4 Rice University graduates receive Fulbright grants

Four Rice University graduates have received 2018 Fulbright grants to study, teach and/or conduct research in a foreign country.

The Fulbright Scholarship Program sponsors U.S. and foreign participants for exchanges in all areas of endeavor, including the sciences, business, academe, public service, government and the arts and aims to bring “a little more knowledge, a little more reason and a little more compassion into world affairs.”

Below are Rice’s Fulbright grant recipients and their travel plans:

Rebecca Federman

Rebecca Federman ’18 will return to Spain, where she studied abroad through Rice in spring 2017. She will serve as an English teaching assistant in the Canary Islands, working with elementary-aged children.

The triple major who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in cognitive sciences, psychology and Spanish and Portuguese hopes to use her Fulbright year to reflect on how she can put her studies to best use upon graduation. “During my time abroad, I look forward to finding common ground with people who are from an entirely different culture and background while giving others tools to communicate in English,” Federman said. “I believe that, through sharing my own story, it will be possible to find commonalities between us and support peace and friendship on a larger scale between our respective countries.”

Anna Gabrielle Figueroa

Anna Gabrielle Figueroa ‘18, who recently graduated with a double Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and Spanish and Portuguese, will spend nine months in Mexico as an English teaching assistant and plans to continue traveling in Latin America after her Fulbright fellowship ends. The former runner for the Rice women’s cross-country team also hopes to establish an after-school running club for her students in Mexico. “In my own language-learning experience,” Figueroa said, “I found that conversing while running or enjoying another activity with people makes language learning that much more enjoyable.”

Figueroa’s long-term plans include studying international or immigration law to promote better cross-cultural communication, especially between the U.S. and Mexico. “I am mixed race and many people would not picture me to be the ‘stereotypical American,’” she said. “However, that is the complicated reality of the world. I hope to foster conversations in and out of the classroom of what it means to be Mexican, what it means to be American and how those identities are dynamic and may overlap.”

Shruthi Velidi

Shruthi Velidi ’18, who graduated with honors and distinction with a Bachelor of Arts degree in cognitive sciences, plans to work at the Nordic Centre for Internet and Society in Oslo, Norway. She will research internet privacy and data protection, with a specific focus on youth digital participation, in collaboration with Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.

“Fulbright will allow me to begin exploring the complex interactions between humans and technology in our increasingly digitized world,” Velidi said. She hopes to contribute to “promoting a collaborative dialog on youth privacy in the digital age across Norway, the rest of Europe and the United States.”

Sarah Wozniak

Sarah Wozniak ’18, who graduated with a double Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French and a minor in biochemistry and cell biology, will teach English in Indonesia and work toward becoming fluent in Indonesian.

“Language and education — two of the most important ways through which people can come to understand each other, regardless of nationality — are crucial to supporting more peaceful relationships, both internationally and domestically,” she said. “I hope that by working as a teaching assistant, I will support my host community’s efforts to further the Fulbright program’s goal of promoting international understanding and cooperation while gaining valuable experience to allow me to continue that mission after returning to the U.S.”

Catherine Nicholson ’16 was named an alternate recipient, a candidate who can be promoted to finalist status if additional funding becomes available.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 and named for William Fulbright, who served more than 30 years in the U.S. Congress and had the longest tenure as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His vision for mutual understanding shaped the exchange program bearing his name. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit www.cies.org.