7 from UNL receive national awards for research, language, culture study

Several University of Nebraska-Lincoln students have received prestigious scholarships for international study. Information on recipients follows, including hometown, scholarship, students' plans to use the scholarship, and academic background of students if available.

Fulbright scholarships

Dominique Ellis of Lincoln, a fine arts graduate, has spent the last two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. Her Fulbright award will enable her to spend a year in Egypt working on a printmaking project.

Jeremy Emerson of Columbus received his master's in architecture and community and regional planning from UNL in May 2007 and will conduct Fulbright research in Mexico. He will be working in and around Guadalajara, exploring housing solutions for the urban poor. Emerson has been working as an architect in London for the past two years.

Nithal Kuwa of Lincoln, a master's student in biological sciences, will travel to Zambia this fall to conduct research on HIV. Originally from Sudan, Kuwa graduated from Lincoln High School.

National Security Education Program Boren Award

John Berrout of Brownsville, Texas, will travel to Venezuela for the fall semester on a Boren scholarship. He is a junior majoring in English and Spanish. Berrout was one of 130 students chosen from 896 applicants nationwide. He will study Spanish and sustainable economic and civic development.

Critical Language Scholarships

Sophomore Jessie Cleveland of Grand Forks, N.D., majors in political science and international studies. She will use her scholarship this summer to study Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, in Lucknow, India.

Senior Racheal Strong of Grand Island graduated in May with a degree in international studies and Spanish. She will use her scholarship to study Mandarin Chinese in Suzhou, China. She intends to apply for a Fulbright in the fall to return to China to conduct research in economics.

German Academic Exchange Service Research Internship in Science and Engineering

Sophomore Stephanie Berger of Sioux Falls, S.D., majors in biological systems engineering and biochemistry. She will participate in an internship funded by the German Academic Exchange Service's Research Internships in Science and Engineering program, and the American Chemical Society's International Research Experience for Undergraduates program. She will spend the summer researching nucleic acid-based immobilization of active molecules on the surface of titanium-based implants in Germany.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright program aims to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright program provides funding for students, scholars, teachers and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools.

Boren Scholarships fund U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S interests and often underrepresented in the area of study abroad.

Critical Language Scholarships are funded through the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.