Four students and two alumnae accepted into Fulbright Program

CLEMSON – The United States’ flagship international education exchange program, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, has selected four current Clemson University students and two alumnae for the 2020-2021 year. The University has had 56 Fulbright Student recipients overall, and this year is an annual record with six recipients.

Sponsored by the U.S. government, the program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The recipients, depending on their fields, will be serving as teaching assistants, enrolling in graduate degree programs, or actively pursuing independent research.

Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. During the application process, students submit their preference for location as well as if they are pursuing study-research awards or a teaching assistantship.

The four current students who received awards are:

Charles Dove, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
Dove, a member of the Honors College, is a recent graduate in electrical engineering and received the Fulbright Program’s Switzerland Study-Research Award. He received an Honorable Mention from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship in 2020, a 2019 Astronaut Scholarship and was the recipient of the 2019 W.M. Riggs Award, given to the top student in Electrical Engineering on the basis of outstanding academic achievement, character, and leadership. Dove is one of only ten research award recipients nationally in 2020 to study in Switzerland.

Jessica Baron, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
Baron is a Ph.D. student in computer science, visual computing and received the Fulbright Program’s Switzerland Study-Research Award. She is currently a Graduate Research Assistant in 2D and 3D facial analysis and a Graduate Teacher of Record for Digital Production Arts. Additionally she has interned at TH Köln in Germany, Weta Digital in New Zealand, and Pixar RenderMan. Baron has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her computer-science graduate studies at Clemson and her undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (computer science). She is one of only ten research award recipients nationally in 2020 to study in Switzerland.

Jonathan Vogel, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
Vogel is a recent graduate in mechanical engineering and received the Aston Martin Coventry University Automotive Award. This is the first year this award has been offered by Fulbright, and Vogel was selected as the single recipient. It covers the first year of his master’s degree program and includes an industry placement with Aston Martin upon completion. At Clemson Vogel was a member of the Honors College and a National Scholar.

McKinnon Reece, College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences
Reece is a recent graduate in mechanical engineering and received the Taiwan English Teaching Assistantship from the Fulbright Program. A member of the Honors College, he has a minor in Mandarin Chinese and was previously selected for the Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. State Department to study Chinese. He will be a teaching assistant, and will work with local English teachers in elementary, middle or high schools.

The two Clemson alumnae who received awards are:

Madison Butler, College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities
Butler is a 2015 graduate of the University and earned a degree in language and international health. She received a Spain English Teaching Assistantship from the Fulbright Program. As a teaching assistant, she will be teaching English in elementary, middle or high schools. She previously served as a teacher with Teach for America.

Mary Lyons, College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences; College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities
Lyons is a 2019 graduate of the University and earned a degree in English and political science. She received a Serbia English Teaching Assistantship from the Fulbright Program. A member of the Honors College, Lyons previously studied abroad in Serbia and will be returning to teach English to K-12 students. She is one of only two recipients nationally to receive an assistantship in Serbia this year.

In addition, Clemson had one graduate student and one alumnae who were designated as alternates – Erich Hofmann (Ph.D. student, biological sciences) and Linnea Bacon (2019 graduate, psychology). As alternates, these two students may still receive awards prior to the start of the grant period next year.

Clemson also had four additional semi-finalists. These students were recommended by the National Screening Committee to their selected countries for final selection. They are Thomas Marshall, III (English), Ashley Girvin (Health Sciences), Erin Stiers (Graduate, Biological Sciences) and Andy Gasparini (History and Political Science).

Students interested in the Fulbright US Student Program or other nationally competitive programs should contact the Office of Major Fellowships at 864-656-9704 or fellowships@clemson.edu.