Manuela’s Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship is one of nine Fulbright awards won by UofL graduates or graduate students for 2021-22. The 2019 graduate, who has a bachelor of arts in biology, is headed to Belgium, where her sister traveled on a Fulbright research scholarship last year.��The sisters grew up in Lexington.

��“I feel so honored to have the chance to be a part of students’ educational journeys and help them to strengthen their understanding of the English language, which will in no doubt open even more doors for them,” Manuela said. “I’m also excited to engage with the Belgian community and then learn more about the Belgian Congo, as it relates to my Congolese identity.”

Since 2003, UofL has produced 150 Fulbright winners, more than all other Kentucky higher education institutions combined.

In addition, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, given to one college junior in Kentucky each year, was awarded to UofL student Lexi Raikes in April.

“The winners of these prestigious scholarships will have opportunities abroad that will change their lives and promote international understanding,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “These students are the best of the best, and I am awestruck by their hard work and dedication to furthering their education. I also thank our staff members who helped these students win these opportunities.”

The other Fulbright winners are:

• Shakeyrah Elmore, of Columbus, Ohio, who will study postpartum depression in Jamaican women at the University of the West Indies Caribbean Institute for Health Research in Kingston, Jamaica. She is a graduate student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.
• Claire Gothard, of Louisville, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Morocco.
• Macey Higdon, of Owensboro, Kentucky, who earned a graduate award to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, in biology of physical activity.
• Kyle Landis, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Madrid, Spain.
• Rolandson Le, of Louisville, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan.
• Madeline McCloud, of Worthington, Kentucky, who also earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan.
• Reagan Miller, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Morocco.
• Hannah White, of Eddyville, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Galicia, Spain.

The Fulbright Program, administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of ����ֱ��al and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Other students awarded prestigious academic scholarships are:

Isabella Martin—Boren Scholarship. She plans to study Russian in Estonia. Boren Scholarships, sponsored by the National Security ����ֱ�� Program, provide undergraduate and graduate students up to $25,000 to study abroad in languages and regions of interest to U.S. national security.

Will Randolph—English Speaking Union-Kentucky Branch Scholarship. He will use the award this summer to study modern Scottish at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland. The English-Speaking Union of the United States is a non-profit, non-political, educational service organization whose mission is to promote scholarship and the advancement of knowledge through the effective use of English in an expanding global community.

Liz Turner—Mary Churchill Humphrey Scholarship. Liz, a May 2021 graduate with bachelor’s degrees in political science and Spanish, will pursue a master’s degree at Aga Khan University in London, United Kingdom.

Madeline Martinez—Delta Scholars Program. This program is for students who attend college in the Mississippi Delta region who are interested in community service and social justice. Madeline, a sophomore nursing major, will attend a 10-day summer program at Mississippi State University and a five-day fall program at Harvard University.

More on these scholars can be found online here.��

UofL had 14 total Fulbright scholars for the 2019-20 academic year. Since 2003, UofL has produced 134 Fulbrights, more than all other Kentucky public institutions combined.��

Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of ����ֱ��al and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. The Chronicle of Higher ����ֱ�� publishes the lists annually.

“We have an astounding track record as a producer of top scholars and I’m so proud of our incredible students, faculty and staff because they all work together to make this possible,” .��

The prestigious Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of ����ֱ��al and Cultural Affairs. Over 2,200 U.S. Students and over 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are awarded Fulbright grants annually. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright Foreign Students and Visiting Scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research, or teach their native language.

More information about UofL’s 2019-20 Fulbright awardees is available and

Through the Fulbright program, these scholars are continuing their education in places like Kazakhstan and Taiwan. Five of this year’s awardees earned research-focused Fulbright awards, which speaks to UofL’s efforts to promote undergraduate research.��

Fellowships coordinator Bethany Smith, who works closely with student and alumni scholarship candidates during and after the application process, said about 30% of UofL students who applied for the 2019 Fulbright received the award—a statistic that has been fairly typical for the past few years.

“That’s an impressive statistic,” said Smith. “Few institutions can claim such good results and it is indicative of our success in identifying and mentoring potential awardees.”