Four Dickinsonians Awarded Fulbrights
From left: Julia Barone ’22, Mac Tambussi ’23 and Cassandra DiPierro '23. Not pictured: Evan Bates '23. Photo by Dan Loh.
The college's long history of Fulbright success continues as a recent graduate and three seniors are named
Four Dickinson students have been awarded Fulbright grants, one of the most prestigious international exchange programs in the world. This builds on the college's Fulbright success, which was recently recognized when the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs named Dickinson a top Fulbright producer for the ninth time in the past 11 years.
This year, Julia Barone ’22 (English; French & Francophone studies) will be an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Luxembourg, and Mac Tambussi ’23 (international business & management) and Evan Bates '23 will be ETAs in Germany. Cassandra DiPierro ’23 (psychology; health studies certificate) will receive a Graduate Studies Award.
“Dickinson consistently emphasized the need for global learning in and out of the classroom," says Barone, adding that the experience will help her explore her interests in teaching, language and cultural conversation. “The Fulbright program’s centralization of cultural exchange and open dialogue felt familiar to me after my time at Dickinson, and I believe that this experience will allow me to adapt and apply the skills I’ve gained here in exciting and important ways.”
For more than 75 years, the Fulbright Program has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It’s designed to increase mutual understanding between the United States and other countries, and Fulbright scholars are selected on the basis of academic achievement, leadership potential and a commitment to public service.
“Dickinson helped me immensely through the Fulbright process—they were with me step by step, especially when it came to writing the statement of grant purpose and my personal statement,” says Tambussi, noting that he applied because of his love for the German culture and language. “In addition to all the support from my Fulbright team, the support from professors in both the departments of German and international business & management was crucial to getting through this long and grueling process. I could not thank my Fulbright team and my professors enough for their support in this process.”
The Fulbright Program has awarded over 390,000 scholarships to students, scholars and professionals from the United States and other countries. Fulbright alumni have gone on to make significant contributions in all fields, including government, business, education, the arts and science.
“When I began researching graduate programs for a master of public health, I had an interest in learning about health equity and how this was applied in other health care systems,” says DiPierro, adding that with Canada’s universal health care, the country would be the perfect place to study these topics. “Throughout my college experience, Dickinson provided me with many opportunities that have allowed me to grow academically and professionally, such as the Presidential Fellowship Program, student-faculty research and working for the Center for Civic Learning & Action. These experiences, in addition to the connections I’ve made with faculty and staff helped me to put forth the best application I could.”
In the six months leading up to the Fulbright nomination deadline, many rising seniors and recent graduates worked closely with the Office of Experiential Learning & Fellowships and Dickinson’s Fulbright Program Advisors (Amity Fox, Sarah Kersh, Liz Lewis, Jorge Sagastume and Dan Schubert). Applying to competitive and prestigious opportunities like the Fulbright are win-win, regardless of the final result. Throughout the application process, Dickinson students and alumni receive hands-on support from faculty and staff while building skills, experience and knowledge that can help them to launch into fellowships/jobs/internships, apply to graduate schools and pursue future opportunities. It’s important to plan ahead, especially with opportunities that require nomination by Dickinson. For more information, visit Dickinson’s Fulbright Program website or contact fulbright@dickinson.edu.
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Published April 25, 2023