LAKELAND, FL. – Florida Southern College has again been recognized as one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars.
Florida Southern, located in Lakeland, Florida, produced three students named by the U.S. State Department as Fulbright recipients for the 2021-22 academic year, according to a press release the college issued Monday. The U.S. government also identified two other Florida Southern students as alternates.
The 76-year-old program, named for Arkansas Democratic Sen. J. William Fulbright, is a cultural exchange program, whereby recipients are expected to bring America’s values to the host country while also immersing themselves in the native culture. The State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs awards about 8,000 such grants each year.
“Their role is to be the United States has to offer as ambassadors, to represent the nation and the institution,” said Dr. Rebecca Bravard, an English professor at Florida Southern and the Fulbright program adviser.
“This is a national recognition of tremendous importance.”
Dr. Beth Gibbs, a music professor at Florida Southern, is a Fulbright scholar now teaching in Spain. Recent graduates Anya Larson and Cesar Maldonado are also recipients, teaching English in the Canary Islands and Taiwan, respectively.
Two other recent grads – Zoe Perkins and Catherine Stogner – were named as alternates.
“It is a tremendous honor for Florida Southern College to achieve distinction as a top producer of students being selected for Fulbright awards,” college President Dr. Anne Kerr said in the statement.
“FSC has world-class talent among our student body, with students who have stellar abilities and educational experiences that will support their aspirations to make a positive and consequential impact on society. The Fulbright experiences are transformational for the participants and provide a profound global perspective in their respective areas of study. Our FSC learning community is also enriched as they return to share all they have learned, as well as impart this knowledge in their future professions and communities.”
In a press release, the college said the first Florida Southern student participated in the Fulbright program in 1949, studying political science in France.
Over the last 73 years, nine other graduating seniors or recent alumni were named Fulbright recipients. They’ve served in Mexico, Thailand, Taiwan, Ghana, France, the Slovak Republic, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Florida Southern has now been twice included among U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most Fulbright students. The first time was in 2018, when four of FSC’s applicants were selected, and again in 2019, when three new grantees were named.
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