Thirteen University of Iowa students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants to conduct research, attend graduate school, undertake creative projects, or serve as English teaching assistants abroad in 2015–16. According to the most recent report on the Top Producers of U.S. Fulbright Scholars and Students, the UI has risen from 128th to 45th in the number of Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards among its peer institutions.

Thirteen University of Iowa students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants to conduct research, attend graduate school, undertake creative projects, or serve as English teaching assistants abroad in 2015–16. This year's recipients are: Brett Burk, Douglas Baker, Julia Cartwright, Daniel Goering, Quinn Hejlik, Clare Jones, Julia Julstrom-Agoyo, Sarah Mayer, Acacia Roberts, Steph Rue, Beatrice Smigasiewicz, Gloria Wenman, and Audrey Williams.

Clare Jones, of New Orleans, LA, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant in Creative Writing to New Zealand and Polynesia where she will research and write a book of poetry titled “Neotype” that weaves together themes of botany, ornithology, and geology of the area.

Steph Rue, of Cleveland, OH, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to conduct research in Seoul, South Korea for 2015-16. Rue, who will graduate this May with an M.F.A. in Book Arts/Center for the Book from the University of Iowa, will focus her research on early monastic paper and book production methods, as well as the historical techniques and the spiritual underpinnings of Korean bookmaking.

Gloria Wenman, of Iowa City, IA, has been awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award for an English Teaching Assistantship to Mongolia.

Sarah Mayer, of Johnston, IA, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to Colombia where she will work as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA). Mayer will graduate this spring with a B.A./B.S. in Spanish and biochemistry from the University of Iowa.

Brett Burk, of Oskaloosa, IA, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Award to pursue an English Teaching Assistantship in Taiwan for 2015-16. Burk graduated from the University of Iowa in December 2014 with a B.A. in linguistics and an emphasis in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language).

Julia Julstrom-Agoyo, of Chicago, Illinois, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award for an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) in Malaysia. Julia will graduate this spring with a B.A. in international studies with a focus in human rights, a certificate in sustainability, and minors in political science and Spanish.

Quinn Hejlik has been awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant to Russia to work as an English Teaching Assistant where he hopes to develop a deeper understanding of the culture and language of Russia, and to extend the same understanding of English language and American culture to Russian students. A native of Omaha, NE, Quinn will graduate from the University of Iowa this spring with a B.A. in history and international studies.

Daniel Goering was awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award, which he will use to conduct a mixed methods interdisciplinary study at a benefits firm in Tokyo, Japan. Daniel, of Agency, IA, is currently a PhD candidate in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.

Audrey Williams, of West Des Moines, IA, has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to analyze Turkish development cooperation with Somalia, Kenya and Sudan. Audrey is a 2013 graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.A. in political science and French. She is currently working as a Program Associate for Partnership for a Secure America in Washington D.C.

Beatrice Smigasiewicz has received a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Award to write a book of essays titled Recovered Futures, which will investigate the representation of post-Soviet Polish identity in the cultural capital of Krakow. Smigasiewicz graduated with an M.F.A. in literary translation from the University of Iowa in May 2014 and will earn a second M.F.A. in nonfiction writing from the UI this May. As a Polish-American who lived in the country until the age of eleven, Beatrice seeks to understand modern-day Poland through interviews, museum research, and study of Polish literature and architecture.