Four K-State students win Fulbright Scholarships to study abroad

Media Relations and Marketing
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-0117
Phone: 785-532-6415
Fax: 785-532-6418

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: Jim Hohenbary, 785-532-6900
News release prepared by: Cheryl May, 785-532-6415, may@k-state.edu

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

FOUR K-STATE STUDENTS WIN FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY ABROAD

MANHATTAN -- Japan, Mexico and Hungary are the destinations chosen by Kansas State University's newly-named Fulbright Scholars. James Hohenbary, assistant dean and head scholar coach, said the four winners are David Thompson, Amity Thompson, Lynn Brickley and Elizabeth Greig.

"The Fulbright fully funds an academic year abroad to any of over 150 countries and offers an incredible opportunity for international experience," said Jon Wefald, K-State president. "This is only the third time that K-State has had four or more Fulbrights in a single year. This is an amazing accomplishment."

David Thompson is a senior in electrical engineering with an emphasis in biomedical engineering and minors in physics and Japanese. He will be a Fulbright Fellow in Japan at Tohoku University in Sendai, where he will be using the opportunity provided by the Fulbright to improve his Japanese language proficiency, focusing on business and technical settings. Later in his career, he hopes to use these skills to facilitate increased academic and commercial cooperation between American and Japanese universities and companies. After the year in Japan, he plans to attend the University of Michigan to earn a master's and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, focusing on the area of neural prosthetics. Career plans are to conduct research and teach in a university setting.

A K-State honors list student, he is a 2005 Goldwater Scholar, and received an honorable mention in the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. A member of the College of Engineering honors program, he also has received the James A. Branson Memorial Scholarship. He came to K-State as a Presidential scholar. He has been active with Powercat Masters Toastmasters, which he served as secretary. He conducted undergraduate research under the supervision of Tim Bolton, professor of physics. His project was a simulation program to help measure neutrino oscillation. This semester he is working with Steve Warren in the electrical engineering department improving the performance of a pulse oximeter unit, and later will be investigating its possible use as a biometric. He is a 2001 graduate of Burlingame High School and Allen County Community College, which he attended concurrently. Thompson is married to Amity I. Smith Thompson and is the son of David W. and Judith B. Thompson, Burlingame.

Amity Thompson is a December 2005 summa cum laude graduate who also will be a Fulbright Fellow in Japan at Tohoku University in Sendai. She is using the Fulbright to increase her language capabilities -- including learning classical Japanese.

She will also do historical research, and learn about various cultural pursuits. She is particularly interested in the Edo period, the Imperial court and nobility, and the development of Japanese arts. After her year in Japan, Amity Thompson plans to attend the University of Michigan to receive a master's in Japanese studies and then go on to a Ph.D. in early modern Japanese history. At K-State she was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Alpha Theta honoraries. In 2004, she placed third at Collegiate Level 2, in the Japanese Speech Competition at the University of Iowa. She received several scholarships including the Irene & Leo Chapman Excellence in History Scholarship, Golda M Crawford Scholarship, and the Robert D. Linder Scholarship. Her future plans include earning a Ph.D. in history, focusing on Early Modern Japan. She is a 2000 graduate of Gardner-Edgerton High School. The former Amity I. Smith, she is married to David Thompson and is the daughter of Diane and Frank Smith, Gardner.

Lynn Brickley is a graduate student in counseling and student development. She will use her Fulbright to teach English as a second language in Budapest, Hungary, through a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grant. As an additional project, she plans to explore how European Union initiatives are impacting study-abroad for Hungarian students. She plans to undertake a career in academic advising, potentially in an international setting, after the Fulbright experience. She is a 2004 graduate of K-State with a degree in English and a secondary degree in women's studies. She works as a graduate research assistant for the office of student activities and services, and is a member of Student Affairs Graduate Association and graduate intern at Academic Career and Information Center. She also is a tutor at Cloud County Community College's Geary County campus. She came to K-State as a Leadership scholar. A 2000 graduate of Campus High School, Haysville, she is the daughter of Rebecca Pritchett, Haysville, and Wesley Brickley, Wichita.

Elizabeth Greig is a senior in nutritional science and Spanish. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study public health in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She has wanted to work with Hispanics as a future physician, believing that learning more about cultural factors that affect health while studying in Mexico will allow her to become a more well rounded physician. She has deferred her acceptance to medical school at the University of New Mexico to accept the Fulbright Scholarship. After her studies end in Mexico, she will return to Albuquerque, N.M. and begin medical school in fall 2007. She is a member of several honor societies including Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Omicron Nu and Alpha Epsilon Delta International Pre-Medical Honor Society. She also is a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. She came to K-State as a Millenium scholar and also has received a Phi Kappa Phi scholarship. She ran in her first marathon, the Eisenhower Marathon, April 8, 2006. Her research, "Acculturation: Factors Affecting Nutrition and Food Choice among Hispanics," increased her desire to learn more about Hispanics and public health issues. She is a 2001 graduate of Clovis High School and has taken Spanish classes at Universidad de Salamanca and Eastern New Mexico University. She is the daughter of Hal Greig and Francine Stuckey-Greig of Clovis, N.M.

Selection is based on academic or professional record, language preparation, feasibility of the proposed study/research/teaching assistantship project, personal qualifications and some preference factors established by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Fulbright Commissions/Foundations.