2006 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant Recipients
Alexander Avina
Doctorate of Philosophy in History
Alexander Avina, currently a Ph.D student in history, will be traveling to Mexico to study the emergence of social movements during the 1960s, particularly the peasant Partido de los Pobres in the state of Guerrero and the Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre, founded in Guadalajara.This project intends to contribute to, and profit from, the democratic transition initiated in 1988 by Cuauhtemoc Cardenas and continued by President Vicente Fox in 2002.
Nathan Collett
Master of Fine Arts in Film Production
Nathan Collett, a graduate student completing his Master’s of Fine Arts in Film Production will travel to Kenya to conduct a collaborative research project that focuses on collecting and transcribing narrative short stories with cinematic potential from the informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. His intention is to produce a series of stories that portray urban life in Kenya by depicting the culture, creativity and humanity in Nairobi’s slum neighborhoods.
John Leisure
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History
John Leisure, a senior whose previous honors include membership in Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies, will complete his bachelor’s degree in history and political science in May. His Fulbright year will be spent in Japan researching Japanese cities and urbanism, focusing on the city of Kanazawa in early Meiji times. John’s future plans include pursuit of a Ph.D. in Japanese Studies and eventually a degree in International Law. His selection as a Fulbright Scholar indicates that John is well on his way toward these goals.
Andrew Orihuela
Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature and Music
Andrew Orihuela, completing his B.A. in comparative literature and music, was awarded the Fulbright to Uruguay. Andrew plans to study how the diffusion of American popular culture in Latin America has impacted traditionally negative perceptions of America in Uruguay, taking Uruguayan literature and rock music as points of departure. His project will include studies of twentieth century Uruguayan literature and popular music juxtaposed with a series of interviews with members of the Montevideo rock community.
Kaitlin Solimine
Master of Arts degree in East Asian Area Studies
Kaitlin is currently pursuing the Master of Arts degree in East Asian Area Studies. During her junior year of high school, Kaitlin participated in a semester of study in China. Then, as an undergraduate at Harvard University, she was awarded a research grant for study of International Relations at Beijing University. For her Fulbright, Kaitlin will return to China to undertake an ambitious creative writing project that uses the literary form of creative non-fiction and anthropological life history as tools for investigating differences between Chinese and Western culture, as well as China’s history over the past half-century.
Amanda Weiss
Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies and Film Production
As a double major in East Asian Studies and Film Production, Amanda will complete her bachelor’s degree in May. A Mortar Board inductee and Thematic Option honors program participant at USC, Amanda received a USC Freeman Fellowship to spend the summer of 2004 in Taipei, Taiwan. As a Fulbright scholar, Amanda will travel to China to perform a comparative study of portrayal of women in Chinese cinema. This project, to be conducted at the Beijing Film Academy, will focus on the work of several leading contemporary male and female directors in China.
2006 Luce Scholars
Roberto C. Padilla
Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts in Communication/Communication Management
Roberto Padilla, a USC student completing a dual BA Communication/MA Communication Management, was named as one of eighteen Luce Scholars selected nationally. Robert and the other Luce Scholars will spend a year in Asia during 2006-2007 completing internships at various organizations. These placements are arranged by the Asia Foundation, and Robert will learn of his destination later this semester. Robert’s academic focus is children’s media, and he is dedicated to pursuing a career that will allow him to improve the children’s media landscape. He is a Norman Topping Scholarship recipient at USC, and in May will become the first member of his family to complete a college degree. Robert is USC’s 13th Luce Scholar overall, and his selection represents the third USC student winner in the past four years (joining Bobby Cochran in 2003 and Sam Bazzi in 2005).