Luther College alumna Lauren Griffin selected for 2012-13 Fulbright Award

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DECORAH, IA (08/08/2012)(readMedia)-- Luther College alumna Lauren Griffin has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Montenegro for the 2012-13 academic year.

Griffin, a 2012 Luther graduate from Plymouth, Minn., is the daughter of Phil and Ellen Griffin of Plymouth. She was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.

Griffin's placement is at the University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica, Montenegro. She hopes to also volunteer with a local nonprofit focused on peace building and reconciliation.

At Luther Griffin practiced and improved her teaching skills through classes and an internship within the education department. She also served as an English language and writing tutor.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships were recently announced by the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Griffin is among the 1,700 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2012-13 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

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.

The Fulbright program is administered by the Institute of International Education. For more than 60 years, the Fulbright program has promoted mutual understanding and respect 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.

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 alumni have achieved distinction in government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, education and athletics. Forty Fulbright alumni from 11 countries have been awarded the Nobel Prize, and 75 alumni have received Pulitzer Prizes.

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