LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville today announced that 26 students and alumni have earned prestigious scholarships for study abroad.
The list includes 12 student Fulbright awards, a prestigious international prize coveted by many high-achieving students.
“When I heard that we had so many winners of prominent awards—including a dozen Fulbrights—I marveled at how we are able to achieve such high honors year after year,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “We have an astounding track record as a producer of top scholars and I’m so proud of our incredible students, faculty and staff because they all work together to make this possible.”
Including this year, there have been 133 UofL Fulbright students since 2003 — more than all other Kentucky public institutions combined.
Students and alumni also earned many other competitive awards this year including the Boren, Critical Language and Rotary scholarships.
All of the Fulbrights graduated in May, unless otherwise noted, and are shown here:
- Ben Anderson, Louisville, political science, will teach English in Taiwan
- Noela Botaka, Lexington, biology, will conduct research in Belgium
- Seth Drake, Mount Sterling, political science and Latin American and Latino studies, will teach English in Spain
- Chelsea Flint, Louisville, a 2018 graduate with degrees in anthropology and Latin American and Latino studies, will teach English in Colombia
- Eric Hahnert, Louisville, chemical engineering, will conduct research in Finland
- Miranda Hale, Louisville, who earned a master’s degree in Spanish in May and undergraduate degrees in Spanish and philosophy in 2014, will conduct research in Spain
- Alexander Kaliannan, Laguna Beach, California, who earned his master’s degree in Pan-African studies in May, will conduct research in Trinidad and Tobago
- Samir Kusmic, Louisville, physics, will conduct research in Germany
- Macey Mayes, Central City, who earned a political science degree in 2018, will teach English in Malaysia
- Natasha Mundkur, Louisville, political science and business marketing, will teach English in India
- Ethan Conner Libby Pelletier, Brandenburg, political science and Asian studies, will teach English in Taiwan
- Elizabeth Schaaf, Louisville, English and Spanish, will teach English in Spain
Other prominent awards for this year are:
Rotary Global Grant Scholar
- Rachel Mahbubani, Louisville, a 2018 biology graduate, will conduct research in Scotland on antibiotic resistance
Critical Language Scholarship
- Gzeonie Hampton, Radcliff, a sophomore political science and English major, will travel to Oman to study Arabic
- Madeline Frances McCloud, Worthington, a sophomore neuroscience and chemistry major, will study Mandarin in China
- Taylor Denise Williams, Louisville, a May 2019 graduate, will study Japanese in Japan
- Huai Pal Vung, Louisville, a senior Asian studies major, will study Indonesian in Indonesia
Boren Award
- Dave Thomas, Villa Hills, a UofL medical student, will study the Malayalam language and conduct antibiotic research in India
- Madison Pumphrey, Shelbyville, a 2019 graduate with a degree in industrial engineering, will study Portuguese in Mozambique
English Speaking Union
- Hannah Bishop, Louisville, a senior women’s, gender and sexuality studies major, will attend University of Cambridge in England to study medieval history.
Irvin F. and Alice S. Etscorn International Summer Research Award, a scholarship offered by the university’s Honors Program for summer research
- Anna Carter, Fort Thomas, a senior women’s, gender and sexuality studies major, will travel to Costa Rica to take part in a field study course on primate behavior and ecology
- Emily Behr, Nashville, Tennessee, a senior jazz studies major, will travel to Lebanon to work with Palestinian refugees
- Maegan Helm, Louisville, a junior Spanish and international journalism major, will travel to Colombia to take part in an intensive language program
- Elizabeth Turner, Versailles, a junior political science and Spanish major, will travel to Jordan to take part in an Arabic language program
- Madison Swingholm, San Antonio, Texas, a senior political science and psychology major, will travel to Norway to study international politics
Mary Churchill Humphrey Scholarship, an award offered by the College of Arts and Sciences for advanced study in the United Kingdom
- Lance Gibson, Henderson, a 2019 graduate with degrees in English, French and humanities, will pursue graduate studies at the University of Manchester in England
For more on the top scholars, contact Cindy Hess at 502-852-1105 or visit the scholar website.
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EDITORS: Photos available of the scholars by contacting Cindy Hess at cindy.hess@louisville.edu