Area students win Fulbrights

Two Texas State University master’s students and two recent graduates have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for the 2023-24 award year.

Keegan Beane, a master’s student studying biological anthropology, and Teri Edwards, who earned her master’s in geography in 2022, received Fulbright awards to conduct independent research projects. Aaron Sturk, who received his bachelor’s in sociology in 2022, and Olivia Vance, a master’s student studying Spanish, received Fulbright awards to pursue a teaching assistantship in English.

“We are not only deeply proud of these Texas State students and our recent alumni, but we are also honored to have them serve—in multiple countries and on multiple continents— as outstanding cultural ambassadors for the United States, our institution, and our diverse campus community,” said Gene Bourgeois, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas State. “Their significant teaching and research activities will inspire and motivate more of our remarkable Texas State students to apply to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.”

Texas State has now had 12 awardees over the past two years, with four in 2023 and eight in 2022. This two-year total is larger than the number of Fulbright awardees Texas State produced during the previous 12 years.

Beane’s award will take her to the Republic of Georgia where she will examine the human remains from Soviet-era mass graves in affiliation with the Georgian Association of Forensic Anthropology. She will work to identify historical patterns of Soviet execution and burial methods and contextualize contemporary mass grave research.

Edwards’ award will take her to the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. It is a new country to the Fulbright awards catalog and Edwards will be the first-ever Fulbright awardee for research in Tuvalu. While there, she will investigate local stakeholders’ perceptions of internationally funded climate change adaptation projects. In affiliation with the University of the South Pacific, Edwards will work to design economically and socially sustainable community- based management systems.

Struk’s award will take him to Germany where he will teach English and American culture in a primary, middle, secondary or vocational school. He said he plans to use this experience to prepare for his prospective career in international diplomacy.

Vance’s award will take her to Mexico where she will teach English and American culture in a university, high school or primary school. While there she will help students develop bilingual language proficiencies and volunteer with a support organization for asylum seekers and migrants in her local community.

Three additional graduate students were designated as Alternate Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant recipients. Gadi Mc-Donald, a master’s student in public administration; Andy Piñon, a doctoral student in geography; and Mark Shaw, a master’s student in business administration may be awarded Fulbright U.S. Student grants if additional funding becomes available.

Fulbright recipients are selected in an open, merit- based competition that considers leadership potential, service record and academic and professional achievement. The Texas State representatives join an international network of alumni who are leaders in their fields, as Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows and 41 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered at Texas State University by the Texas State Fulbright Program Advisers (FPAs). Students and recent alumni interested in applying should contact the FPA corresponding to their degree level.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the U.S. and partner countries around the world. An annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs funds the program. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program.

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research.