching Assistant Award
Hideo Ishii-Adajar (undergraduate alumnus, Dedman College) – United Kingdom, Fulbright/University of Reading Award in Food Security
Lola Jordan (graduate, Simmons School) – Netherlands, English Teaching Assistant Award
Nia Kamau (undergraduate, Dedman College) – South Africa, English Teaching Assistant Award
Camilla Martinez (graduate, Meadows School) – Bulgaria, Fulbright/America for Bulgaria Foundation English Teaching Assistant Award
Virginia Ridley (graduate, Simmons School) – Luxembourg, English Teaching Assistant Award
Evan Schumacher (undergraduate, Meadows School) – Germany, Study/Research Award in Philosophy
Anna Taglioli (undergraduate, Dedman College) – Taiwan, English Teaching Assistant Award
Shameka Tyler (graduate, Simmons) – Montenegro, English Teaching Assistant Award
Izzah Zaheer (undergraduate, Cox) – Belgium, English Teaching Assistant Award
The application for the next award cycle will open in late March, and the SMU application deadline will be in late August. Students interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2023-2024 academic year are strongly encouraged to contact their Fulbright Program Advisor this spring prior to the end of the academic year. Undergraduate students may contact Dr. Brandon Miller (bgmiller@smu.edu) and graduate students may contact Dr. Rachel Ball-Phillips (rmball@smu.edu).
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants, chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential, with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 2,200 U.S. students, artists, and early career professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants each year to study, teach English, and conduct research annually in over 160 countries throughout the world.
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