Topics: Honors College, Scholarships, International Education

July 26, 2013

Three Ball State students and alumni will study abroad for the 2013-14 academic year as recipients of Fulbright Scholarships.

Ball State's Fulbright recipients are Carly Bacurin, Abby Savage and Cynthia Smith. They will spend their academic year conducting research, studying and teaching English.

Bacurin, a native of Evansville, is a 2009 graduate of Ball State who majored in German and visual communications. She has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Germany, where she will assist a German teacher of English by facilitating conversations in English and giving presentations on American culture and traditions. Following her Fulbright year, she intends to enter a master's degree program in speech-language pathology.

Abby Savage, from Hicksville, Ohio, is a May 2013 graduate who majored in elementary education and German and was the recipient of a Whitinger Scholarship within the Honors College. She, too, has received an English Teaching Assistantship to Germany and has been named a Diversity Ambassador for the Fulbright Program to instruct German students on American politics, culture and education. After her year with Fulbright, Savage hopes to secure a position teaching in a developing nation.

Doctoral student Cynthia L. Smith, originally of Heiskell, Tenn., has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Award to conduct research in Basel, Switzerland, during the 2013-14 academic year. She will work with the Paul Sacher Foundation and the University of Basel to research the manuscripts of Holocaust composer Viktor Ullmann and promote his compositions within the Basel community.

Smith entered the doctor of arts program in vocal performance and music history and musicology at Ball State’s School of Music in 2010. Her work in Switzerland will be part of her dissertation research and her larger journey as a scholar of Holocaust music.

After completing her doctorate, Smith intends to pursue a teaching position at the college or university level.

The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department and is intended to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of more than 155 countries.

By Gail Werner, Media Strategist