The national Fulbright Program has selected 10 University of Utah students as semi-finalists this year, a U record! This year’s list has eight undergraduate students and two graduate students, including three English Teaching Assistant semi-finalists, five Study semi-finalists (seeking an M.A. degree) and two Research Grant semi-finalists. Countries include Germany, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Spain, the Czech Republic and France.

Making it to the semi-finalist round is a significant accomplishment in the Fulbright competition and means that the applications have been forwarded by the Fulbright National Screening Committee to the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy in the host country for final review. Finalists will be notified later this spring, with the timing of notifications varying by country.

University of Utah’s 2022-23 Fulbright semi-finalists

• Katie Bezdjian, M.S., mechanical engineering, Fulbright Research Award to Spain to analyze and develop a new solar energy device capable of achieving a higher efficiency and power output than current solar energy technologies.
• Zack Brave, B.A., political science, Fulbright Study Award to the Netherlands to study for an M.Sc. in Public Policy and Human Development at the University of Maastricht.
• Connor Brown, B.A., piano performance and German, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Germany.
• Tiffany Farfan, B.S., sociology, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to the Czech Republic.
• Rose Godfrey, B.S., biochemistry, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Taiwan.
• Hannah Huber, B.A., political science, Fulbright Study Award to Finland to study for an M.A. Programme in Global Politics and Communication at the University of Helsinki.
• Jace Jordan, B.A., international studies and B.A., political science, Fulbright Study Award to Finland to study for a Master’s of European and Nordic Studies at the University of Helsinki.
• Elissa Krebs, D.M.A., violin performance, Fulbright Research Award to Germany. Elissa’s project is to work with the distinguished scholars at the Max Reger Institute, and research and write her dissertation on the little-known solo violin sonatas of Max Reger.
• Guillermina Loyola Pelaez, B.A., urban ecology and B.A. in international studies, Fulbright Study Award to France to enroll in the M.A. program in Environmental Policy at Sciences Po.
• Christina Noskowski, B.S., speech and hearing science, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Poland.

Of the U’s eight Fulbright semifinalists last year, two went on to receive a Fulbright award and one was designated as an alternate.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 1,900 grants annually in all fields of study and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.

The Fulbright Program at the U is sponsored by the Office for Global Engagement and the Graduate School. For more information, students can contact Howard Lehman, Director of the Fulbright Program at lehman@poli-sci.utah.edu.