TACOMA, WA.- Eighteen students and recent alumni of University of Puget Sound have won prestigious national scholarships and will teach or conduct research in countries including Morocco, France, Spain, China, Cambodia, India, and Germany.

The new awards take the number of national fellowships and scholarships won by Puget Sound students to a total of 201 over 17 years. The robust list of honors for attendees of the national liberal arts college, with its student body of just 2,600, is a testament to the acumen and drive of Puget Sound students.

This year’s awards include: two Watson Fellowships, which fund a year of research and travel; three Fulbright Research Awards, to pursue research overseas; two Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Awards (plus one alternate), which put students in overseas classrooms to assist local English teachers; two Princeton in Asia Fellowships, for immersive work experiences in Asia; a Critical Language Scholarship, which sends students overseas to engage with a foreign culture and language; a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship honorable mention, which honors students who excel in science, math, engineering, or technology; two Goldwater Scholarship honorable mentions, which recognize students with outstanding potential in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering; and five French Government Teaching Assistant Awards, which send students to help teach in French classrooms for seven months.

“Our students have once again excelled themselves, winning this diverse range of awards in the face of stiff competition,” said Kelli Delaney, associate director of fellowships and academic advising, who assumed the role last year. “They worked hard on their applications and had help from some truly dedicated faculty and staff. These travel and work opportunities provide them with an excellent platform for their next study or career moves.”

The successful students were assisted by Puget Sound faculty and staff; by members of the Tacoma community who provided work, research, and volunteer opportunities; and by their families and friends.

The Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowships, directed by Kelli Delaney, coordinates the student applications and handles student recruiting, interviews, evaluation, mentoring, and mock interviews.

The Graduate Fellowships Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor of Religion Greta Austin, reads applications, conducts campus interviews, and selects scholarship nominees. Committee members also include Katherine Smith, history; Mengjun Li, Asian studies; Kate Stirling, economics; Jeff Grinstead, chemistry; Rachel DeMotts, politics and government; Peter Hodum, biology; and director Kelli Delaney. In addition many faculty on and off campus provide indispensable assistance by acting as research advisors and mentors, or by writing letters of recommendation on the students’ behalf.

For more information about student fellowship and scholarship opportunities visit pugetsound.edu/fellowships or contact Kelli Delaney at 253.879.3329 or kdelaney@pugetsound.edu.

The 2017 honors include:

Watson Fellowship

Carson Lyness ’16

Angelica Spearwoman ’16

Fulbright Research Award

David Balgley ’16 (Morocco)

Taili Ni ’16 (Taiwan)

Jess Wiken ’17 (India)

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship

Amy Bodner ’16 (Taiwan)

Melissa Meharg ’17 (Germany)

Corey Friedman ’17 (alternate)

Princeton in Asia Fellowship

Christine Anderson ’15 (Thailand)

Kieran O’Neil ’16 (Cambodia)

Critical Language Scholarship

Katie McGee ’17 (China)

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

Matthew Moreno ’17 (honorable mention)

Goldwater Scholarship

Jordan Fonseca ’18, Lillis Scholar (honorable mention)

Lizzi Hahn ’18 (honorable mention)

French Government Teaching Assistantship

Clarissa Baldwin ’15

Sarah Cobbett ’17 (Lille)

Becca Duncan ’17 (Nantes)

Kaari Selven ’15

Rachel Skene ’17 (Montpellier)

                                 – University of Puget Sound