The Fulbright Commission has awarded six fellowships to Georgia Tech students - the largest number in the school's history. Four of those students are in the Ivan Allen College. Carrie Freshour, John Akin, Josh Krisinger, and Kathryn Stucki all received 2009 Fulbright awards in recognition of their global competence and compassion.

Carrie Freshour, a History, Technology and Society major, is preparing to study in Indonesia. Though she will be teaching English, Freshour "was drawn to Indonesia because of PURA [President's Undergraduate Research Award] research on the food crisis. I have a strong interest in living in a non-Western region of the world, and I found this opportunity in Indonesia to be exciting and challenging."

"I feel extremely honored to win this award. I am very grateful to the challenging professors here at Tech who opened my mind to these types of opportunities. I look forward to experiencing a different culture, and to interacting with a part of the world I would have otherwise not been given the chance," said Freshour.

John Akin, a senior studying Economics and International Affairs (EIA) with a minor in Law, Science and Technology, will also teach English in Indonesia. Graduating summa cum laude, he devoted many hours during his tenure within the Ivan Allen College 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.

Josh Krisinger, an International Affairs and Modern Languages (IAML) 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 eventually work with the Peace Corps, the State Department, or FBI. 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."

Kathryn Stucki, an Economics and International Affairs(EIA) major, received the Bi-national 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. Stucki 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."

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.

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.