CSB is a top producing school for Fulbright awards

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February 12, 2019

2018 Fulbright winners

Front row (left to right): Daniel Yang, Olayemi Fadahunsi, Allison Cwikla. 

Second row (left to right): Morgan Durbin, Maya Hermerding, Kelsey Tatarek.

Editor’s note: John Beckius was not pictured with this group.
Photo by Tommy O'Laughlin '13

The College of Saint Benedict has been named one of the top producers of 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. students for the fourth time in five years by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

CSB is tied for 33rd among bachelor’s institutions with five women who won Fulbright student awards for 2018-19. They are:

  • Allison Cwikla ’18 received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award to Indonesia;
  • Morgan Durbin ’18 received a Fulbright ETA award to Sri Lanka;
  • Olayemi Fadahunsi ’18 received a Fulbright ETA award to Taiwan;
  • Maya Hermerding ’18 received a Fulbright ETA award to Colombia;
  • Kelsey Tatarek ’18 received a Fulbright ETA award to Spain.

Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, led the list, with 22 awardees. CSB was one of four Minnesota schools listed among the top 46 bachelor’s institutions.

By combining the seven Fulbright winners produced between the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, that total would have tied for 19th among bachelor’s institutions. Daniel Yang ’18 received a Fulbright ETA award to Thailand, and John Beckius ’18 received a Fulbright ETA award to South Korea.

CSB was also ranked in 2014-15 (No. 29), 2015-16 (No. 34) and 2016-17 (No. 25) among bachelor’s institutions.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study or research programs or English teaching assistant programs in many foreign countries for one academic year.

During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.

If you are interested in applying for a Fulbright award for the 2020-21 academic year, please contact Phil Kronebusch, professor of political science and coordinator of competitive scholarships at CSB and SJU, or Lindsey Gutsch, program coordinator for undergraduate research and competitive scholarships at CSB and SJU.