Three U of R Students Awarded Fulbright Honors

Three University of Redlands students have been selected as Fulbright scholars, continuing the strong showing of awards over the last seven years that has now brought Redlands’ total to 20 since the award's inception in 2008. Of the four finalists at Redlands this year, three received the award: • Mounika Parimi ’14, double major, earning a bachelor’s degree in biology and a bachelor’s degree in music. Parimi is a scholar to Technische Universitat Dreseden, Germany, Research Department of Regenerative Therapies, focused on issues within type 1 diabetes. Since graduating from the University of Redlands in 2014, Mounika has, as she describes it, “…the privilege of practicing science as a research associate in the diabetes lab at the City of Hope in California.” The study she will undertake in Dresden, “… will take advantage of a clinical setting of islet transplantation, which is a therapeutic option for intractable cases of type 1 diabetes.” • Amber Stansbury ‘15, bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders. Stansbury is a scholar to Universidad Autonoma De Queretaro, Mexico, for the project of Morphosyntactic and Neurophysiological Markers, investigating specific language impairment and identifying linguistic markers. Amber was also the recipient of a Hanson Summer Service Grant, through the generosity of Dan and Durene Hanson, to work in Guatemala, assisting with the cataloguing and diagnostics surrounding children. She was able to transfer this experience into her proposal for the J.W. Fulbright award. • Stefani Spence ‘15, double major, earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. Spence is a scholar to Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigacion para el Esarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca, Mexico, for research on the indigenous Chinantec community of San Pedro Tlatepusco and the impact of the bracken fern on their lives and agriculture. Initially, Stephanie worked on a National Science Foundation grant at the University of Redlands, which involved indigenous Chinantec communities and natural resource management in Oaxaca, Mexico. Stephanie next studied for a semester abroad in Ecuador. Subsequently, Stephanie was the recipient of a Hanson Summer service scholarship to work in Mexico, in Oaxacan communities. All of this was preparation for her high competency in Spanish and her background knowledge for the Fulbright proposal. More than 1,800 U.S. students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English, and conduct research, and more than 800 U.S. Scholars teach or conduct research through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually in over 160 countries throughout the world. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, it is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program. “This strong showing of our most excellent students was accomplished because of their incredible personal efforts and the support of the departments, both content and language, the Redlands experience, and our University Fulbright committee,” said University of Redlands Business Administration Professor Jack Osborn, who mentors students in the application process for Fulbright awards. “Winning 20 Fulbrights since our first University awards in 2008, has recognized the University of Redlands undergraduate student body as among the finest group of students at any liberal arts institution. Our students compete directly with students and proposals from Ivy League, the Big 10, the U.C. system, Stanford, and a host of liberal arts institutions. We have been selected twice by the J. W. Fulbright Commission as a national ‘Top Producer’—an award given to approximately 30 academic institutions, indicating that based upon the number of applicants and the ratio of awards; we have a robust acceptance ratio.” University Provost David Fite said, “It takes an enormous effort from many people to achieve this, as well as the talent of our student applicants. This shared endeavor represents what Redlands is all about–a community of dedicated faculty and staff members working together to support the learning, development, and success of our excellent students.