LOS ANGELES — Two Loyola Marymount University graduates have been awarded prestigious Fulbright grants to serve as teaching assistants abroad in the coming academic year, while another LMU alumna was selected to join a competitive international program for aspiring entrepreneurs and business professionals.
LMU’s Fulbright U.S. Student Program finalists are: Carlo Juntilla, M.A. ’20, urban education, who will serve as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan; and Jaida Macklin ’20, English, who will serve as an English teaching assistant in South Korea. In joining the Fulbright ETA Program, these educators will provide assistance to English teachers in classrooms abroad while also serving as U.S. cultural ambassadors.
Additionally, Fassa Sar ’18, political science, was honored with the Fulbright Program’s University College London Entrepreneurship Award, only one of which is offered annually for applicants wishing to pursue a one-year MSc in Entrepreneurship at University College
London (UCL). The program is designed for those who intend to start and run high-impact, innovative businesses.
“As the global pandemic changed our world last year, these ambitious graduates were not deterred, and continued to pursue their passions for teaching and studying abroad,” said Roberta Espinoza, LMU vice provost for Global-Local Initiatives. “I congratulate them on their awards and selections during a particularly competitive grant cycle.”
They are: Rebecca Davenport ’21, biology, Global Wales Postgraduate Award; Alyssa Miree ’17, communication studies, English teaching assistant to Italy; Sophia Notter ’21, international relations, Fulbright-Schuman Antall József Brussels Award; and Jyoti Uppal, M.A. ’19, urban education, English teaching assistant to India.
The applicants were supported by LMU’s Office of National and International Fellowships, which is part of Global-Local Initiatives. ONIF assists students and alumni interested in pursuing external fellowships that support their academic and career goals.
LMU’s finalists and alternates were selected from a record number of Fulbright applications. Because COVID-19 restrictions resulted in the program’s global suspension last spring, a cohort of 2,200 grantees is expected to participate in awards during the 2021-22 academic year that includes 2020-21 Fulbrighters who have not yet been able to start their program due to COVID-19, as well as those selected this spring for the 2021-22 cycle.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the country’s largest exchange program, offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide.
