Another Gustie has won the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, Senior Joey Wiley. He is part of a group of about fifteen Gusties that have won the scholarship in previous years.

Fulbright scholar, Dr. Rosemarie Mwaipopo, visited Gustavus for the 2015-16 school year to teach classes. The Fulbright program offers three different grants to its winners. Around 1,000 Americans win this award every year.

Joey Wiley is the most recent Gustie to receive the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant. He first got inspired to consider applying to the Fulbright when he studied abroad in Malaysia during his sophomore year. After he left Malaysia, he knew he wanted to return later in life.

“I hope to show my appreciation by returning to Malaysia to give back to a community that has taught me to open myself to unique cultural experiences,” Wiley said.

Wiley will be returning to Malaysia to assist in increasing students’ English proficiency.

When asked about the future, Wiley will be attending the University of Kansas State to further his studies. Anything past that is up in the air.

“Fulbright will give me a more clear and personal global perspective,” Wiley said.

One of Wiley’s professor, Alisa Rosenthal, a Political Science faculty member, helped Wiley apply to the Fulbright program. She was the founding director of the Gustavus Fellowships Office and the current director is Amanda Nienow.

As the director, Rosenthal, has worked with several other students and their scholarship applications.

“One of the characteristics that Fulbright is looking for, in its candidates, is the ability to be a cultural ambassador for the United States,” Rosenthal said.

When Wiley consulted Rosenthal about his application she could tell he would be a contender.

“Joey is warm, friendly, and likable. He’ll dive into new experiences because he loves to learn and open himself up to others,” Rosenthal said.

Previous Gustavus students who have won the Fulbright scholarship, some include: Ben Dipple ‘16, Jean-Paul Noel ‘12, Claire Sagstuen ‘11, and Allison Ryan ‘09. Each of these students received a different grant from the program to pursue their interests abroad. Dipple, an English major, was awarded the Fulbright English Teacher Assistant grant in Turkey.

Dipple was inspired to teach in Turkey after he studied abroad there during his junior year. Noel, a psychology major, used his grant money to travel to Switzerland and work at the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience alongside Director Dr. Olaf Blanke.

Sagstuen, a history major, was awarded the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. She worked at the Ekzarh Yosif Foreign Language School in Lovech, Bulgaria. Ryan, a French and management major, worked with microfinancing in Morocco. These Gustavus students took this great opportunity to make a difference in countries that they had a passion for.

Dr. Rosemarie Mwaipopo, has almost completed her Fulbright teaching opportunity here at Gustavus. Before her stay at Gustavus, Mwaipopo was busy teaching classes at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

She researched and taught topics about human/nature interaction, poverty and gender issues in Tanzania. Currently, Mwaipopo is teaching a special topics course about  “People and the Environment of Africa” in the Sociology and Anthropology department.

The Fulbright Scholarship program is “run by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States” (Fulbright Scholar Program Homepage). It offers three types of grants to its winners: Full Grants, Teaching Assistantships, and Travel Grants. Fulbright also offers grants to 800 faculty staff, like Mwaipopo, yearly.

The winners must make their own travel plans to the country of their choice. Once there, students have one academic year to conduct their research/project topic. Much like Wiley, students are usually inspired by countries they studied abroad in previously.

Each year, about 1,000 Americans travel to over 149 countries under Fulbright grants. Like Rosenthal said, Fulbright scholars are cultural ambassadors for the United States. They have to embody the United States as they travel across the world.

The Fulbright scholarship is a prestigious award that has been awarded to several Gusites in the past years. Joey Wiley is the most recent Gustie to have been awarded the Fulbright scholarship. Gustavus also homes Fulbright Scholar winners like Dr. Dr. Rosemarie Mwaipopo.

The Fulbright program is run by the United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Winners are ambassadors for the United States as they travel around the world.