FIVE BRONX RESIDENTS EARN PRESTIGIOUS FULBRIGHT AWARD

Wednesday December 31, 2008 Jeremy Tomasulo
FIVE BRONX RESIDENTS EARN PRESTIGIOUS FULBRIGHT AWARD

Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) congratulated five Bronx residents on receiving Fulbright awards to study, lecture, teach or research abroad. The Fulbright is America’s flagship international exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

“These scholarships illustrate not only the recipients’ hard work and dedication, but also their curiosity for different cultures and international engagement, which is so important in today’s world,” Rep. Engel said.

Of the five Bronx residents awarded this honor:

RIVERDALE - Mary Elston, an alumna of Brown University, will study political science in Jordan.
 
RIVERDALE - Swarthmore College graduate Susannah Gund will study education in Morocco.

RIVERDALE - Manhattan Village Academy graduate Hector Geager will participate in an administrator exchange program in leadership/management in Argentina.

NORWOOD - Lafayette College alumna Stephanie Morillo will study teaching English as a foreign language in Malaysia.
 
WAKEFIELD - Derron Wallace, an alumnus of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, will study teaching English as a foreign language in Thailand.

“Academic achievement is paramount in receiving the Fulbright, but demonstrated leadership potential shows the recipients can inspire others as well to constantly improve our foreign relations,” Rep. Engel added.

In all, the program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in more than 155 countries since its establishment by Congress in 1946. The program’s creators aimed to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.  Congressman Engel is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Throughout New York’s 17th congressional district, one resident of Rockland County and one resident of Westchester County were also granted the Fulbright award.

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