[{"id":2306,"date":"2026-03-16T19:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T19:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2306"},"modified":"2026-03-16T19:21:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T19:21:47","slug":"2026-fulbright-semifinalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2026\/03\/16\/2026-fulbright-semifinalists\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleven Students, Recent Alums Named Fulbright Semifinalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Eleven Virginia Commonwealth University students and recent alumni have been named semifinalists for the <a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\"><strong>Fulbright U.S. Student Program<\/strong><\/a> for the 2026-2027 academic year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These candidates will now advance to the final round of evaluation and will be notified of their selection status on a rolling basis from March through May.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program operates in over 140 countries worldwide. More than 1,800 grants are given to graduating seniors, recent alumni and graduate students to conduct research, carry out creative projects, pursue a year of postgraduate study or teach English abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Fulbright semifinalists are listed below with their name, host country and grant type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Current Students:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Meagan Arnold<\/strong>, who will complete a masters in mass communications from the <a href=\"https:\/\/robertson.vcu.edu\/\">Richard T. Robertson School of Communication<\/a> in May 2027, applied to Hungary for a Study\/Research grant in Communications.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aya Caballero<\/strong>, who will complete a PhD in social work from the <a href=\"https:\/\/socialwork.vcu.edu\/\">School of Social Work<\/a> in May 2028, applied to Jamaica for a Study\/Research award in Social Work.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alex Campbell<\/strong>, a member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/honors.vcu.edu\">Honors College<\/a> who will graduate with dual degrees in political science from the <a href=\"https:\/\/chs.vcu.edu\/\">College of Humanities and Sciences<\/a> and criminal justice from the <a href=\"https:\/\/wilder.vcu.edu\/\">L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs<\/a> in May 2026, applied to the Czech Republic for an English Teaching Assistant award.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Matthew Schroeder<\/strong>, who will earn an MFA in creative writing from the College of Humanities and Sciences in May 2026, applied to Bosnia and Herzegovina for an English Teaching Assistant award.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Victoria Taylor<\/strong>, who will earn a bachelor&#8217;s in elementary education from the <a href=\"https:\/\/soe.vcu.edu\/\">School of Education<\/a> in May 2026, applied to Thailand for an English Teaching Assistant award.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Alumni:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Maliha Chowdhury<\/strong>, who graduated in May 2025 with a bachelor\u2019s in English from the College of Humanities and Sciences, applied to Kazakhstan for an English Teaching Assistant award.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Matthew LaBella<\/strong>, who graduated in May 2025 with a bachelor\u2019s in kinetic imaging from the <a href=\"https:\/\/arts.vcu.edu\/\">School of the Arts<\/a>, applied to Greece for a Study\/Research grant in Animation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>David Pearson<\/strong>, who graduated in May 2025 with a bachelor\u2019s in political science from the College of Humanities and Sciences, applied to Turkiye for a Study\/Research grant in Law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Macy Pressley<\/strong>, who graduated in May 2021 with a bachelor\u2019s in journalism from the Robertson School, applied to Italy for a Study\/Research Grant in Agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Valerie Shcherbakov<\/strong>, who graduated in December 2025 with a bachelor\u2019s in HPEX from the College of Humanities and Sciences, applied to Brazil for a Study\/Research grant in Public Health.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An alum from the School of the Arts applied for a Study\/Research grant in the United Kingdom.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>VCU\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong><em>National Scholarship Office<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> <\/em><\/strong><strong><em>(NSO) <\/em><\/strong><em>assists students and recent alumni with the application process for the Fulbright Program and other esteemed awards. To learn more about external funding opportunities, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nso.youcanbook.me\/\"><strong><em>schedule an appointment<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> <\/em><em>with a member of the NSO staff.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eleven Virginia Commonwealth University students and recent alumni have been named semifinalists for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2026-2027 academic year.&nbsp; These candidates will now advance to the final round of evaluation and will be notified of their selection status on a rolling basis from March through May.&nbsp; The Fulbright Program is sponsored [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[28,29],"class_list":["post-2306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fulbright","category-fulbright-eta-award","tag-fulbright","tag-eta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2304,"date":"2026-02-06T20:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2304"},"modified":"2026-02-06T20:26:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:26:32","slug":"cls-semifinalists-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2026\/02\/06\/cls-semifinalists-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"VCU Critical Language Scholarship Semifinalists 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Three VCU students and alumni have advanced to the final round of selection in the <a href=\"https:\/\/clscholarship.org\/\"><strong>Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)<\/strong><\/a> summer study abroad program competition. These candidates will be notified of their final status in March.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Critical Language Scholarship is a highly competitive scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State for the study of nine languages deemed critical to the United States\u2019 diplomatic and national security interests. Recipients will spend the summer abroad intensively studying their target language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>VCU\u2019s three CLS semifinalists are are listed below with their name and language study:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Riya Bajpai<\/strong>, a member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/honors.vcu.edu\">Honors College<\/a> who will graduate in 2028 with a bachelor\u2019s in psychology and a bachelor\u2019s in mathematical sciences from the <a href=\"https:\/\/chs.vcu.edu\/\">College of Humanities and Sciences<\/a>, applied to study Mandarin.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Savannah Morris<\/strong>, who will graduate in May 2026 with a bachelor\u2019s in political science from the College of Humanities and Sciences, applied to study Korean.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Valerie Shcherbavok<\/strong>, who graduated in 2025 with a bachelor\u2019s in health, physical education and exercise science (HPEX) from the College of Humanities and Sciences, applied to study Portuguese.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>VCU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>National Scholarship Office (NSO)<\/strong><\/a> assists students and recent alumni with the application process for the Critical Language Scholarship and other esteemed awards. To learn more about external funding opportunities, <a href=\"https:\/\/nso.youcanbook.me\/\"><strong>schedule an appointment<\/strong><\/a> with a member of the NSO staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three VCU students and alumni have advanced to the final round of selection in the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) summer study abroad program competition. These candidates will be notified of their final status in March.&nbsp; The Critical Language Scholarship is a highly competitive scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State for the study of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-2304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cls","tag-cls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2303,"date":"2025-12-08T21:04:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T21:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2303"},"modified":"2026-03-10T18:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T18:22:12","slug":"nso-events-s26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/12\/08\/nso-events-s26\/","title":{"rendered":"NSO Events Spring 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The National Scholarship Office will present information sessions on the following awards throughout the fall semester. Click on the name of the award to go to the award program\u2019s website and click on \u201cRegister here!\u201d to register for our sessions. Zoom links will be provided to those who register.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Opportunities for&nbsp;<mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates are notated in green text<\/mark>&nbsp;and those for&nbsp;<mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students are notated in red text<\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\">&nbsp;below<\/mark>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please email&nbsp;natlscholar@vcu.edu&nbsp;with any questions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">JANUARY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fulbright.org.uk\/going-to-the-uk\/uk-summer-institutes\"><strong>Fulbright UK Summer Institutes<\/strong><\/a>: <strong><em>Thursday, January 15 @ 11am (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Calling all <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">first- and second-year undergraduate students<\/mark>: do you have a 3.7+ GPA and little travel experience outside of the US? Join us to learn about the Fulbright UK Summer Institutes, which are 3- or 4-week study abroad programs at prestigious universities in the UK, funded by the US-UK Fulbright Commission. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/7svMhnQ7sAx2iw2cA\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Postgraduate Scholarships Information Session:<em> Wednesday, January 21 @ 3pm<\/em> <em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn about funded opportunities for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">postgraduate<\/mark> study in the US, UK, Ireland, China, and at Stanford University, as well as how the NSO can support you throughout the application process! <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/zy1UeGxW1xKQPvmW7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FEBRUARY <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NSO General Information Session for Graduate Students: <\/strong><strong><em>Wednesday, February 4 @ 12pm (Zoom)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This session is geared towards VCU <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">grad students in all disciplines<\/mark>. Join us to learn more about external funding opportunities and how the NSO can support you through the application process. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/awCpJ6bk41yB35gd6\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\"><strong>Fulbright Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><strong><em>Tuesday, February 10 @ 2pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us to learn about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which provides funding for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">recent graduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark> to spend an academic year abroad pursuing an independent project or a year of postgraduate study, or teaching English. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/j5JPAHwtWMxjiLFq9\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/research.google\/programs-and-events\/phd-fellowship\/\"><strong>Google PhD Fellowship<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong><strong>Info Session<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-hosted by the Graduate School. Registration information coming soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MARCH<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\"><strong>Fulbright<\/strong><\/a><strong> Alumni Panel: <\/strong><strong><em>Friday, March 20 @ 12pm (Zoom)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hear from alumni of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which provides funding for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">recent graduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark> to spend an academic year abroad pursuing an independent project or a year of postgraduate study, or teaching English. Join us to listen to their stories and ask questions!&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/fD7Ge5jEnSTCctiGA\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Postgraduate Scholarship Information Session:<\/strong><strong><em> Tuesday, March 24 @ 2pm<\/em><\/strong><strong> <\/strong><strong><em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn about funded opportunities for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">postgraduate <\/mark>study in the US, UK, Ireland, China, and at Stanford University, as well as how the NSO can support you throughout the application process! <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/zy1UeGxW1xKQPvmW7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\"><strong>Fulbright<\/strong><\/a><strong> for the Arts: <\/strong><strong><em>Wednesday, March 25 @ 3pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us to learn more about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which provides funding for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">recent graduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark> to spend an academic year abroad pursuing an independent project or a year of postgraduate study, or teaching English, and how students and alumni of the School of the Arts can make the most of the program. In-person session will be held in Pollak, room 201. Zoom link will be sent to all registrants. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/GfgsHPkrXPDqnL867\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsfgrfp.org\/\"><strong>NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><strong><em>Thursday, March 26 @ 12pm (Zoom)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">Juniors, seniors,<\/mark> and<mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\"> first-year graduate students<\/mark> in STEM fields are encouraged to join us to learn more about the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which funds up to three years of graduate study in non-medical STEM disciplines. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/k8X8QvzaFWzddXteA\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NSO General Information Session: <\/strong><strong><em>Thursday, March 26 @ 2pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This general information session is geared towards <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates in every major and year<\/mark> \u2013 all are welcome! Learn about the NSO, the (inter)nationally-competitive awards we advise for, and how to make yourself a great candidate. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/uZXXDs2tobQHfYFz6\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">APRIL<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\"><strong>Fulbright Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><strong><em>Wednesday, April 8 @ 3pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join us to learn more about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which provides funding for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">recent graduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark> to spend an academic year abroad pursuing an independent project or a year of postgraduate study, or teaching English. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/j5JPAHwtWMxjiLFq9\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsfgrfp.org\/\"><strong>NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><strong><em>Thursday, April 9 @ 3:30pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">Juniors, seniors<\/mark>, and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">first-year graduate students<\/mark> in STEM fields are encouraged to join us to learn more about the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which funds up to three years of graduate study in non-medical STEM disciplines. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/cZmSHVQH51BqVU5u8\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/goldwaterscholarship.gov\/\"><strong>Goldwater Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><strong><em>Friday, April 10 @ 2pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intended for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">sophomores and juniors<\/mark> intending to pursue graduate research in the STEM fields, this session will provide information on the Goldwater Scholarship, which awards its scholars with up to $7500 for educational expenses and a mentoring network. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/pDokC2ATWcTr7wUD7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/clscholarship.org\/\"><strong>Critical Language Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><strong><em>Wednesday, April 15 @ 3pm (Hybrid)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Critical Language Scholarship, which funds the study of a critical language abroad, is open to all <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark>. Join us to learn about the program and application process! <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/AKsaNn7PdGtEuZDK9\">Register here!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MAY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nso.vcu.edu\/resources\/how-to-apply-workshop-series\/\"><strong>How to Apply Workshop <\/strong><\/a><strong>Bootcamp: May 11-22<\/strong> <strong>(MWF, MF), 2 \u2013 4pm <em>(Zoom)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NSO will offer a <strong>*FREE*<\/strong> 5-part workshop series that will prepare participants to tackle major applications for postgraduate scholarships, including the Fulbright U.S. Student program. This workshop has been approved as a REAL Level 2 experience and is intended for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">juniors, seniors,<\/mark> <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students,<\/mark> <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><\/mark>and alumni. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/mvCdpKkhNoWvemkdA\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">JUNE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nso.vcu.edu\/resources\/how-to-apply-workshop-series\/\"><strong>How to Apply Workshop Series<\/strong><\/a><strong>:\u00a0<em>Tuesdays &amp; Thursdays, June 9 \u2013 June 23, 5 \u2013 7pm<\/em><\/strong><em><strong>\u00a0(Zoom)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\">The NSO will be offering a\u00a0<strong>*FREE*<\/strong>\u00a05-part workshop series that will prepare participants to tackle major applications for postgraduate scholarships, including the Fulbright U.S. Student program. This workshop has been approved as a REAL Level 2 experience and is intended for\u00a0<\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">juniors, seniors<\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\">,\u00a0<\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color\">, and alumni.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/KnZExAJLJokfGMxA7\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/KnZExAJLJokfGMxA7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/mark><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Scholarship Office will present information sessions on the following awards throughout the fall semester. Click on the name of the award to go to the award program\u2019s website and click on \u201cRegister here!\u201d to register for our sessions. Zoom links will be provided to those who register.&nbsp; Opportunities for&nbsp;undergraduates are notated in green [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-2303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information-sessions","tag-information-sessions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2299,"date":"2025-09-30T14:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2299"},"modified":"2025-09-30T14:29:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:29:41","slug":"cls-alex-cigularov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/09\/30\/cls-alex-cigularov\/","title":{"rendered":"CLS Spotlight: Alex Cigularov"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>VCU medical student Alex Cigularov spent the summer abroad learning Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fully funded by the Critical Language Scholarship. Read on to learn about his experience with the application process and his time in Brazil!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:54% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Alex-Cigularov-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"White man with blond hair smiling and putting on a white doctor's coat.\" class=\"wp-image-2300 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Alex-Cigularov-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Alex-Cigularov-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Alex-Cigularov-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Alex-Cigularov-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Alex-Cigularov-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong>Name:<\/strong> Alex Cigularov<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Degrees:<\/strong> M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University, 2028,                                       B.S., Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Country:<\/strong> Brazil<br><strong>Language:<\/strong> Portuguese<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What program\/country did you choose and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I chose the CLS Portuguese Program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil because after having studied Spanish throughout high school and college, I was eager to expand, and felt that learning Portuguese next was a natural progression. Also, I had never been to South America and Brazilian culture really appealed to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you want to apply for CLS in the first place?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have always enjoyed traveling and language\/culture exchange but had never experienced something fully immersive in a foreign country such as living with a host family and obeying an agreement to only speak the target language, so when I learned about CLS during an NSO presentation in one of my classes and found out it wasn&#8217;t too late to apply, I was immediately sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"2301\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil2-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Alex stands in front of the &quot;Christ the Redeemer&quot; statue in Rio de Janeiro with him arms spread, mimicking the statue's pose.\" class=\"wp-image-2301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil2-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil2.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"2302\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil1-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Alex stands smiling at the peak of a mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro, with the sunset behind him.\" class=\"wp-image-2302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil1-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/09\/Brazil1-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In what ways did your CLS program inform your future goals?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am studying to become a physician and my goal is to promote global health, so any opportunity to connect with people from unique backgrounds, especially if I can learn their language and culture, directly informs how I interact with said people as patients. Additionally, I think just by living at a different pace with new customs for an extended period of time, it expands my worldview by bringing new meanings to life, health, happiness, faith, friends, and family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What was your most memorable experience?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My most memorable experience was dancing samba with my professor and three classmates. There was always something musical involved in our lessons, whether we were reading the lyrics and singing along to classic Brazilian songs, or learning the steps to traditional dances. There was also an advantage to the small class size because the pace and topics became personalized to us over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What did a typical day look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A typical day was waking up early to work out and greet the sunrise at Copacabana Beach, before getting ready and hopping on a bike for my 30 minute, but scenic, commute to school. Class was roughly 9am-1pm with the same professor five days a week, including a 15-minute coffee break in the middle. Then, after having lunch at one of the dining options on campus, we would either have pre-planned cultural excursions and cohort meetings, or be set free to explore, sight-see, and practice our Portuguese in the wild. Weekends were usually free, besides a few field trips spaced out throughout the program.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/clscholarship.org\/\"><strong><em>Critical Language Scholarship<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> is a highly competitive scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State for the study of twelve languages deemed critical to the United States\u2019 diplomatic and national security interests. Recipients spend the summer abroad intensively studying their target language.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>VCU\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong><em>National Scholarship Office (NSO)<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> assists students and recent alumni with applying for the Critical Language Scholarship and other esteemed awards. To learn more about external funding opportunities, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nso.youcanbook.me\/\"><strong><em>schedule an appointment<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> with a member of the NSO staff.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VCU medical student Alex Cigularov spent the summer abroad learning Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fully funded by the Critical Language Scholarship. Read on to learn about his experience with the application process and his time in Brazil! Name: Alex Cigularov Degrees: M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University, 2028, B.S., Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2024 Country: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-2299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cls","tag-cls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2295,"date":"2025-08-01T16:06:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T16:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2295"},"modified":"2025-08-12T19:33:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T19:33:56","slug":"nso-events-fall-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/08\/01\/nso-events-fall-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"NSO Events Fall 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The National Scholarship Office will present information sessions on the following awards throughout the fall semester. Click on the name of the award to go to the award program\u2019s website and click on \u201cRegister here!\u201d to register for our sessions. Zoom links will be provided to those who register.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Opportunities for&nbsp;<mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates are notated in green text<\/mark>&nbsp;and those for&nbsp;<mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students are notated in red text<\/mark>&nbsp;below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please email&nbsp;natlscholar@vcu.edu&nbsp;with any questions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SEPTEMBER<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><strong>General Information Session for Grad Students: <em>Wednesday, September 3 @ 1:00 pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Zoom)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This session is geared towards VCU <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students in all disciplines<\/mark>. Join us to learn more about external funding opportunities and how the NSO can support you through the application process. <a href=\"https:\/\/vcu.zoom.us\/meeting\/register\/ibESZ-piQvKy-wvTDdUZzg\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/clscholarship.org\/\"><strong>Critical Language Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong> &amp; Summer Language Programs: <em>Wednesday, September 3 @ 3:00pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this info session, we will be discussing the Critical Language Scholarship\u2013a funded, summer intensive language study abroad program\u2013as well as several other, domestic summer language programs. These programs are open to <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">all undergraduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark>. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/ngsgaS5dTzTsNLPw9\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/goldwaterscholarship.gov\/\"><strong>Goldwater Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <em>Thursday, September 4 @ 11:00 am<\/em><\/strong><em> (Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intended for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">sophomores and juniors<\/mark> intending to pursue graduate research in the STEM fields, this session will provide information on the Goldwater Scholarship, which awards its scholars with up to $7500 for educational expenses and a mentoring network. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/jptGzNJgXa1BNHTM6\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsfgrfp.org\/\"><strong>NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <em>Thursday, September 4 @ 2:00 pm <\/em><\/strong><em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">Juniors, seniors,<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">first- and second-year graduate students<\/mark> in STEM fields are encouraged to join us to learn more about the National Science Foundation\u2019s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), which funds up to three years of graduate study in non-medical STEM disciplines. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/8vDMfVSbt6vaEiPE9\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peointernational.org\/educational-support\/international-peace-scholarship-fund\/\"><strong>PEO International Peace Scholarship<\/strong><\/a>:<em> <\/em><strong><em>Thursday, September 4 @ 3:30 pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Zoom)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PEO International Peace Scholarship provides up to $12,500 in support of international women pursuing graduate study in the US or Canada. This info session is geared towards international women who are <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">juniors, seniors,<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">early-career graduate students<\/mark>. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/TPTgBiNGe79aVm5g8\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><strong>Public Service\/Leadership Information Session: <em>Friday, September 5 @ 11:00 am <\/em><\/strong><em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This information session is aimed at <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduate students<\/mark> interested in a career in public service. The information session will cover awards including: Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA), Truman Scholarship, Obama Voyager Scholarship, Rangel Summer Enrichment Program, Congressional Black Caucus Scholarships, Hunger Fellowships, Harvard Public Policy Leadership Conference, Humanity in Action scholarship, and Boren Awards. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/qWYsZTbFNbat13sA8\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pdsoros.org\/\"><strong>PD Soros Fellowship for New Americans:<\/strong><\/a><strong><em> Friday, September 5 @ 1:00 pm <\/em><\/strong><em>(Zoom)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Paul &amp; Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans honors immigrants and children of immigrants by supporting one to two years of graduate study in any field in the United States. This info session is geared toward<mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\"> juniors and seniors<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">early-career graduate students<\/mark> interested in this opportunity. <a href=\"https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/webinar\/register\/WN_BrxME2dCRbuJzjbEJ_maHA\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>OCTOBER<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/borenawards.org\/\"><strong>Boren Awards<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <em>Tuesday, October 21 @ 3:30pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Zoom)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Boren Awards, which fund the study of a critical language abroad, are open to all <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark>. This session will provide an overview of the program and information on how to apply. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/SCqwf4hRX937N3VC7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/oip.princeton.edu\/our-programs\/fellowship-advising\/search-fellowships\/gaither-junior-fellows-program-carnegie\"><strong>Gaither Junior Fellows Program<\/strong><\/a><strong>: Wednesday, October 22 @ 2:00 pm <\/strong><em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Gaither Junior Fellows Program offers graduating seniors and recent graduates the chance to provide high-level research at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. We especially encourage <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">seniors, as well as juniors<\/mark>, to join us for this session. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/jUX97ZQZoAnyWisG7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.daad.de\/rise\/en\/rise-germany\/\"><strong>RISE<\/strong><\/a><strong>\/<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartscholarship.org\/\"><strong>SMART<\/strong><\/a><strong>\/<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ndseg.org\/\"><strong>NDSEG<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <em>Thursday, October 23 @ 3:30 pm<\/em><\/strong> <em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This session is intended for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates beyond their first year<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">current graduate students<\/mark> in STEM-field majors. Learn about RISE, a three-month research internship in Germany (working language is English!), and SMART, a Department of Defense scholarship that provides funding for tuition and educational fees as well as summer research internships. The Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship is a prestigious fellowship awarded annually to U.S. citizens pursuing doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/X47utUX1KiNGRS7v5\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><strong>NSO General Information Session: <em>Wednesday, October 29 @ 3:00 pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This general information session is geared towards <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">all undergraduates<\/mark> who are new to VCU this fall \u2013 first-year and transfer students \u2013 but all are welcome! Learn about the NSO, the (inter)nationally-competitive awards we advise for, and how to make yourself a great candidate. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/1GxfZSy429iUaXtr7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>NOVEMBER<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pointfoundation.org\/\"><strong>Point Scholarship:<\/strong><\/a><strong> <em>Thursday, November 6 @ 11:00 am <\/em><\/strong><em>(Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Point Flagship Scholarship empowers LGBTQ <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduate<\/mark> and <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">graduate students<\/mark> to access and succeed in their education at accredited four-year institutions in the United States. Flagship scholarship recipients receive financial support, access to multiple leadership development programs, mentorship or coaching, and the support of a community of scholars and alumni. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/L7nUnjGNDWWuSjNU7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.udall.gov\/ourprograms\/scholarship\/scholarship.aspx\"><strong>Udall Scholarship<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <em>Wednesday, November 12 @ 2:00 pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aimed at <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">sophomores and juniors<\/mark> interested in tribal policy, the environment, or Native American healthcare, the Udall Scholarship provides its scholars with up to $7,000 and leadership development training. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/NyP7sFwb8Gud6Na66\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/new.nsf.gov\/funding\/initiatives\/reu\"><strong><em>NSF REU<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em> &amp; <\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amgenscholars.com\/\"><strong><em>Amgen Scholars<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>: Thursday, November 13 @ 2pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This session is aimed at <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">undergraduates<\/mark> interested in STEM research. The NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Amgen Scholars Program each fund summer research and mentoring at host institutions around the world. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/kQvJELGCZJCvXVpt9\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>DECEMBER<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cf370e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fulbright.org.uk\/going-to-the-uk\/uk-summer-institutes\"><strong>Fulbright UK Summer Institutes<\/strong><\/a>: <strong><em>Thursday, December 4 @ 3:30 pm<\/em><\/strong><em> (Hybrid)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This session is intended for <mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-green-cyan-color\">first- and second-year undergraduate students<\/mark> with a GPA of 3.7 or higher and little travel experience outside of the US. The Fulbright UK Summer Institutes are 3- or 4-week study abroad programs at prestigious universities in the UK, funded by the US-UK Fulbright Commission. <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/4xSDxAga4QBGGvLs7\"><strong>Register here!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Scholarship Office will present information sessions on the following awards throughout the fall semester. Click on the name of the award to go to the award program\u2019s website and click on \u201cRegister here!\u201d to register for our sessions. Zoom links will be provided to those who register.&nbsp; Opportunities for&nbsp;undergraduates are notated in green [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-2295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-information-sessions","tag-information-sessions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2291,"date":"2025-06-26T15:45:46","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2291"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:45:47","slug":"how-study-abroad-shaped-global-health-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/06\/26\/how-study-abroad-shaped-global-health-career\/","title":{"rendered":"From VCU to Harvard: How Study Abroad Shaped a Global Health Career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>VCU alumna Neha Pondicherry&#8217;s unconventional path shows how diverse experiences can lead to extraordinary opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:21% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"455\" height=\"595\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/06\/neha-pondicherry2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2294 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/06\/neha-pondicherry2.jpg 455w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/06\/neha-pondicherry2-229x300.jpg 229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 455px) 100vw, 455px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>When Neha stepped off the plane in Northern Ireland as a Virginia Commonwealth University freshman, she had no idea that a three-week study abroad program would reshape her entire career trajectory. Now completing her Master of Public Health at Harvard, she credits those early international experiences with opening doors she never imagined.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Spark: Immersion Over Tourism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Neha&#8217;s transformative journey began with\u00a0Meredith Sisson&#8217;s Honors College Study Abroad Program, exploring Catholic-Protestant conflicts in Northern Ireland. &#8220;That was the first time I had traveled by myself to a new country,&#8221; Neha recalled. &#8220;We had the opportunity to really delve into the depths of the conflicts from both sides.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The experience showed Neha the profound value of stepping outside her comfort zone and understanding communities completely unlike her own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Going Deeper: Spain and Self-Discovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Inspired by Northern Ireland, Neha spent her junior year in Sevilla, Spain. Beyond improving her Spanish, she discovered something deeper: the possibility of truly belonging somewhere entirely different from home. Her favorite memories include backpacking through Italy with international friends and painting with oil pastels in a park that once hosted the World Exhibition fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;By the end, I felt like I really could see myself living there for a few years,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Unconventional Pre-Med Path<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s where Neha&#8217;s story gets really interesting. While she did complete the typical pre-med requirements, including wet lab and dry lab research, she created her own interdisciplinary major in International Health, with a minor in Religious Studies at VCU. Most importantly, she balanced traditional pre-med activities with diverse experiences that genuinely interested her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I wasn&#8217;t a typical medical school applicant by any means,&#8221; Neha said. &#8220;The stuff that makes you stick out, the stuff that makes you a strong applicant, is all the extracurriculars that really showcase your passion.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neha attended the University of California, San Francisco, for medical school and then took a gap year during her studies to pursue her passion for global health by earning an M.P.H.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her advice to current students: &#8220;Find the stuff that fuels you and let it be diverse. Keep doing the stuff that makes you you and makes you unique.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>From Travel to Global Health Leadership<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Those international experiences weren&#8217;t just personal growth\u2014they laid the foundation for Neha&#8217;s career in global health. Combined with her Indian heritage and frequent trips to India, these experiences sparked her passion for understanding how public health systems function across different cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being selected as a Marshall Scholarship finalist, Neha received the Zuckerman Fellowship for Harvard&#8217;s M.P.H. program.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Being at Harvard for the last year was probably the best year of my life,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The VCU Foundation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout her journey, Neha credits VCU&#8217;s National Scholarship Office as instrumental to her success. NSO Director Jeff Wing and NSO Associate Director Meredith Sisson. Ph,D, have remained mentors long after graduation, helping with everything from scholarship interviews to medical school applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re really like ride or die for their alumni,&#8221; Neha said. &#8220;Mr. Wing met with me multiple times while I was applying to the Marshall Scholarship, and Dr. Sisson has helped me write my personal statement for every major application\u2014med school, M.P.H., residency.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Takeaway<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Neha&#8217;s message to students is refreshingly honest: don&#8217;t be afraid to color outside the lines of traditional academic expectations. If you&#8217;re choosing between extra shadowing hours and a unique internship opportunity, &#8220;do that,&#8221; she said. &#8220;That is unique, that is special, that will help you so much further along in your life.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her work with organizations such as Save the Children and Partners In Health builds directly on the cultural competency she developed through travel and study abroad. &#8220;Studying abroad just broadens your mental horizons,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Having the ability to empathize with people from different cultures is an amazing experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As she enters medical residency, Neha&#8217;s journey offers a powerful reminder: sometimes the most valuable education happens outside the traditional classroom, and the courage to pursue what genuinely interests you can lead to extraordinary opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The National Scholarship Office at VCU continues to support students and alumni pursuing prestigious fellowships and international opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VCU alumna Neha Pondicherry&#8217;s unconventional path shows how diverse experiences can lead to extraordinary opportunities. When Neha stepped off the plane in Northern Ireland as a Virginia Commonwealth University freshman, she had no idea that a three-week study abroad program would reshape her entire career trajectory. Now completing her Master of Public Health at Harvard, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":969,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-candidate-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2288,"date":"2025-05-29T16:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2288"},"modified":"2025-05-29T17:20:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T17:20:40","slug":"p-e-o-international-peace-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/05\/29\/p-e-o-international-peace-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Students Selected for Prestigious P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Marissa Price<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student has been selected as a recipient, and another has been waitlisted, for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peointernational.org\/educational-support\/international-peace-scholarship-fund\/\">Philanthropic Educational Organization\u2019s (P.E.O.) International Peace Scholarship<\/a>, a prestigious award for international women pursuing advanced graduate degrees in the United States and Canada.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:40% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"498\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/05\/GL_headshot.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2289 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/05\/GL_headshot.jpeg 498w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/05\/GL_headshot-300x293.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>VCU\u2019s Grace Lee (pictured left), is pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in the College of Humanities and Sciences with an expected graduation date of May 2029. Aibike Artykbaeva, who is pursuing her Ph.D. in epidemiology in the School of Public Health, with an expected graduation date of August 2029, has been named an alternate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Grace\u2019s Peace Scholarship award and Aibike\u2019s recognition from the PEO are celebrations of their exceptional academic achievements and research contributions. This prestigious award will further empower Grace\u2019s pioneering work, which exemplifies the kind of scholarly excellence and dedication to advancing health care that we celebrate at VCU,\u201d said Meredith Sisson, associate director of VCU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>National Scholarship Office<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 1949, the P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship (IPS) Fund has been helping women from around the world pursue graduate study in the U.S. and Canada. IPS recipients carry the spirit of P.E.O. back to their home countries, where the degrees they have earned positively impact people\u2019s lives around the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lee came to VCU with a bachelor\u2019s of arts in English Language and Literature and a master\u2019s of arts in Clinical Psychology from Korea University. There, she spent three years in the Psychopathology and Social Neuroscience Lab under Dr. Ji-Won Hur, where she investigated the neurobiological mechanisms behind destructive health outcomes, particularly nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis experience allowed me to lead several projects, resulting in first-author publications,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIt also instilled in me the joy of doing science with a greater purpose: making a difference for clinical populations.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon graduation, Lee plans to become a clinical psychologist and professor in South Korea, leading her own lab specializing in eating disorders and suicide. In the long term, Lee aspires to establish culturally adaptive, evidence-based care for eating disorders in her home country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Artykbaeva came to VCU with a medical doctor degree from the Kyrgyz State Medical Academy and a Master of Public Health from the Erasmus Mundus Joint Degree program, studying at both the University of Nicosia in Greece and the University of Oviedo in Spain. Prior to joining VCU\u2019s Ph.D. program in epidemiology, she worked as a program specialist at TB DIAH project, where she led large-scale analyses of tuberculosis data and facilitated national workshops to strengthen data-driven decision-making within Kyrgyzstan\u2019s health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aibike has also conducted international research on the mental health impact of COVID-19 among emergency service workers at Falck Ambulance, with data collected from four countries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy experience working with both frontline data and global partners showed me how meaningful public health research can truly be,\u201d Artykbaeva said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon graduation, Aibike aims to continue advancing evidence-based strategies for infectious disease control and health system strengthening, particularly in Central Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>VCU\u2019s National Scholarship Office assists students and alumni with applying for prestigious national and international scholarships, including the PEO International Peace Scholarship. To learn more about opportunities, visit the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong><em>NSO website<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em> and schedule an appointment.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Marissa Price One Virginia Commonwealth University graduate student has been selected as a recipient, and another has been waitlisted, for the Philanthropic Educational Organization\u2019s (P.E.O.) International Peace Scholarship, a prestigious award for international women pursuing advanced graduate degrees in the United States and Canada.&nbsp; VCU\u2019s Grace Lee (pictured left), is pursuing her Ph.D. in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":969,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scholarships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2278,"date":"2025-04-25T18:30:56","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2278"},"modified":"2025-04-25T18:30:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T18:30:58","slug":"fulbright-spotlight-vanessa-diaz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/04\/25\/fulbright-spotlight-vanessa-diaz\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulbright Spotlight: Vanessa Diaz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:29% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"599\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/diazhc.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2279 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/diazhc.jpg 599w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/diazhc-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/diazhc-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong>Name:<\/strong> Vanessa Diaz<br><strong>Major:<\/strong> Graphic Design<br><strong>Graduation Year:<\/strong> 2015<br><strong>Fulbright Program:<\/strong> ETA 2016-2017<br><strong>Country:<\/strong> Jordan<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:17px\"><strong>What made you want to apply for Fulbright in the first place?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an undergraduate, I was involved in many student organizations and activities, where I held leadership roles. My mentor, who still works in the VCU Global Education Office, came up to me one day and suggested that I apply for a Fulbright because she thought I would be a great candidate. She also knew me because I was a VCU Student Ambassador and had studied abroad at our sister campus in Qatar in 2014. I didn\u2019t know what Fulbright was until she mentioned it, so I looked into more. She was the reason I applied the first time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What was your most memorable experience during your grant year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My most memorable experience during my grant year was my dad\u2019s visit to Jordan. I introduced him to my group of friends. I took him on an incredible and nonstop adventure for a whole week including things like exploring Petra, swimming in the Red Sea, floating in the Dead Sea, getting soaked on water hikes, and camping in the same desert they filmed &#8220;Star Wars,&#8221; \u201cThe Martian\u201d and \u201cLawrence of Arabia.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"639\" data-id=\"2280\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_2.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_2-768x511.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2285\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_6-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_6-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_6-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_6-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_6-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_6-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What did a typical day look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would wake up and make myself breakfast, which would usually consist of a giant, warm tomato with cold cucumbers and hummus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After I was ready, I would walk down my street and take a taxi to a nearby neighborhood called Jabal-AlWebdeh, and get dropped off right by the elementary school. I would buy my lunch beforehand from a man who sold cheap sandwiches that often had eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus and eggplant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because I didn\u2019t have my own classroom, I would go into my supervisor\u2019s office, drop off my stuff, and make any edits to my lesson plan for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On any given day, I would have at least three classes to teach. The primary instructor was usually always in the back of the classroom, helping me with rowdy students or anything else I needed. My lesson plans were usually game-like or highly interactive, so my students enjoyed having me around. Their lesson plans were always based on what they were already learning, so it was mostly a review and helped with any upcoming tests they might have with their regular teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between classes, I would have some free time, during which I would attend recess to spend more time with the kids or work on an upcoming student event that I had volunteered to help with, such as making decorations or signs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After my day at school, I would travel to my group Arabic class, which involved taking a small bus back home. I took four Arabic classes a week, including group classes and one-on-one sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On certain days of the week, after Arabic classes, I would travel to a nearby city to volunteer with an organization called ReClaimed Childhood, which hosted an after-school sports program for refugee girls. This was not only amazing Arabic practice, but it was another mentorship opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the practice was over, the girls would go back on a school bus to get picked up by their parents. And I would carpool with a colleague back to my neighborhood. My days were jam-packed, but super fun!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2283\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_5-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_5-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_5-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_5-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_5-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_5-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2282\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_4-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_4-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_4-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_4-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Post-Fulbright, what are you doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After Fulbright, I served a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA Graphic Designer in Kentucky, working for a children\u2019s nonprofit that focused on social-emotional curriculum in schools. From 2019 to 2021, I worked as a Freelancer and was then hired by the LGBT Community Center in New York City as a Marketing Coordinator, where I worked for four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, I am focusing on Fulbright Latinx, an online community (and soon-to-be official nonprofit) that I co-founded in 2019. We have an alumni-run podcast, a mentorship program, and we highlight Latinx Fulbright alumni on our Instagram. I currently manage our team of eight Latinx alumni, who focus on grant-writing, digital communications, community events, and mentorship. Additionally, we work with the State Department, the Fulbright Association and several universities to conduct virtual webinars, presentations, and offer awareness of our resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2281\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2284\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2284\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" data-id=\"2286\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_7-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_7-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_7-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_7-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_7-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/04\/Diaz_7-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What advice would you give to prospective Fulbright applicants?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Write about your quirky hobbies and interests in your application, and use that to make friends with locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s really important for folks outside the United States to understand how vastly nuanced and different everyone\u2019s lived experience is as an American. The more we share ideas of diversity, the better understanding people can have of the U.S., and break down walls of prejudice and stereotypes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\">The Fulbright Program<\/a> is sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program operates in over 160 countries worldwide. Over 2,000 grants are given to graduating seniors, recent alumni, and graduate students to conduct research, carry out creative projects, pursue a year of postgraduate study, or teach English abroad.VCU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>National Scholarship Office (NSO)<\/strong><\/a> assists students and recent alumni with the application process for the Fulbright Program and other esteemed awards. To learn more about external funding opportunities, <a href=\"https:\/\/nso.youcanbook.me\/\"><strong>schedule an appointment<\/strong><\/a> with a member of the NSO staff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Name: Vanessa DiazMajor: Graphic DesignGraduation Year: 2015Fulbright Program: ETA 2016-2017Country: Jordan What made you want to apply for Fulbright in the first place? As an undergraduate, I was involved in many student organizations and activities, where I held leadership roles. My mentor, who still works in the VCU Global Education Office, came up to me [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2278\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2277,"date":"2025-04-01T19:59:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T19:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2277"},"modified":"2025-04-01T20:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T20:00:15","slug":"goldwater-scholarship-nominations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/04\/01\/goldwater-scholarship-nominations\/","title":{"rendered":"Goldwater Scholarship Nominations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The National Scholarship Office is proud to announce VCU\u2019s four 2025 Goldwater Scholarship Nominees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shreya Balasani<\/strong> is a junior biology major.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leiliani Clark<\/strong> is a junior bioinformatics major.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rohit Paradkar<\/strong> is a sophomore bioinformatics major.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Varsha Penumalee <\/strong>is a sophomore biology major.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Goldwater Scholarship Program, which honors the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Each four-year university can nominate up to four students each year. The Goldwater Scholarship will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Established by Congress in 1986 and conferring scholarships since 1989, the Goldwater program encourages students to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Since 2006, 18 VCU undergraduate researchers have been named Goldwater Scholars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All four nominees applied for the Goldwater Scholarship through the National Scholarship Office, which assists VCU students and alumni who wish to compete for prestigious national and international scholarships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship on their <a href=\"https:\/\/goldwaterscholarship.gov\/\">website<\/a>.\u00a0Any student interested in pursuing the Goldwater Scholarship or other external funding opportunities can <a href=\"https:\/\/nso.youcanbook.me\/\">schedule an appointment<\/a> with a member of the NSO staff.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Scholarship Office is proud to announce VCU\u2019s four 2025 Goldwater Scholarship Nominees: The Goldwater Scholarship Program, which honors the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Each four-year university can nominate up to four students each [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-2277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-goldwater","tag-goldwater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":2268,"date":"2025-03-28T17:04:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/?p=2268"},"modified":"2025-03-28T17:56:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:56:26","slug":"fulbright-spotlight-maya-barnes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/2025\/03\/28\/fulbright-spotlight-maya-barnes\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulbright Spotlight: Maya Barnes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>VCU alumna Maya Barnes spent one year in Thailand, fully funded by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Learn more about what Fulbright could look like for you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:31% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_8-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2276 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_8-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_8-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_8-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_8-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_8-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Name: <\/strong>Maya Barnes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Major<\/strong>: International Social Justice Studies<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Graduation Year: <\/strong>2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Fulbright Program: <\/strong>\u00a0ETA 2021-2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Country: <\/strong>Thailand<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What program\/country did you choose and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I chose the English Teaching Assistant program in Thailand; I had never been to Asia, and I was interested in learning more about Buddhism while I was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What made you want to apply for Fulbright in the first place?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Someone from the NSO reached out while I was doing another English teaching program in Spain in 2019 and asked if I&#8217;d be interested in applying. I hadn&#8217;t considered doing so until then, so I figured it could be a unique opportunity to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2269\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_1.jpg 1477w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2271\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_3-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_3-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_3-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_3-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_3-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_3-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What was your most memorable experience during your grant year?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were several, but one that stands out was my internship in Chiang Mai at a local non-profit that empowers sex workers. I taught English to a group of women and formed strong connections with many of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What did a typical day look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During my grant, I taught about three classes a day, with a lunch break in between. After school, I typically walked around campus, played badminton with students, or participated in an aerobic exercise class in town. Sometimes, my school also hosted after-school events for teachers and students that I joined. In the evening, I would either cook a meal at home or ride my bike into town to stop by a food cart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" data-id=\"2272\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_4-1024x769.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_4-1024x769.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_4-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_4-768x577.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_4-1536x1154.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_4-2048x1539.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"2275\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_7-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_7-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_7-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_7-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_7.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What did you discover about yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I discovered how adaptable I can be in new and unfamiliar situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Post-Fulbright, what are you doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I work for a remote education tech company supporting non-traditional college students. I am a Student Success Advocate and communicate with students via our text message service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"2274\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_6-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_6-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_6-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_6-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_6-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_6.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"2270\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_2-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_2-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_2-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_2-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In what ways did your Fulbright program inform your current\/future path? Anything unexpected?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My Fulbright experience made me realize I wanted to work in education in some capacity, even if it wasn&#8217;t teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What advice would you give to prospective Fulbright applicants?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I advise prospective applicants to identify their personal connection to their Fulbright country or program. This can help make their application more meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_5-1024x766.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_5-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_5-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_5-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/620\/2025\/03\/Barnes_5.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/us.fulbrightonline.org\/\">The Fulbright Program<\/a> is sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program operates in over 160 countries worldwide. Over 2,000 grants are given to graduating seniors, recent alumni, and graduate students to conduct research, carry out creative projects, pursue a year of postgraduate study, or teach English abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">VCU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nso.vcu.edu\/\"><strong>National Scholarship Office (NSO)<\/strong><\/a> assists students and recent alumni with the application process for the Fulbright Program and other esteemed awards. To learn more about external funding opportunities, <a href=\"https:\/\/nso.youcanbook.me\/\"><strong>schedule an appointment<\/strong><\/a> with a member of the NSO staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Some text has been edited for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VCU alumna Maya Barnes spent one year in Thailand, fully funded by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Learn more about what Fulbright could look like for you! Name: Maya Barnes Major: International Social Justice Studies Graduation Year: 2017 Fulbright Program: \u00a0ETA 2021-2022 Country: Thailand What program\/country did you choose and why? I chose the English [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":969,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[28,29],"class_list":["post-2268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fulbright","category-fulbright-eta-award","tag-fulbright","tag-eta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/natlscholar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]