Five Loyola Marymount University graduates have been awarded Fulbright grants to study and teach English in Spain, Israel, Taiwan and Mexico during the 2019-20 academic year.

The alumni, including three members of the Class of 2019, represent a range of degree programs from the school’s Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and the School of Education. Those awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants are:

  • Sofia Dueñas ’19, who earned a master’s degree in urban education while completing Teach for America service. Dueñas will teach English in Spain.
  • Anna Joyce ’17, B.A., psychology, who will study conflict resolution and mediation at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
  • Samantha Leung, ’19, B.A., psychology, who will teach English in Taiwan.
  • Carlos Mesa-Baron ’19, B.A., international relations. Mesa-Baron will participate in a binational internship program in Mexico, take international business courses and intern at a Mexican corporation.
  • Carmina Portea ’18, M.A., education, who will teach English in Spain.

Another three LMU graduates were named alternates for the country programs to which they applied: Clara Brackbill, ’17, B.A., political science, Rwanda; Samantha Davis, ’19, B.A., philosophy, Croatia; and Lindsay Grosvenor, ’18, B.A., psychology, Malta.

Roughly 1,900 student grants are awarded annually based on applicants’ academic merit and leadership potential. Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program has given more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and others the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. It operates today in more than 160 countries.

LMU has been named a top producer of U.S. Fulbright students among Master’s institutions by The Chronicle of Higher Education four of the past five years. Since 1991, LMU students and alumni have won more than 52 US Fulbright student fellowships.

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