Eight Florida State University students are out in the world creating connections and learning new skills through the reputable Fulbright Program.

From teaching English abroad to researching historical narratives of 1917 France, sustainable development and mood regulation, these Fulbright students from FSU cover a wide range of disciplines.

“Fulbright awards present students with an amazing opportunity to research, study, teach and engage globally, making connections that will support their future endeavors while creating lasting ties between the United States, FSU and the world,” said Keith McCall, assistant director of the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards and lead Fulbright contact for graduate students. “This year’s FSU recipients represent the innovative, remarkable work and research done by students across FSU’s undergraduate and graduate programs.”

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between U.S. citizens and people of other countries. The primary source of funding is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments, host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant recipients are selected based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields, with the program operating in over 160 countries worldwide.

“We are thrilled for our Fulbright recipients and are confident that their experiences abroad will be truly enriching,” said Bonnie Garcia-Gloeckner, assistant director of the Office of National Fellowships. “We are also eager to collaborate with current undergraduate students, graduate students and recent alumni on Fulbright applications for next year’s cycle — it’s never too early to contact us!”

The 2024-2025 Fulbright students from FSU are: Sydney Cole, Nella Delva, Samuel Granoff, Vashalice Kaaba, Korrin Sheahan, Danielle Wirsansky, Shovik Saha and JiaQi Trescott.

The post Eight FSU students engage in global exchanges through the Fulbright Program appeared first on Florida State University News.

Ibrahim Gillani appreciates the “tight knit” community. 

His younger brother, Shahmeer Mustafa Gillani, beholds the “very beautiful” campus. 

And their mother, Amber Noor Mustafa, embraces the “very welcoming” hospitality. 

All three speak from the perspective of a current student at Florida State University.  

“How impressive is that?” said Lawrence Joseph “LJ” Mahon, a senior lecturer in the Department of Finance in FSU’s College of Business. “When I was young, most students saw college as a way to get away from home and live the college experience. And here we have a mother and her two sons at FSU.” 

The three arrived at FSU one at a time by way of Pakistan, their homeland. 

Ibrahim, a student of Mahon’s, graduates Friday, May 3 with a Master of Science degree in finance, while Shahmeer pursues a bachelor’s in computer science and Amber, their mother, works toward a Ph.D. in international and multicultural education through the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. 

They personify FSU’s global reach and illustrate the university’s celebrated family atmosphere.  

“We are proud to be at FSU,” Amber said. 

Amber began a five-year Fulbright program at FSU in August 2020, one year after Ibrahim began pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in economics at New York University. Amber did her first semester online in Pakistan, then moved to Tallahassee with her husband, Noor Mustafa Gillani, in January 2021.  

Amber calls her husband the family’s “scaffolding.” 

“He left his work in Pakistan and made all of this possible,” she said. 

Shahmeer came with his parents to Tallahassee but soon returned to the family’s hometown of Lahore, considered Pakistan’s cultural capital, to finish high school. He graduated in summer 2023 and applied to numerous U.S. universities, with a preference for acceptance to FSU so that he could join his mother and father in Tallahassee. He got his wish and started at FSU in fall 2023. 

Meanwhile, Ibrahim completed his bachelor’s degree at NYU in May 2023. He considered starting work as a strategy consultant but decided to apply to FSU’s Master of Science in finance program, which would reunite him with his family and give him time to prepare for the Chartered Financial Analyst level 1 exam as he worked toward a prestigious job in finance. 

He liked the professional-development emphasis of FSU’s program, which would allow him to help manage the college’s Student Investment Fund, a student-run vehicle now valued at more than $6 million. He also considered FSU’s Top 25 ranking among public schools and especially its value compared with the cost of tuition at many other schools. 

He has since discovered even more to like about it. 

“Even though it’s a big school, there’s a tight-knit community here,” Ibrahim said. “I’ve noticed that the faculty members, even the ones with the highest credentials, are very caring toward their students. They look out for us, and they’re there for us when we need help. That is a big difference at FSU.” 

He has brought a big difference to FSU: a moustache that turns heads, amazes professors and inspires comparisons to William Howard Taft, Rollie Fingers and the guy on the Pringles can.

“That is the best mustache in the competition and possibly the best mustache I have ever seen,” Darren Brooks, assistant dean and MBA director in the College of Business, said in March during the FSU/SouthState Bank Small Business Case Competition. He referred to the whiskers of Ibrahim, who participated on a team that took first place in the event. 

Ibrahim noted that moustaches are culturally big in Pakistan, where they’re sometimes just plain big. He’s had his since 2022, and he plans to keep it, at least for now. 

“It’s been useful in the job-searching process,” he said. “When you do an interview or you’re at a networking event, they remember you. They remember your face.” 

The post ‘Proud to be at FSU’: Far from their homeland, mother and two sons achieve together on campus  appeared first on Florida State University News.

Nine current and former Florida State University students have earned scholarships through the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Winners include graduate and undergraduate students and represent a host of majors and areas of research. Five will pursue teaching assistantships while the remaining four will conduct research. They’ll pursue that work in: Taiwan, Bulgaria, Scotland, Brazil, Spain and its Canary Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and one student will split their time between Greece and Türkiye.

Jesse Wieland, associate director of the Office of National Fellowships (ONF) at FSU, said the Fulbright application process is especially rigorous.

“This year’s Fulbright awardees spent many months and, in a few cases, years developing their research projects and preparing their application materials,” he said. “These students truly represent academic excellence and what is obtainable for FSU students at both the undergraduate and graduate degree levels.”

Wieland added that the hope from his office is that FSU’s Fulbright awardees inspire other students to dream big and embark on the application process. Bonnie Garcia-Gloeckner, assistant director at ONF, echoed Wieland.

“Undergraduate students, graduate students and recent alumni interested in applying for the current Fulbright cycle should contact our office now,” she said. “The first campus deadline is June 7 and we would welcome the opportunity to work with students and recent alumni on their applications.”

For more information, visit FSU’s Office of National Fellowships.

Rachel Harbin Blankenship

Memphis, Tennessee 

Master’s student 

Major: Art Therapy 

Fulbright type: Fulbright/University of Stirling Award in Health, Well-being and Sport 

Destination: Stirling, Scotland, UK 

Fulbright work: Sport Psychology 

Denisha Campbell

Chicago, Illinois 

Doctoral candidate 

Major: Communication Science and Disorders 

Fulbright type: English Teaching Assistantship 

Destination: Uruguay 

Fulbright work: Interest in literacy practices 

Miguel Gonzalez

Miami, Florida  

Senior 

Major: International Affairs  

Fulbright type: English Teaching Assistantship 

Destination: Brazil 

Fulbright work: “Beyond teaching English, I will create and host multi-cultural activities on my designated university’s campus, and I will also work with local LGBT organizations to promote LGBT right and public health for all.”  

Arria Hauldin

Cooper City, Florida 

Graduated 2020 

Major: Anthropology  

Fulbright type: English Teaching Assistantship 

Destination: Uzbekistan 

Fulbright work: Teaching English at the university level 

Mia Hernandez

Miramar, Florida 

Graduated 2022 

Major: Dual degree in English and Psychology    

Fulbright type: English Teaching Assistantship 

Destination: Canary Islands, Spain 

Fulbright work: “I will be conducting a podcast project to spotlight the different refugee aid organizations in the Canary Islands, working to provide visibility for, and connect locals and non-locals to, resources in the community.” 

Caitlin Mims

Fort Walton Beach, Florida 

Doctoral candidate  

Major: Art History 

Fulbright type: Greece-Turkey Joint Research Award 

Destination: Greece and Türkiye  

Fulbright work: Research into Byzantine amulets held in collections in Greece and  Türkiye in order to understand the ways amulets slipped between the boundaries of magic and religion. 

Rachel Neale

Crystal River, Florida 

Master’s student 

Major: Slavic studies 

Fulbright type: Research 

Destination: Bulgaria 

Fulbright work: Bulgarian language study, research in Bulgarian oral-traditional epic to investigate Slavic women’s roles in societies within the Ottoman sphere of influence, translation of Bulgarian epic songs. 

Michelle Perez

Miami, Florida 

Graduated 2023 

Major: Double major in International Affairs and Economics  

Fulbright type: English Teaching Assistantship 

Destination: Spain 

Fulbright work: Teaching English in a high school setting and helping with Global Classrooms and Model United Nations. 

Tessa Santner

Niceville, Florida 

Graduated 2021 

Major: East Asian Language and Culture Masters Degree, graduated 2021 

Fulbright type: Master Degree Program award: National Kaohsiung Normal University 

Destination: Taiwan  

Fulbright work: Teaching Chinese as a Second, Foreign Language 

The post Nine FSU students will study and teach around the globe after earning Fulbright scholarships appeared first on Florida State University News.