The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has awarded three fellowships to Ivan Allen College students.
John Akin, Josh Krisinger and Kathryn Stucki all received 2009 Fulbright awards as a result of their global competence and compassion.
Named after Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Scholarship was established in 1946 as a vehicle for promoting “mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries of the world.” Fulbright grants are made to United States citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools.
Akin, a senior studying economics and international affairs with a minor in Law, Science and Technology, will also teach English in Indonesia. Graduating summa cum laude, gave much of his undergraduate career at Tech to tutoring other students and undergraduate research.
“Indonesia stood out to me as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Akin, “I am looking forward to this incredible opportunity to learn about a new culture, and I hope that I can have a positive impact on the school I get to work with. I feel very grateful for being able to take part in such a wonderful program.” Akin will begin law school at the University of Virginia when he returns from Indonesia.
Krisinger, an International Affairs and German major, will teach English in Germany—a country he is not entirely 
unfamiliar with. He recalls, “If my parents hadn’t dragged me around Europe as a kid in the back of our van when we were stationed at a military base in Germany, I probably wouldn’t be speaking German, or be able to list the countless experiences they took me on.”
A former intern at the U.S. Department of State, Krisinger hopes to work with the Peace Corps, the State Department or F.B.I. in the future. He feels the Fulbright is a great step on that path. “It’s great to hear that the State Department and Fulbright Commission believe that I am capable of handling the duties of the award,” he said. “To hear that you have won the same award that Nobel Prize winners and other well known individuals have participated in—it’s definitely a moment you don’t forget.”
Stucki, an Economics and International Affairs and Spanish major, received the Binational Business Award to Mexico. While in Mexico, she will intern at a Mexican company as well as take graduate courses.
“Receiving notification of my award was a dream come true for me because I could not have imagined a better opportunity for my next step after college,” said Stucki, who “spent the past three summers in Mexico City, either studying or working as a teaching assistant, and fell in love with the country and its culture.”
Since the Fulbright Scholarship program was established, the program has had about 280,000 participants ”chosen for 
their academic merit and leadership potential,” with the opportunity to exchange ideas and to contribute to finding solutions to shared issues.