BY: MARK BLACKWELL THOMAS, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS; COSSPP COMMUNICATIONS STAFF
A graduate of the college is one of three FSU grads to receive research scholarships through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Beatrice Dain joins Michael Rivera and Marah Litchfield as one of the recent grads for whom the Fulbright awards will provide funding for each recipient to conduct research projects abroad this upcoming year.
Dain will be working toward her master’s in global security and borders at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Dain, from Gainesville, Florida, graduated in May from FSU with a double-major in international affairs and anthropology. She’s scheduled to be in Belfast for a year beginning in September.
Dain said that borders have become the stress points globally for a broad range of issues, including terrorism and climate change, and that she’ll be studying that trend and alternative ways to consider those issues. Belfast, the site of a decades-long border conflict, is an ideal place to do that work, Dain said.
“It was only about 22 years ago that the conflict in Northern Ireland ended,” she said. “So many of the people in this area experienced the conflict firsthand. They are living testimony to the pain, violence and reconciliation that has come with this border. To be able to talk with them will be fascinating and it couldn’t happen anywhere else. I am grateful to the Fulbright for that.”
Dain was a member of the 2020 cohort of the college’s signature Social Science Scholars program. You can read more about her accomplishments at FSU here.
Associate Director of FSU’s Office of National Fellowships Josh Stanek said he was thrilled for each of the recipients, especially given the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“I think the pandemic has made everyone reconsider funding and travel abroad,” he said.
Stanek praised the members of the FSU faculty committee who support students through the Fulbright process.
“There are 40 professors who are all so enthusiastic about Fulbright and its mission and many are Fulbright fellows themselves, either as students or professionals,” he said. “They review applications, interview students and give feedback to help them improve their applications. Then, a lot of them will continue to meet with students before the national deadline to help them improve them even further.”
For more information on national scholarships, contact the Office of National Fellowships or the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards.