Suzanne Hibbs, ALB '94, and Manuel Roman Lacayo, ALB '96, were awarded coveted Fulbright Fellowships to work and study abroad. These two graduates were the first Extension School alumni in recent years to have been nominated for these fellowships. (In the past, several Extension School graduates have received Fulbright awards, but the two US government grants to Hibbs and Lacayo came as the direct result of the Extension School's formal participation, beginning three years ago, in the Fulbright program.)

Suzanne Spreadbury, Director of the Undergraduate Degree Program and Fulbright Advisor, initiated the School's new role: "The ALB program admits more candidates of traditional college age than previously, and these students have the flexibility to take a year off to study or do research abroad. As a result, the ALB office needed to expand its services to fit this population.The Fulbright Scholarship Program is a very successful addition to the range of opportunities available to ALB recipients."

Since Fulbright recipients propose their own program, their overseas projects may include teaching, university course work, independent study, or field research. The program also is designed to give recent graduates opportunities for personal development and international experience.

From September 1994 to May 1995, Hibbs taught her own English class in a private high school in Metz, France. She noted that "the best part of my year abroad was not only speaking fluently in another language, but thinking in another language as well." Now enrolled in the Human Development PhD program at Columbia University's Teachers College, she credits the Fulbright opportunity as giving her an excellent head start in her graduate study, and she would recommend application to the program to other graduates.

Lacayo will use his Fulbright Scholarship to conduct a general survey of known archaeological sites in the central and Pacific regions of Nicaragua. He will work under the auspices of the National Museum of Nicaragua and the Institute for Cultural Heritage (both located in Managua). The aim of his research is to lay the groundwork for producing the first compendium of all currently known archaeological sites in that country.

He noted that this survey will be "an important contribution to the field of archaeology," for the sites range in age from pre-Columbian (2000 bce) to post-colonial (1510 ce). Manuel will leave for Nicaragua in November--after the rainy season has ended--and will return to the United States in July 1997, when he plans to begin graduate school in archaeology.

The Fulbright Program, created by the United States Congress in 1946, immediately after World War II, helps to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. The late Senator J. William Fulbright, sponsor of the legislation, saw these exchanges as alternatives to armed conflict. Today the program remains one of the most competitive--only 22 percent of the applicants receive awards.

Spreadbury affirms the ALB program's commitment to continued sponsorship of worthy candidates: "I hope that the Extension School's participation will continue to grow, and that more ALB graduates--with superior academic records and the willingness to spend a year representing the United States abroad--will take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete for Fulbright awards."