Jenna Wallace of Merrimack, N.H. receives Fulbright Award to Indonesia

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Quinnipiac University alumna Jenna Wallace, third from the left, is the first Quinnipiac student to receive a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship.

HAMDEN, CT (09/22/2011)(readMedia)-- Jenna Wallace of Merrimack, N.H., a 2011 graduate of Quinnipiac University, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Indonesia in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently.

Wallace is one of over 1,600 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2011-2012 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. In the English Teaching Assistantship program, recipients are placed in a school by the Fulbright program. After completing language training, Wallace will teach in a school in Pekanbaru, Sumatra.

"Receiving the Fulbright ETA award to Indonesia was an unexpected, but absolutely amazing, opportunity. It is definitely intimidating to travel so far and become immersed so entirely into a culture that is very different from the one I grew up in, but the value of that experience is going to be extraordinary," said Wallace, of Merrimack, N.H., who graduated with a BA in English with minors in anthropology and women's studies.

"I've already learned so much and adapted to the many changes that at first seemed scary, but now appear to be chances to learn more about Indonesia, Islam and a whole new way of life. I'll be able to return to America with such a new perspective, and having learned so much about a place and religion that seems foreign to many people, I'll also be able to share what I've seen, heard and tasted. I think I'll be benefitted in the future, not only because the Fulbright will help me seek out other opportunities, but also because I will learn how to adapt to, and begin to understand, a country and people that are so fascinating and so diverse," Wallace said.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by the Department of State, offers awards for recent graduates and young professionals to travel to more than 140 countries around the globe. The fellowships support individually designed research projects and English Teaching Assistantships. This year, about 9,400 students from the U.S. competed for about 1,600 grants. A designated number of grants are available for each country in the program. Applicants compete against only those who are applying for grants in the same country. 

Wallace is the first Quinnipiac student to receive a Fulbright scholarship. Mary Paddock, associate dean and associate professor of German in the College of Arts and Sciences at Quinnipiac, serves as the university's student fellowships adviser.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbright recipients are among over 40,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. For more than sixty years, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has funded and supported programs that seek to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered by the Institute of International Education.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit: http://fulbright.state.gov or contact James A. Lawrence, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, telephone 202-632-3241, or e-mail fulbright@state.gov.

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 5,900 full-time undergraduate and more than 2,000 graduate students in 53 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges issue. The 2009 issue of U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master's programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review's "The Best 376 Colleges." For more information, please visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.