WASHINGTON, D.C. – Upon receiving word from the State Department on this year’s Fulbright Scholarship recipients from the fifth congressional district, Congressman John E. Peterson, R-Pleasantville, commended these individuals for their outstanding academic achievements.
“I’d like to offer my utmost praise to these 13 accomplished scholars. Fulbrights are allotted to America’s most deserved and talented individuals,” remarked Peterson, a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that sets the level of funding for the Education Department. “These talented individuals, selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership in their respective fields, have much to be proud of. And Pennsylvania is very proud of them.”
The Fulbright recipients from Peterson’s district are as follows:
Dr. Anthony Warren of Penn State University (PSU) who will study in the Czech Republic; Dr. Clement Coburn Hawes of PSU (Germany); Dr. Eileen Fabian Wheeler of PSU (Norway); Dr. Karen Treat Keifer-Boyd of PSU (Finland); Dr. Linda Stump Rashidi of Mansfield University (Bulgaria); Dr. Melissa W. Wright of PSU (Mexico); Dr. Michael M. Naydan of PSU (Ukraine); Dr. Suet-Ling Pong of PSU (Hong Kong); Miss Laura M. Savino of PSU (Korea); Mr. Brian Molanphy of PSU (France); Mr. Christian A. Williams of the University of Michigan (Namibia); Ms. Jeannette E. Miller of PSU (France); and Ms. Leigh E. Cressman of Smith College (Germany).
“The Fulbright Program offers a terrific opportunity for folks to get the chance to see how other countries approach education. We have had a number of constituents participate in this prestigious program who’ve came away from their international educational exchanges with new ideas that they then bring back to Pennsylvania,” said Peterson. “I also have to say, these success stories serve as an encouraging example that every student, teacher, and professor can reach their academic goal through hard work and dedication.”
The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international exchange program, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Established by Congress in 1946, the Program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world. Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has exchanged over a quarter of a million people in over 150 countries worldwide. An annual congressional appropriation, along with significant contributions from participating governments and the private sector in the U.S. and abroad, fund the Program.
