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The University of North Georgia (¹û¶³´«Ã½) set a new record this year with eight students selected as Fulbright Scholars and two as alternates for 2017-2018, placing ¹û¶³´«Ã½ among the top-producing institutions nationally for Fulbright Scholars.

Overall, 10 ¹û¶³´«Ã½ students were selected this year as semifinalists for the prestigious award, eight more than the previous year.

"Our students continue to showcase their academic prowess by being selected for renowned national scholarships," said Dr. Tom Ormond, ¹û¶³´«Ã½ provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "The Fulbright Program selects just under 2,000 students across the nation each year, and for 10 of the semifinalists — and eight finalists — to come from ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is a remarkable feat."

The Fulbright Program, which operates in more than 160 countries, is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other nations.

"This is an amazing opportunity for my personal, student and professional career," said Faith Brown, the first student from ¹û¶³´«Ã½'s Gainesville Campus to be selected as a finalist. "I intend to go to graduate school for multimedia studies when I return, and Fulbright is going to open so many doors to help make that possible. I have been trying to figure out what career will make me happy; I've been looking more into teaching at the university level, and screenwriting as a profession. I am excited for the opportunity to travel abroad and to share my knowledge with the youth of Bulgaria, while they share their knowledge with me."

For the 2017-18 cycle, more than 700 institutions put forward in excess of 10,000 student applications for the program. Students are typically in their final semesters of study when applying to the program. The National Screening Committee, composed of 457 senior faculty or field of study professionals, advanced 3,600 students as semi-finalists. From that group, about half will become finalists and have the opportunity to travel abroad for 10 months of the 2017-18 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The Fulbright award includes financial support for round-trip transportation to the host country and funding to cover room, board and incidental costs.

The 10 students, their majors, their areas of study and their countries of interest are:

• Nicholas Allen - modern languages major in Arabic, selected to be an English teaching assistant in Senegal (finalist)
• Faith Brown - communications major, selected to be an English teaching assistant in Bulgaria (finalist)
• Rachael Bryant - psychology major, selected to be an English teaching assistant in South Korea (finalist)
• Mitchell Fariss - international affairs major, selected to be an English teaching assistant in Germany (finalist)
• Darion Gibson, international affairs major, selected to be an English teaching assistant in South Korea (finalist)
• Emma Honerbaum, history major, currently an alternate to be an English teaching assistant in Germany (alternate)
• Katie McCullough - biology major, selected to conduct research in Poland (finalist)
• Noah McDaniel - modern language major in Arabic, selected to be an English teaching assistant in India (finalist)
• Anita Renfroe - modern languages major in Arabic, selected to be an English teaching assistant in Malaysia (finalist)
• Dezmone Valentine - middle grades education major, currently an alternate to be an English teaching assistant in Estonia (alternate)

The eight Fulbright finalists and two alternates are among the nearly 50 ¹û¶³´«Ã½ students who have been awarded nationally competitive scholarships to study abroad in the past four years. Students interested in learning more about nationally competitive scholarships should contact ncs@ung.edu for more information or visit /nationally-competitive-scholarships/ to apply. Also, students interested in learning about funding and programs to study abroad in a variety of projects can visit the Center for Global Engagement website.