Clark Becomes Alma’s 20th Fulbright Scholar
Chelsea Clark was in a Netherlands hostel when she checked her email and received a happy surprise: Official notification had arrived that she had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English and study climate change in Malaysia.
“My original reaction was one of shock,” says Clark, a Coopersville native who was traveling in Europe with an Alma College Spring Term class on human rights. “There were a lot of tears from me and hugs from my friends on the trip.”
Clark continues a strong legacy of national scholarship recipients at Alma College. She becomes Alma’s 20th Fulbright Scholar since 2003, and she is the third Alma College graduate from the 2011 graduating class to receive a Fulbright.
Chelsea Clark
A graduate of Coopersville High School, she is the daughter of Kelley and Kathryn Clark.
Clark leaves for Malaysia in January after finishing a semester at the University of Denver for International Development. In addition to teaching English in a yet-to-be-identified school, she plans to research the affects of climate change on the people of the Pacific island and volunteer with a Malaysian non-governmental organization.
“My proposal includes using art as a tool for teaching English as well as incorporating information communication technologies into the classroom,” she says. “I also plan to research the effects of climate change on migration and natural disasters. I have done a lot of research on this topic while at Alma. I’m excited to do hands-on research for my year in Malaysia.”
Global study is not new to Clark. In addition to her Spring Term class in Europe, she received Posey Global Fellowships for study in Thailand and Uganda during her four years at Alma. In addition, she was a member of Alma’s Model United Nations team that represented Tuvalu, a small island in the Pacific Ocean, during the national finals last month in New York City.
Earlier this spring, Lisa Biering of Williamston and Mike Malloy of Laingsburg received their Fulbright Award notifications. Biering heads to Indonesia to teach English and study gender issues. Malloy travels to Spain to teach English and research alternative education programs for immigrant students.
Student applications for the Fulbright Scholarship are reviewed and approved by the National Screening Committee of the Institute of International Education, the coordinating body for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The applications are forwarded to the Fulbright commissions in the projects' countries, which select recipients from all candidates applying in those countries. The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board makes the final selections.
The U.S. Student Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State to give recent undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young professionals a chance for an international experience and personal development.
Alma’s Nationally Competitive Scholarship Committee helps finalists search for appropriate postgraduate scholarships, then reviews the proposals and applications. Alma’s committee identifies and nurtures exceptional candidates for nationally competitive scholarships, grants and awards.
Posted: Fri, May 27th, 2011 at 8:00AM
