Student Scholars Ready to Make an Impact

Seven Humanities and Social Sciences students and alumni have received or were named finalists for prestigious national awards. 

Recipients of the various scholarships and grants will apply the skills they’ve learned in the classroom to worldwide research projects and teaching assistantships.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program 

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the nation’s flagship international educational exchange program. Designed to increase mutual understanding between people of the United States and more than 160 countries around the world, the Fulbright Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English teaching assistantships.

• Threa Almontaser, who earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 2016 and an MFA in creative writing in 2019, was selected for the English teaching assistant program in Malaysia.
• Peter Andrews, who earned a master’s degree in English in 2020, was selected for the English teaching assistant program in Taiwan.
• Adam Barnhardt, who earned bachelor’s degrees in English and German in 2016 and a master’s degree in English in 2020, was selected for a research grant to Austria.
• Raven Owen, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2018, was selected as an alternate for the English teaching assistant program in Israel.

Udall Scholarship

The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college students for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment. Each Udall Scholarship provides up to $7,000 for the scholar’s junior or senior year.

• Pippin Payne, a senior double majoring in religious studies and mechanical engineering, was one of 55 students in the nation to receive a 2020 Udall Scholarship. He is also a recipient of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Board Scholarship.

Boren Scholarship

Sponsored by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), Boren awards are a federal initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills.

• Kassidy DeMaio, a senior double majoring in political science and Arabic, conducts research at the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies. With the help of the Boren Scholarship, DeMaio hopes to pursue a master’s degree in national security and do further research with Arabic speaking communities.

Herbert Scoville, Jr. Peace Fellowship

Established in 1987, the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship is a highly-competitive national fellowship program that provides recent college and graduate school alumni with the opportunity to gain a Washington perspective on key issues of peace and security.

• Jacob Sebastian, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in Middle East studies in 2019, will work for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) in Washington, D.C. He was one of three recent college graduates in the nation to earn a spring 2020 fellowship.

Note: Timelines may be shifted for students abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.