Academic Honors and Fellowships
2007 Boren Scholarship Recipients
Doreen Grosvirt-Dramen
Economics/International Relations Major
The National Security Education Program seeks to enhance U.S. understanding of foreign cultures, strengthen economic competitiveness, and ensure national security by fully funding students to enter a study abroad program outside of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe with intent to learn a new language. Doreen will spend an academic year in Israel studying both Hebrew and Arabic at the Hebrew University. As an Economics and International Relations double major, Doreen intends to continue her studies on economic development and regional security while enrolled in the Hebrew University Honors Program.
2007 Critical Language Scholarship Recipients
Noelle Miller studied Bangla in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Rebecca Loewenstein studied Chinese in Suzhou, China.
2007 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant Recipients
Brittney Bailey
Bachelor of Arts, International Relations/Spanish
Brittney will spend her Fulbright year in Colombia, conducting a project entitled, “Esperanza Negra: Multicultural Education Initiatives in Colombia.” She intends to combine coursework at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá with a research project investigating the implementation of an Afro-Colombian perspective into the university curriculum.
Priyanka Basu
Doctor of Philosophy, Art History
Priyanka, who was born in India and immigrated with her family at age 8, is from Mt. Prospect, Ill. She will spend her Fulbright year in Germany conducting dissertation research, examining case studies of art history’s attempts to demarcate and expand its boundaries in relation to other fields during the years 1880-1925, during which an array of new objects previously considered unfit for scholarly study came under its purview.
Kristina Buhrman
Doctor of Philosophy, History
A doctoral student in History at USC, Kristina will conduct dissertation research in Japan during her Fulbright year. Her project will analyze the political and cultural assumptions that motivated rituals that were performed to ward off disaster in Japan from 710 to 1335. Through the study of these rituals, she seeks to demonstrate how those in power defined their role with regards to the population and the natural and supernatural worlds, and how this view alternately corresponded with or differed from other definitions of the meaning of disaster circulating in Japan at the time.
Nichole Hornig
Bachelor of Arts, American Studies and Ethnicity/Spanish
Nichole has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant in Spain. In addition to teaching English as a Second Language, she intends to conduct a research project involving the study of language acquisition in children before the age of seven. Her research will examine Spanish schools’ approaches to early language education.
Diana Lin
Bachelor of Arts, Communication and English (Creative Writing)
During her Fulbright year in China, Diana will enroll in Shanghai’s Fudan University, and will conduct research concerning the evolution of modern written Chinese language on the past fifty years. She intends to examine the effects of these language changes within the nation, and how they are leading to issues of identity for ethnic Chinese living in other nations. Diana’s future plans include graduate study in International Relations or Global Business.
Anthony Phillips
Bachelor of Arts, Neuroscience
Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences
A recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant to South Korea, Anthony will also pursue opportunities to get involved in volunteer organizations during his Fulbright year. Having studied abroad in Spain and the United Kingdom during his undergraduate years, this recent graduate looks forward to broadening his international perspective through the time he will spend in Korea.
Amelia Paukert
Bachelor of Arts, International Relations
Bachelor of Science, Geological Sciences
Amelia has been awarded a Fulbright grant to conduct research in Kazakhstan. She will spend her Fulbright year researching challenges of water rights treaties that govern the Syr Darya River, with the intention of identifying sustainable solutions for the distribution of this primary freshwater resource. Her research will include interviews with academics at universities in Almaty and goverment officials to get firsthand accounts of the political and scieitfic preparation for the treaties.
Tania Rezai
Bachelor of Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies (Global Health)
Tania’s Fulbright award is for study and research in Spain. Her project will examine effects of minority status and cultural background on sexual and reproductive health. Her specific focus will be on Muslim North African women in Spain, and will assess the impact of socioeconomic status, level of assimilation and acculturation, years since immigration, and degree of religiosity on attitudes toward utilization of prenatal health care services.
Zain Shauk
Bachelor of Arts, Print Journalism
Zain has been awarded a Fulbright grant for a research project in Jordan. He will study efforts of the Jordanian Kingdom to influence the media as part of a campaign to build nationalism. He also intends to continue study of Arabic during his Fulbright year. Zain eventually plans to pursue a career in journalism as a reporter on foreign affairs in the Middle East.
2007 Luce Scholars
Miles Killingsworth
Bachelor of Science, Astronautical Engineering
Miles Killingsworth, a USC student completing a bachelors degree in Astronautical Engineering, was named as one of eighteen Luce Scholars selected nationally. Miles will spend a year in Asia during 2007-2008 completing an internship that will be arranged in consultation with the Asia Foundation later this semester. His long-term plans are to attend graduate school to continue his engineering studies with a focus on renewable energy research. Miles is also interested in attending law school in the future, eventually merging his interests in science and politics to bring technical expertise to the formation of solutions for social problems. Miles is USC’s 13th Luce Scholar overall, and 6th since 2000.
2007 Marshall Scholars
Colin Koproske
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science/Humanities (Music)
Colin will obtain a double Major from USC in Political Science and Humanities (Music) in May 2007, and will be studying for a Master of Philosophy in Political Theory at the University of Oxford. His research interests are secularism and the relationship between religion, science, and political thought, and he would like to eventually earn a PhD. He is also a classically trained percussionist, pianist, and professional jazz musician. While at USC, he started a non-profit organization called the BrainTrust Project that aims to promote connections between policy-relevant scholarship, government decision-making, and public understanding. With an entrepreneurial spirit and boundless energy, Colin has set forth to break down barriers between scholarly knowledge and the communities that can most benefit from such information. Colin is USC’s fifth Marshall Scholar recipient since 2000, and the seventh overall.
2007 Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship Recipients
Alejandro Sueldo
Bachelor of Arts, International Relations
Alejandro will complete his bachelor’s degree in International Relations in May 2007. Beginning in July 2007, Alejandro will carry out a study and research project at Saint-Petersburg State University in St. Petersburg, Russia. Alejandro aims to examine the generational transformation underway in Russian society, with particular focus on its youth. Alejandro’s research interests include foreign policy analysis, international security, humanitarian intervention, diplomacy and leadership. His research and volunteer work has taken him as far as South Africa, with the local Red Cross Society, and to Ecuador with the Organization of American States. While at USC, Alejandro was actively involved with the American Red Cross, the USC Teaching International Relations Program, and the USC Trojan Rugby Team. A globetrotter at heart, Alejandro would like to eventually earn a Masters Degree that specializes in development and public affairs, and aspires to work in academia along with a career in diplomacy.