USD Fellowships Brochure

v U N I V E R S ITY OF SA N D I EG O

National Fellowships The University of San Diego is seeking talented undergraduate and graduate students interested in applying for prestigious national fellowships.

Fellowships provide opportunities for personal and professional development, including graduate school or research abroad, public service after graduation, foreign language study or teaching English in another country.

Nationally Competitive Fellowships Fulbright Grant

OPEN TO SENIORS AND RECENT GRADUATES

Fulbright offers two types of grants: research/study grants and English Teaching Assistant (ETA). Requirements vary by country, but typically research/study grants require fluency in the language of the host country. ETAs help teach the English language while serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. Truman Scholarship

OPEN TO RISING JUNIORS

Truman provides graduate school funding for students preparing for careers in government or public service. Students must have a demonstrated commitment to service, be planning a career that benefits the public good and have outstanding leadership potential.

Knight Hennessey Scholars Program

OPEN TO CURRENT SENIORS AND ALUMNI

Knight Hennessey provides graduate school funding for students enrolled in a full-time graduate program at Stanford. Students must demonstrate independence of thought, purposeful leadership and civic commitment.

Rhodes Scholarship

OPEN TO CURRENT SENIORS AND ALUMNI

Each year, 32 students from across the U.S. are selected as Rhodes scholars, enabling them to pursue advanced studies at the University of Oxford. Applicants are selected on the basis of intellectual and academic achievement, integrity of character and leadership abilities.

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

OPEN TO CURRENT SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS

Goldwater provides undergraduate school funding to help alleviate the shortage of highly qualified professionals in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. Applicants must have intellectual intensity, exposure to undergraduate research and a strong commitment to a research career.

British Marshall Scholarship

OPEN TO CURRENT SENIORS AND ALUMNI

Marshall finances U.S. students to study for a degree in the United Kingdom. Awarded students have the potential to excel as scholars, leaders and contributors to improved U.K.-U.S. understanding.

Boren Scholarships

OPEN TO CURRENT STUDENTS

Boren provides funding opportunities for students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)

OPEN TO CURRENT STUDENTS

CLS is a fully funded overseas language and cultural immersion summer program for undergraduate and graduate students with the goal of broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships with other countries.

Soros Fellowship

OPEN TO CURRENT SENIORS AND ALUMNI

The Soros Fellowship for New Americans is a merit-based fellowship exclusively for immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing graduate school in the United States.

2017 Fellowship Recipients James Bennett

FULBRIGHT SCHOL ARSHIP 2017

Being a Peace Corps volunteer in Mozambique and teaching in the austral African country for two years left me with one conviction: to write stories. Writing about the people that impacted my life in Mozambique —— both positively and negatively —— allows the rest of the world to see what lies behind the curtain of Portuguese and the drama of African development failures. The hard realities and unexpected beauties of life in rural Mozambique inspired me to search for a way to recount them for others.

HO ME TOW N :

San Diego, California

Attend an MFA program in the U.S. and ultimately write and teach in a university setting. Much of my motivation to write —— both fiction and nonfiction — stems from travel, something that will always occupy a prominent place in my agenda.

A SPIRATIONS:

Katherine Quinn

FULBRIGHT SCHOL ARSHIP 2017

Fulbright will be an incredible transformational experience. I feel that my dreams are within reach and can’t wait for the challenges and adventures ahead.

H OME TOW N:

Fredericksburg, Virginia

A SPIRATIONS: Work

as a foreign service officer for the Department of

State Halie Sonnenschein

GOLDWATER SCHOL ARSHIP 2017

It is an honor to win the same award that some of today’s greatest minds have received. It is something I never dreamed possible.

Receiving this has helped me realize the potential I have as a scientist, and has strengthened my desire to pursue graduate school and a career in research.

H OME TOW N: ASPIRATIONS:

Pleasanton, California

Lead my own research lab after earning a PhD

In Dr. Bell’s lab, we study a small protein involved in an innate immune signaling pathway. The function of this protein is unknown, and the lab is working to determine what function this protein plays in the cell and how its function might change upon infection. My project focused on eliciting the protein’s function through what it interacts with —— the idea that if you interact, you may share a function.

RESE ARCH:

Shea Ricketts

GOLDWATER SCHOL ARSHIP HONORABLE MENTION 2017

Undergraduate research has been invaluable to me and I applied for this award due to the foundation’s quest for supporting students who participate in undergraduate research.

H OME TOW N:

San Diego, California

A SPIRATIONS: Attend

graduate school and obtain a PhD that focuses on research in tumor biology or cell immunology.

My research looks at the microscale force and morphology of cytoskeleton composites. I’m investigating the structure and relationship between force and deformation in cytoskeleton composites composed of just actin and microtubules in order to determine how each contributes to the overall structure and force response.

RESE ARCH:

Sirena Tran

GOLDWATER SCHOL ARSHIP HONORABLE MENTION 2017

As a first-generation low-income student, I have overcome many challenges in order to achieve college success. Being recognized as an honorable mention for this award is proof that my work has led me down a successful path in my undergraduate journey.

H OME TOW N:

San Jose, California

A SPIRATIONS: Earn

a PhD in biochemistry

I am working with an enzymatic protein called glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and I am trying to investigate what structural effects allosteric regulators have on this protein. Proteins are structure-function dependent macromolecules, and by using glutamate dehydrogenase as a model system, it can allow us to have a better understanding behind the structural mechanism of allosteric regulation on enzymatic proteins.

RESE ARCH:

Sofia Ramirez H OME TOW N:

CRITICAL L ANGUAGE SCHOL ARSHIP

San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico

A SPIRATIONS: Attain

a master’s degree in public policy, and pursue a career within the government or private sector that analyzes the bilateral Latin America-China domestic and commercial relationship, and its implications for U.S. interests.

RESE ARCH: Since January of 2017, I have been working at the David Rockefeller Studies Program, Council on Foreign Relations in New York City as a research associate for Latin America. I research topics in the Western Hemisphere and beyond ranging from economic policy, domestic politics, security issues and international trade with Asia. I also coordinate with foreign embassies when receiving prominent officials and arrange travel to international summits.

Eligibility to Apply Successful candidates typically have the following:

• Cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher • Record of achievement in public service, leadership and/or scholarly research • Detailed letters of support from three or more faculty members

Past University of San Diego Fellows Fulbright Grant

James Bennett, English

MOZ AMBIQUE, 2017

Katherine Quinn, Communication Studies

MAL AYSI A , 2017

Jake Zawlacki, Interdisciplinary Humanities Alexandra Hafer, English

KYRGYZSTAN, 2017

GERMANY, 2015

Madeline Kasik, International Relations Morgan Martin, Marine Science

SOUTH KORE A , 2015

NAMIBI A , 2014

Amy Callahan, International Relations

ME XICO, 2014

Amelia Gentile, English and Business Administration Alexa Banker, History

INDI A , 2013

GERMANY, 2013

Trevor Crowell, Spanish

SPA IN, 2012

Caroline Kershner, Interdisciplinary Humanities

GERMANY, 2012

Goldwater Scholarship

Halie Sonnenschein, Biochemistry

2017 SCHOL ARSHIP RECIPIENT

Sirena Tran, Biochemistry

2017 HONORABLE MENTION

Shea Ricketts, Biophysics

2017 HONORABLE MENTION

W. Taylor Cottle, Biochemistry, Music Stephanie M. Gorczyca, Biophysics

2016 SCHOL ARSHIP RECIPIENT

2015 SCHOL ARSHIP RECIPIENT

Dan Partynski, Computer Science, Mathematics

2014 SCHOL ARSHIP RECIPIENT

Critical Language Scholarship

Sofia Ramirez, International Relations

TA IWAN 2015

For More Information For a list of fellowships and deadlines, go to sandiego.edu/student-scholarships, and click on National Scholarships and Fellowships.

Interested students should email Dr. Ivan Ortiz, Fellowships Advisor at iortiz@sandiego.edu to make appointments for fellowship advising.