Meet the 2016 Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors!

On Thursday, December 10, 2015, 20 newly selected Fulbright U.S. Student Program Alumni Ambassadors met in Washington, DC to receive training on how to promote and recruit for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Staff members from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the Institute of International Education (IIE), along with previous Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors, shared tips on effectively presenting the impact, innovativeness, and inclusiveness of Fulbright Program opportunities. The orientation workshop emphasized the unique and important role that Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors play in inspiring a diverse range of students, artists, and early career professionals – as well as the Fulbright Program Advisers and college administrators who support them – to learn more about the Fulbright Program and the power of educational and cultural exchange.

This year’s group was joined by notable Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumnus, Alex Counts (1988-1989, Bangladesh), Founder and past President and CEO of the Grameen Foundation, who shared how his Fulbright experiences continue to have an impact on his professional and non-professional life. Alex encouraged the 2016 Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors to share their Fulbright story and utilize the skills and cultural competencies they acquired as Fulbrighters with everyone they meet as representatives of the Program and beyond.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Alumni Ambassador Program was established in 2008 to identify, train and engage a select group of approximately 15-20 Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumni to serve as representatives, recruiters and spokespersons for the Fulbright Program. They are selected annually through recommendations from Fulbright Commissions, U.S. Embassy staff, area managers, and the Fulbright Student Program Outreach Division, and approved by the Fulbright Program’s sponsor, ECA. Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors come from an array of different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, states, fields of study, and institutions and have participated in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in all world areas.

Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors represent the program’s rich diversity and play a key role in increasing knowledge about Fulbright opportunities. They provide testimonials about their Fulbright experiences at conferences and campus presentations, and offer application tips in written articles, during webinars and at special events throughout the United States.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program relies on the Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors to share with potential applicants what the Fulbright experience is really like and how to successfully address the challenges of living abroad while meeting the Fulbright Program’s ultimate goal – to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Here’s a preview of the 2016 Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors:

Alex Anderson
Current City: Los Angeles, CA
Institution: Swarthmore College
Fulbright U.S. Student in Sculpture – China, 2014-2015

Rafael Camacho, Jr.
Current City: Tucson, AZ
At-Large
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Brazil, 2014-2015

Chane Corp
Current City: Portland, ME
Institution: Sewanee: The University of the South
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Tajikistan, 2014-2015

Mathieu Davis
Current City: Philadelphia, PA
Institution: University of Michigan
Fulbright U.S. Student in Engineering – South Africa, 2013-2014

David Fleming
Current City: Anchorage, AK
At-Large
Fulbright U.S. Student in Business – Mexico, 2013-2014

Christina Galardi
Current City: Columbia, SC
Institution: University of South Carolina, Columbia
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – South Korea, 2012-2013

Emmanuel Johnson
Current City: Los Angeles, CA
Institution: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Fulbright U.S. Student in Engineering – United Kingdom, 2013-2014

Hannah Jones
Current City: Tucson, AZ
At-Large
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Jordan, 2014-2015

Daniel Koehler
Current City: Brooklyn, NY
At-Large
Fulbright-National Geographic Fellow – Botswana, 2014-2015

Katelyn Leader
Current City: Philadelphia, PA
At-Large
Fulbright-Clinton Fellow – Haiti, 2013-2014

Claire Manneh
Current City: Sacramento, CA
At-Large
Fulbright U.S. Student in Public Health – Oman, 2012-2013

Hanna Miller
Current City: Berkeley, CA
Institution: Sewanee: The University of the South
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Russia, 2013-2014

Jilisa Milton
Current City: Birmingham, AL
Institution: The University of Alabama
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Indonesia, 2014-2015

David Morales
Current City: San Francisco, CA
At-Large
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Ecuador, 2013-2014

Mary Ogunrinde
Current City: Tampa, FL
Institution: University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant – Dominican Republic, 2014-2015

Lauren Pitts
Current City: Wilmington, DE
Institution: Drexel University
Fulbright U.S. Student in Education – Barbados, 2014-2015

Jonathan Rabb
Current City: Brooklyn, NY
Institution: The University of Minnesota
Fulbright U.S. Student in Journalism – Germany, 2012-2013

Ryan Stock
Current City: Chicago, IL
Institution: University of Michigan
Fulbright U.S. Student in Environmental Studies – India, 2014-2015

Evy Vourlides
Current City: Brooklyn, NY
Institution: The George Washington University
Fulbright U.S. Student in Anthropology – Greece, 2013-2014

Emily Yedinak
Current City: Houston, TX
Institution: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Fulbright U.S. Student in Engineering – Chile, 2013-2014