Six recent University of Louisville graduates are teaching and conducting research as 2009 Fulbright scholars. Since 2003 UofL students and alumni have won 34 Fulbright awards, more than any other Kentucky university.

The federally sponsored program each year has about 7,000 applicants and makes 1,500 grants available to scholars in 155 nations based on academic merit and leadership.

“It’s wonderful to see so many here,” says UofL President James Ramsey. “It showcases our success in fostering an environment where our students can achieve the highest levels of international scholarship and academic excellence.”

This year’s UofL recipients are:

Selene Black

English Teaching Assistantship

Selene Black, who graduated in May with a degree in Spanish and a minor in Latin American Studies, will teach English in Argentina in 2010.

Black has studied Spanish on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: at the University of Viña del Mar in Chile in spring 2007 and the University of Salamanca in Spain in spring 2008. In addition to taking classes in Chile, Black also worked as an elementary school English teacher’s aide.

The Custer, Ky., native became interested in Argentina when she visited the country during a break from her studies in Chile.

“Receiving the Fulbright is a tremendous honor and an exceptional opportunity to not only experience Argentinean culture outside of Buenos Aires but also to explore my career interests,” Black says.

Brian Hoffman

Research Grant

Brian Hoffman, who graduated in 2008 with degrees in political science and economics, recently arrived in Malaysia where he is working with the Malaysian Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations. The institute, part of the Malaysia Foreign Ministry, trains that country’s diplomats and those from other Southeast Asian countries.

Hoffman, a native of Edgewood, Ky., is participating in the training program as well as teaching and conducting research to examine the impact of confidence-building measures on producing positive results in the Spratly Islands territorial dispute.

“I feel like this particular Fulbright was made for me—it combines diplomacy and research in a vibrant city that sits at the heart of the most rapidly evolving place in the world,” Hoffman says.

Wojciech Kapalczynski

Research Grant

Wojciech Kapalczynski, a third-year UofL medical student, will study allergic reaction and sensitization to allergens among people in urban and rural Poland at the Medical University of Warsaw.

Before medical school, Kapalczynski was a Trustees’ scholar at UofL who graduated with a biology degree in 2003. He received the H.W. and Adele Stodgehill Scholarship and the Kosciuszko Foundation Graduate Scholarship for Polish Americans upon entering medical school.

Going to Poland on a Fulbright holds personal significance for Kapalczynski, whose parents left that country when he was an infant.

“My family is there and I love being in Poland,” says Kapalczynski , who grew up in Louisville.

Ashley Kim

English Teaching Assistantship

Ashley Kim, who graduated in May with a political science degree and a minor in Spanish, began her teaching assistantship July 5 in South Korea. She is teaching English.

“This award holds both personal and academic significance for me,” says Kim, a Louisville native whose father is from South Korea. “I didn’t really grow up with strong ties to my Korean heritage. It was through a high school teacher who had received a Fulbright to South Korea that I became interested in learning about and embracing my Korean roots.”

Monica Marks

Research Grant

Monica Marks, who graduated in May with degrees in political science, women’s and gender studies and philosophy and minors in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies and Pan-African studies, arrived in Turkey in June.

Marks is at Bogazici University in Istanbul researching Turkish constitutional law and political thought while continuing her study of the Turkish language. She has advanced language skills in Arabic and Swahili and intermediate knowledge of Turkish.

Marks, a native of Rush, Ky.,  says she will spend her year in Turkey researching secularization of Turkish civil law in the Early Republic Period, 1923–1930.

From there she will complete a one-year master of arts degree program in Islamic Law at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. A $35,000 Mary Churchill Humphrey Scholarship from the UofL College of Arts and Sciences will fund her studies. She plans to attend law school in the United States after that.

Colin Ogilvie

English Teaching Assistantship

Colin Ogilvie, who graduated this past summer with a degree in liberal studies with an environmental studies focus, will teach English in Brazil beginning in March 2010, coinciding with the start of the Brazilian academic year. He is proficient in both Portuguese and French.

“Beyond the obvious chance to polish my Portuguese language skills, the grant will allow me to further study Brazilian music and how Brazilians relate to and conceptualize the environment, as well as help me grow comfortable working internationally,” says Ogilvie, a Liberty, Mo., native.

Carl Williams

English Teaching Assistantship

Carl Williams, who graduated in May with a degree in political science and a minor in Chinese studies, started his Fulbright assistantship Aug. 1 in Taiwan.

A student of the Mandarin Chinese language, Williams studied last summer at Beijing Foreign Studies University with UofL’s summer language immersion program.

The Lexington native says he hopes to gain cross-cultural negotiation skills in Taiwan, which will be valuable to his career goals of becoming an international trade attorney specializing in business law in East Asia.